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"Change is inevitable- growth is optional." - J. Maxwell

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"Change is inevitable- growth is optional." - J. Maxwell

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Change is scary. I often refer to myself as a "creature of habit" just because change freaks me out THAT much. However- like Maxwell says, it is inevitable. It is GOING to happen. So you either find ways to adapt and grow, or you stay stagnant, bored, and out-of-date. Losing interest in what you do & leading those around you to resent your inability to grow. Ultimately, it is up to you. Are you going to take the plunge and learn something new? Or are you going to stay stuck in your old ways? You decide.

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Learner vs. Educator; reaction to change

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Learner vs. Educator; reaction to change

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Reimagining Classrooms: Teachers as Learners and Students as Leaders | Kayla Delzer | TEDxFargo

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Making classrooms more student centered.

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Making classrooms more student centered.

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Learners understand that they don't always know how to do something, but they know that they can always find a way to embrace learning successfully. When we, as teachers, find ways to make learning more empowering and student-centered, not only are students more engaged, but they are excited about what they are learning. Finding ways to make the classroom about the students and what the students are creating is essential to changing the dynamic of learning in the classroom setting.

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Why thinking like an artist can be applied to more than just art. 

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Why thinking like an artist can be applied to more than just art. 

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Thinking like an artist isn't just about being an artist. Having the skills to think creatively and critically is what makes educators more adaptable and students more confident in how they learn.

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Think like an artist | Tom Triumph | TEDxCapeMay

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"The Artist's Mind"

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How does a learner react to change? How does an educator react to change?

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How does a learner react to change? How does an educator react to change?

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Of the many challenges educators face, one of the most formidable-and least obvious-is student mindset. Teaching students to comprehend, absorb, and apply new material and concepts is challenging under any circumstances. The undertaking is much greater, however, when students doubt their ability to learn.

Can simply believing you have the ability to learn increase your ability to learn? According to growth mindset researchers, the answer is yes.

A more detailed look at mindset theory, as well as some of the ways that teachers can foster growth mindset in the classroom, illustrates mindset development's importance in education.

What Is Growth Mindset?

One theory of intelligence holds that people can be categorized according to their implicit beliefs about ability. People with a fixed mindset believe that abilities are innate, while people with a growth mindset believe that they can acquire abilities through effort and study.

Carol Dweck, a psychologist, developed the fixed versus growth mindset theory. The Stanford University professor's pioneering research, as well as her 2006 book, Mindset:The New Psychology of Success, popularized the concept of fixed and growth mindsets.

To gain a better understanding of what growth mindset is, compare the differences between fixed and growth mindset outlooks and behaviors.

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

Fixed and growth mindsets profoundly affect the way that individuals respond to failure. People with a fixed mindset view failure as a result of their lack of ability, while people with a growth mindset see the opportunity to expand their abilities and to work harder and smarter.

The fixed mindset vs. growth mindset dichotomy can also be expressed in terms of goals. People with a fixed mindset wish to appear intelligent because they believe that failing to do so reveals a weakness. People with a growth mindset are much less apprehensive about how their intelligence is perceived because they believe that knowledge and ability can be improved through effort. These outlooks produce almost diametric goals related to learning: a person with a fixed mindset wants to avoid appearing unintelligent; a person with a growth mindset wants to overcome challenges.

While the basic concept of fixed mindset vs. growth mindset is simple, mindset designations are much more nuanced in reality. An important factor of the mindsets is that they can be different in different domains. For example, a person may have a growth mindset in athletic or artistic endeavors but have a fixed mindset in academic endeavors.

Furthermore, mindsets aren't absolute, immovable states. The fixed or growth mindset exists on a spectrum, and even those positions can vary. A person may have a predominant growth mindset in one area-math, for example-but an especially challenging problem may trigger a response that's more consistent with a fixed mindset.

Dweck has described the growth mindset theory as a response to the self-esteem movement, which held that lavishing students with praise builds confidence that leads to improved achievement.

Mindset researchers propose a different approach. Instead of giving students general praise or praising outcomes-an ineffective practice in Dweck's view-teachers should focus on praising students' efforts and the steps they take to overcome challenges and make progress. By doing so they reinforce the simple but powerful idea that ability can be improved.

Benefits of a Growth Mindset in Education

Dweck's early research demonstrated multiple potential benefits to encouraging a growth mindset in education. One of her studies showed that praising students' efforts rather than their intelligence made them more likely to pursue more difficult challenges. Another study demonstrated the influence of simple mindset interventions. Her research showed that students who were taught about developing intelligence went on to perform better in school and exhibit more motivation in the classroom.

Growth mindset has been widely embraced inside and outside of education. (Growth mindset has become a popular topic in the business world, for example.) However, the concept isn't without its critics. Skeptics point out that few researchers have been able to replicate Dweck's results, and much of the corroborating research that's been done has been done by Dweck and her colleagues. Still, mindset research continues to advance, and evidence of the benefits of a growth mindset in education continues to mount.

How to Foster a Growth Mindset in Students

Learning how to foster a growth mindset in students requires time and practice. The approach requires consistent instruction that reinforces and demonstrates the idea that students can improve their ability. At the most basic level, mindset techniques involve shifting emphasis away from outcomes and toward efforts and process. Rather than praising an accomplishment, the instructor praises the efforts and learning steps that led to the positive outcome.

Looking at examples of how instruction and language can be altered to encourage a growth mindset illustrates how teachers can change the way that students perceive the learning process:

Fixed mindset statement: "It's OK if you're having trouble. Maybe algebra isn't one of your strengths."

Growth mindset statement: "When you learn how to do a new kind of problem, it develops your math brain."

Another example stresses the importance of encouraging students to work through problems:

Fixed mindset statement: "Great effort. You tried as hard as you could."

Growth mindset statement: "The goal isn't to get it right immediately. The goal is to improve your understanding step by step. What can you try next?"

Teaching students to be encouraged when they experience difficulty can also reinforce growth mindset:

Fixed mindset statement: "Don't worry, you'll get it if you keep trying."

Growth mindset statement: "That feeling you're experiencing of algebra being hard is the feeling of your brain developing."

A growth mindset approach still demands optimal performance from a student-simply rewarding efforts isn't effective, and, in fact, it can be harmful if the student's efforts are ultimately fruitless.

Part of growth mindset instruction is teaching students to ask for help and to use any resources that can assist them. Just as students are still responsible for learning the material, teachers are still responsible for giving them the tools they need to learn.

10 Strategies for Fostering a Growth Mindset in the Classroom

Helping students develop a growth mindset requires deliberate effort from teachers, but many of the methods can be easily integrated in their existing practices. The following strategies and tips can help educators foster a growth mindset in the classroom:

1. Normalize struggle. Struggle is part of the learning process, and emphasizing and reinforcing that idea helps students react positively when they feel challenged.

2. Encourage engagement with challenges. Portray challenges as fun and exciting, and easy tasks as boring.

3. Embrace the word "yet". If someone makes the statement "I'm not a math person," adding a simple qualifier will signal that a process exists for gaining ability. "You're not a math person yet."

4. Tout the value of hard tasks to the brain. Promote the idea that brains are malleable "muscles" that can be developed. Research on brain plasticity supports the idea of neural growth, and mindset research has shown that believing the brain can grow has a demonstrative effect on behavior and achievement.

5. Demonstrate mistakes and celebrate corrections. Mistakes should be viewed as learning opportunities. Teachers can model this outlook in reactions to their own mistakes and steps they take to correct a mistake.

6. Set goals. Having students set incremental, achievable goals demonstrates the attainability of growth and progress.

7. Develop cooperative exercises. Working together to solve problems emphasizes process and reinforces the importance of getting help and finding solutions. It also deemphasizes individual outcomes.

8. Provide challenges. Part of developing a growth mindset is teaching students to overcome obstacles. A particularly hard math problem or complex writing assignment that stretches their abilities can provide opportunities for growth and further instruction that emphasizes problem-solving.

9. Avoid praising intelligence. This may seem counterintuitive, but praise for "being smart" reinforces the idea that intelligence is a fixed trait. This can be demotivating for the students being praised ("I'm smart; I don't have to try harder"), as well as for those who don't not receive the praise ("That student is smart; I'm not").

10. Don't oversimplify. "You can do anything!" may feel like harmless encouragement, but if students aren't put in a position to overcome challenges, they'll conclude that such statements are empty, and the educator will lose credibility.

How to Foster a Growth Mindset in Teachers and Administrators

Extending the concept of growth mindset theory to teachers and administrators is critical. Research suggests that growth mindset approaches are more effective in supportive environments. However, individuals interested in promoting growth mindset initiatives can encounter resistance. Cultural changes in any institution or system are difficult, but understanding those challenges is the first step to finding common ground and moving forward.

Overcoming Challenges

Changing the instructional practices and policies that teachers and administrators have established can be difficult for many reasons:

Teachers and administrators who have invested time and effort in their current methods of instruction and classroom culture may resist change, particularly if their methods have been successful.

Teachers and administrators who are routinely asked to make changes or adopt new teaching methods may feel skeptical about a new method's benefits.

Teachers and administrators commonly work under tight time constraints that make it difficult to learn new methods or implement new policies.

Teachers and administrators may have fixed mindsets themselves and discount the mindset theory's validity.

Efforts to overcome resistance to growth mindset initiatives should focus on the demonstrated benefits to students. A shared goal of helping students can ease the challenges of culture change.

Five Tips for Creating a Growth Mindset Teaching Culture

Working together to reframe their shared challenges and goals can help both teachers and administrators develop growth mindsets and culture:

1. Value the process over the result. Valuing the process over the result can be difficult in a results-driven environment, but teachers and administrators who value the growth mindset and its long-term benefits are more likely to stay the course.

2. View challenges as opportunities. Students aren't the only ones facing challenges; teachers and administrators can benefit just as much from an outlook that celebrates the process.

3. Experiment with different teaching methods and learning strategies. Helping students build the skills they need to improve is a key element of the growth mindset approach. Teachers and administrators who embrace a growth mindset shouldn't be afraid to experiment.

4. Celebrate growth. Finding teaching strategies that reach students and help them learn should be celebrated with the students, as well as with other teachers and administrators. This reinforces the emphasis on effort and process. It also provides opportunities to share valuable learnings.

5. Communicate about your growth mindset. Sharing successes and failures among teachers and administrators helps to establish a culture that values challenges and a growth mindset.

Providing Tools for a Lifetime of Learning

A growth mindset's defining characteristic-the belief that intelligence is malleable-provides a powerful formula for improving student outcomes. Students who believe that they can get smarter and that effort makes them smarter will put in the effort that leads to higher achievement.

The understanding that they can always learn new skills and overcome challenges through hard work is a lesson students can carry well beyond their school years. As the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, many of the learning challenges that students will face can't be foreseen. By helping them develop a mindset that doesn't shrink from challenges and teaching them learning methods that can be applied to any subject or obstacle, educators prepare students for increasingly dynamic work environments and an increasingly complex world.

Educators interested in how education and learning can be life changing should explore American University's School of Education degree programs, including its online Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and online Master of Education (MEd) in Education Policy and Leadership. Preparing teachers and policy makers to transform the education system to benefit all learners is a core principle of American University's School of Education.

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How to Foster a Growth Mindset in the Classroom | American University

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Embracing a growth mindset can help students learn more and overcome challenges. Explore strategies for fostering a growth mindset in the classroom.

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Professional Development- easily accessible PD for art teachers.

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Professional Development- easily accessible PD for art teachers.

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There are a million ways for teachers to seek ways for growth, but an easy way I have found PD in my spare time is through the Art of Education PRO packs and FLEX curriculum. As teachers, knowing your resources that are district-approved and growth-oriented is essential to staying ahead and on the path of being growth centered.

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PRO Learning - The Art of Education University

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Art Ed PRO is the only on-demand PD platform designed for K-12 art teachers. Hundreds of school districts across the country utilize PRO to give their visual arts team training, hands-on tutorials, and resources.

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When do we stop waiting for the world to change and take on the problem at face value?

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When do we stop waiting for the world to change and take on the problem at face value?

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John Mayer - Waiting On the World to Change (Official Video)

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In all places of the world, learning must be adapted to fit the needs of a community and their students. Having an open-mind and a growth mindset lead the way with innovative thinking around the world, for students and educators alike.

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Few concepts in contemporary education have been more influential than the growth mindset, first articulated in the early aughts by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. Studies have found evidence that growth mindset interventions (GMIs), which instill into students the belief that intelligence, skills, and even personality traits are malleable, can improve academic resilience and performance. And like denim jeans, martinis, and Google, this northern California discovery has gone international. Researchers around the world are testing whether the effects of GMIs in the U.S. can be replicated with students in their own nation and culture.

This international trend is exciting for two reasons. First, psychology as a field has been criticized for making sweeping conclusions about human behavior without studying non-U.S. samples. Just as water boils at lower temperatures on a mountain than at the beach, interventions may be more or less effective outside of the U.S. Second, studying GMIs in other locales can tell us more about how and why these interventions work, creating a beneficial reciprocity between U.S. and international research.

Three recent studies suggest that GMIs may help non-U.S. students, but also reveal ways in which these interventions are context dependent. Factors such as a student's educational track, prior mindset, earlier academic performance, and classroom structure all could play a part in whether and for whom a GMI has a positive impact.
Vekstinnstillinger i Norge
This study tested a GMI delivered to 254 first-year high school students in Rogaland County, Norway. High school in Norway differs from in the U.S. in that it is voluntary, students must apply to attend, and students are placed on an academic track leading to college or a vocational track leading to a job. Although acceptance is guaranteed, it may not be to a student's first choice, and only 70% of students finish within 5 years.

Students completed two 45-minute online sessions based on learning modules used in U.S. research. In session 1, students learned about the malleability of the brain and applied that knowledge to give advice to a friend who was struggling in school. In session 2, growth mindsets were normed via quotes from scientists, celebrities, and peers, and a growth mindset was connected to a pro-social purpose for learning. The GMI benefited only students who held a fixed mindset to begin with, students on the vocational track, or students with lower GPAs. Among these groups, the intervention successfully imbued a growth mindset and increased students' willingness to seek challenges in order to learn.
Növekedési gondolkodásmód Magyarországon
This next study takes us east to Hungary, a nation where (according to the World Value Survey) only 7% of the population believes that hard work pays off in the long run. Over the course of 5 weeks, randomly assigned 10th grade homeroom teachers taught about either growth mindsets or the bystander effect. The 26 students in the GMI group learned about the everyday applicability of a growth mindset and practiced seeing academic setbacks through this lens.

Three weeks after the end of the GMI, students taught about growth mindsets had increased academic motivation and stronger beliefs that both intelligence and personality are malleable. These effects vanished, however, by the end of the school year only two months later. Moreover, the intervention had no effects on intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, or GPA.

Many factors likely contributed to these results, including the small sample size and the timing. Most GMIs are delivered at pivotal academic moments, such as the transition into high school or the start of college, whereas this one occurred in the midst of high school. Additionally, most students who volunteered for the study already had good grades and might not have needed an intervention in the first place.
Vāḍha mānasikatā Bhāratāta
Moving out of Europe and to a much different locale, this study randomly assigned a GMI to 107 3rd-grade classrooms in low-income schools in western India. Over the course of 10 one-hour sessions, nearly 1,000 students learned about neural plasticity and growth mindsets, while control students learned about the circulatory system. In addition, the researchers manipulated the classroom environment. Assuming that a growth mindset would influence showing up to class, they randomly assigned different incentive structures for class attendance:

Group 1: Teachers gave students a prize (e.g., pencils, erasers) if they achieved >85% attendance during the study.

Group 2: Students chose their prize if they achieved >85% attendance during the study.

Group 3: No prizes were awarded for attendance.

Only one group performed better than the others on a standardized test of knowledge, problem-solving skills, and analytic ability: High-achieving students who learned about growth mindsets AND who could choose their own prize for attendance. When incentives were absent or out of the children's control, the GMI seemed to undermine the test performance of high-achieving students. For low-achieving students, the GMI had no impact.
Conclusions
These three studies, featuring different nations, cultures, and age groups, begin to paint a picture of how GMIs work outside of the U.S. One important finding is that these interventions may be most effective in the middle of the bell curve. While the Norwegian and Hungarian studies suggest that lower-performing students have the most to gain from a GMI, perhaps exceptionally disadvantaged students, like those struggling in the slums of western India, are not in a position to benefit from growth mindsets, either.

These studies also underscore the importance of the educational context in which a GMI is delivered. In Norway, only students on a vocational track benefited, perhaps because these students were more likely to have a fixed mindset regarding intelligence. In India, students only benefited when the environment instilled in them a sense of autonomy. In fact, under conditions that limited control, students who were previously doing well may have been hurt by the GMI, an outcome that should be avoided at all costs. These lessons should be tested stateside to understand whether these same conditions affect GMIs in the U.S.

Together, these studies begin to reveal the wellspring of knowledge-about growth mindsets, academic interventions, and behavioral science, generally-that we can discover by replicating U.S. research in other countries. Students both here and abroad will be better off for our efforts to understand how these psychosocial interventions differ across borders, across oceans, and across cultures.

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Few concepts in contemporary education have been more influential than the growth mindset, first articulated in the early aughts by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. Studies have found evidence that growth mindset interventions (GMIs), which instill into students the belief that intelligence, skills, and even personality traits are malleable, can improve academic resilience and performance.

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I typed into AI- "Student Growth"
This is what came up.

I think it is fascinating to see the traditional concpet of education visualized this way. It looks as if when you start young, you have less knowledge and success. I am visualizing the success as to what the student is holding. Once that student has completely "grown," not only do they have a vast knowledge in their hands, but the podium of what they know & stand on is at it's highest.

I disagree with this image. A learner does not start on the bottom and move upward with growth. Growth itself is a roller coaster; moving up and down and in loops! Obtaining growth never really ends. This may be why as educators, growth continues to be challenge us because this picture is how we were taught to see growth.

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Depending on the type of educator you are, growth can look vastly different from one person to the next. When I typed in AI, "Classic Teacher" this is what came up. A disheveled, bored, overwhelmed-looking teacher; staring blankly at his work, this teacher looks as if he's had it.

And to be fair, if you don't have a growth mindset as a teacher- this is your reality. As teachers, we cannot stick to the traditional way of teaching that has been around for the last 70 years. We must innovate-collaborate- research. We cannot just settle for the mindset of "This is how it has always been." Because it isn't working anymore. As teachers, we need to think more openly and broadly.