The first couple of weeks of school have come and gone, and while we are still learning how to work in tandem, I am settling in to my new school and getting more comfortable with interactions (this is the oldest group of students I have ever worked with). It’s kind of strange when you look like you should be sitting in a desk next to the young people you’re in charge of!
While I haven’t been able to meet with my MT for an extended period of time yet to discuss procedures and my role in the room, I have learned quite a bit from her on the fly about her normal procedures regarding assignments, basic classroom management, and the format of a typical class period. Her methods are eerily (in a good way) familiar to what I have experienced in college classes, which is something I have found both interesting and highly functional. My MT strives to make her classes about more than just reading a book and regurgitating information—the students do interact with texts, but they also have the opportunity to deepen their understanding through the exploration of philosophical and psychological inquiry. I never knew a high school English class could look like this (again, in a very good way), but I am thrilled to be buckled in and taking this journey with these wonderful young people this year.
I'll have the opportunity to teach an ACT prep vocabulary mini-lesson next week, which I'm nervous (naturally) about, but it will be nice to finally get to break the ice with my students and start really working on my front of the room presence. I'm thankful for the chance to get going a little early, so I'll be more comfortable by the time my formal observation rolls around.
Because I am with my MT during her honors classes, I have been reflecting on the idea of fixed versus growth mindset. A teacher during Core II recommended some reading by Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford University. The particular study referenced concentrates on mindsets regarding intelligence in math and science, but we explored the concept on a broader scale, which included a discussion about achievement in ELA classes. The basic inquiry is:
Does an individual have the ability to change the amount of knowledge they have pertaining to a certain subject, or is that amount of knowledge unalterable?
Incidentally, Dweck’s research ties into my previous post about failure. As someone who wants a classroom where everyone will be encouraged to challenge themselves and be fearless of mistakes, I identify closely with the growth mindset she speaks of. With the open, discussion-driven nature of my MT’s class, I can confidently say she falls into the same category. It’s refreshing to see how excited she is every morning about questioning the class and encouraging them to stretch themselves a little further mentally than they normally would. She is guiding them to continue putting effort into their learning so they can modify or solidify what they already know.
In the coming weeks, I would like to observe the fixed versus growth mindset as I get to know my students better. Dweck has some suggestions in her research about how educators can change their language when talking to students about their work to assist them in viewing their abilities more positively, so I'm interested to learn more about that as well.
Until next time,
Ms. McDaniel
Works Cited
Dweck, Carol. "Mindsets and Math/Science Achievement." Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2008.
Jentry,
ReplyDeleteI love your honesty. I am also helping with students much older and more advanced than any of my other semesters, and it can feel daunting and nerve wracking. I have personally found that if I keep my composure and show confidence, the students don't seem to notice any of my fears (or at least they haven't shown any indication of it). I really like that you have added a scientific section to this post. I personally am under the belief that we continue to grow, rather than being fixed. However, I think there is also some room for compromise between the two. If you want to teach someone a language, it's suggested to do so when they are young. I have recently taken a college course on linguistics, particularly phonetics. There is a vast difference between adult and infant capacity to learn language, and the largest differences are universal grammar, language acquisition, and motivation. , “-all children are able to acquire an extremely complicated grammatical system by the time they are 4 or 5 years old, and they all, under normal circumstances, accomplish this task without being directly taught” (p.32). I would personally suggest Noam Chomsky to you when researching this topic.
Denham,K., & Lobeck, A. (2013). Linguistic for everyone (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
Thanks, Andrea! I actually read some of Chomsky's research after class last week. He does have an interesting perspective regarding language acquisition, and I certainly do agree that things like language are particularly difficult to learn as we get older.
ReplyDeleteMs. McDaniel, thank you for your insightful post! I’m thrilled that you’re experiencing a classroom environment that engages students in meaningful inquiry and embodies Dr. Dweck’s philosophy of the growth mindset. I think Dweck’s ideas have lots of opportunity for exploration (e.g., what kind of feedback, if any, motivates students to persevere and take risks?).
ReplyDeleteI’d also encourage you to take a look at some of the criticism of Dweck and Duckworth’s work on growth mindset and grit. Here’s a link to a piece by Alfie Kohn in Salon: http://www.salon.com/2015/08/16/the_education_fad_thats_hurting_our_kids_what_you_need_to_know_about_growth_mindset_theory_and_the_harmful_lessons_it_imparts/
Thanks for sharing this, and keep up the good work!