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Mettre l'accent sur le bien-être dans les classes de mathématiques

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Mettre l'accent sur le bien-être dans les classes de mathématiques

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Comment devrait-on enseigner les maths aux élèves?

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Comment devrait-on enseigner les maths aux élèves?

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Pistes de réflexion

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Carol Dweck

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Carol Dweck: Le pouvoir de croire que vous pouvez vous améliorer

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Carol Dweck recherche " l'état d'esprit en expansion " -- l'idée que nous pouvons développer nos capacités mentales pour apprendre et résoudre les problèmes. Dans cet exposé, elle décrit deux façons différentes de penser à un problème qui est un peu trop difficile à résoudre. Êtes-vous pas assez intelligent pour le résoudre...

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Beaucoup d'élèves pensent que l'intelligence est une donnée fixée à la naissance alors qu'elle s'acquière et se développe tout au long de la vie. Les élèves les plus en difficulté ont tendance à croire que la quantité d'intelligence est fixée à la naissance : on naîtrait intelligent ou bête et rien ne peut y changer.

Or cette croyance est un non sens scientifique. La vérité est que plus le cerveau est stimulé de manières différentes, plus il se développe. Il en résulte que beaucoup d'élèves se brident eux-mêmes alors que l'intelligence se développe, se travaille et a des formes multiples. La neuroplasticité signifie qu' à chaque instant de notre vie, le cerveau change et se reconfigure.

Carol Dweck, psychologue américaine et auteure de Une nouvelle psychologie de la réussite, a fait une découverte :

un enfant qui a pour croyance que son intelligence est fixée et statique dès la naissance croit que le succès n'est qu'une question de quantité d'intelligence reçue et que, s'il échoue, c'est parce que sa "quantité" d'intelligence n'est pas suffisante. Ces enfants détestent les défis et sont mêmes découragés de réfléchir par peur de l'échec.

un enfant qui croit que son intelligence peut se développer par un entraînement mental et s'améliorer par ses efforts et son travail obtient de meilleurs résultats. C'est ce que Carol Dweck appelle la "mentalité de croissance" ou l'état d'esprit en développement.

Développer une mentalité de croissance peut faire la différence face à une difficulté. - Julie Bazinet

Cette vidéo illustre bien le concept de neuroplasticité aux enfants :

Les neurones qui s'activent ensemble finissent par se connecter à la suite des apprentissages mais ce sont les actions répétées qui renforcera leur connexion.

Steeve Masson, neuroscientifique spécialisé en neuroéducation, explique que le cerveau est comme une forêt : si on marche plusieurs fois dans le même sentier, un chemin va progressivement se créer. Dans le cerveau, il y a création de sentiers de communication entre les neurones. Ces sentiers (connexions neuronales) deviennent de plus en plus efficaces et mènent à l'automatisation des processus liés à une certaine tâche et donc à la résolution plus faciles de certains problèmes.

Apprendre, c'est créer des connexions entre des neurones. Les choses deviennent plus faciles et on est capable de les faire de mieux en mieux car le chemin est "défriché", les informations passent plus rapidement d'un neurone à l'autre par ces voies de communication. Plus on utilise le cerveau pour créer des connexions neuronales, plus on apprend.

Ainsi, quand on apprend à faire du vélo, les gestes sont d'abord conscients et nécessitent une forte concentration : pédaler, maintenir son équilibre, prendre assez de vitesse, regarder droit devant, freiner... Penser à toutes ces choses en même temps demande de gros efforts. Avec la pratique, des connexions se créent entre les neurones sollicités pour effectuer cette tâche. Les neurones ont créé des chemins pour communiquer entre eux et l'information circule de manière plus fluide.

Mais si on ne marche pas pendant un bon bout de temps dans les sentiers créés par la forêt, la végétation reprend sa place. Les réseaux de neurones non utilisés finissent par se déconnecter progressivement.

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Pourquoi est-il important d'expliquer la neuroplasticité aux enfants ?

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Beaucoup d'élèves pensent que l'intelligence est une donnée fixée à la naissance alors qu'elle s'acquière et se développe tout au long de la vie. Les élèves les plus en difficulté ont tendance à croire que la quantité d'intelligence est fixée à la naissance : on naîtrait intelligent ou bête et rien ne peut y changer.

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The students who attended youcubed summer camp describe the power of mindset math in their own words!

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How mistakes make you smarter, Radio 4 in Four - BBC Radio 4

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Claudia Hammond discovers that making mistakes is crucial to brain growth

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At youcubed, we inspire, educate and empower teachers of mathematics, transforming the latest research on mathematics learning into accessible and practical forms.

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MOOC, Stanford University

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My name is Professor Jo Boaler and I am writing because you took one of my online classes and I thought you might like to know about the new one I have just released. I am very excited about it!

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Opinion

For many years, I secretly worked on my research. I say "secretly" because, once upon a time, researchers simply published their research in professional journals-and there it stayed.

However, my colleagues and I learned things we thought people needed to know. We found that students' mindsets-how they perceive their abilities-played a key role in their motivation and achievement, and we found that if we changed students' mindsets, we could boost their achievement. More precisely, students who believed their intelligence could be developed (a growth mindset) outperformed those who believed their intelligence was fixed (a fixed mindset). And when students learned through a structured program that they could "grow their brains" and increase their intellectual abilities, they did better. Finally, we found that having children focus on the process that leads to learning (like hard work or trying new strategies) could foster a growth mindset and its benefits.

So a few years back, I published my book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success to share these discoveries with educators. And many educators have applied the mindset principles in spectacular ways with tremendously gratifying results.

This is wonderful, and the good word continues to spread. But as we've watched the growth mindset become more popular, we've become much wiser about how to implement it. This learning-the common pitfalls, the misunderstandings, and what to do about them-is what I'd like to share with you, so that we can maximize the benefits for our students.

A growth mindset isn't just about effort. Perhaps the most common misconception is simply equating the growth mindset with effort. Certainly, effort is key for students' achievement, but it's not the only thing. Students need to try new strategies and seek input from others when they're stuck. They need this repertoire of approaches-not just sheer effort-to learn and improve.

We also need to remember that effort is a means to an end to the goal of learning and improving. Too often nowadays, praise is given to students who are putting forth effort, but not learning, in order to make them feel good in the moment: "Great effort! You tried your best!" It's good that the students tried, but it's not good that they're not learning. The growth-mindset approach helps children feel good in the short and long terms, by helping them thrive on challenges and setbacks on their way to learning. When they're stuck, teachers can appreciate their work so far, but add: "Let's talk about what you've tried, and what you can try next."

Recently, someone asked what keeps me up at night. It's the fear that the mindset concepts, which grew up to counter the failed self-esteem movement, will be used to perpetuate that movement. In other words, if you want to make students feel good, even if they're not learning, just praise their effort! Want to hide learning gaps from them? Just tell them, "Everyone is smart!" The growth mindset was intended to help close achievement gaps, not hide them. It is about telling the truth about a student's current achievement and then, together, doing something about it, helping him or her become smarter.

I also fear that the mindset work is sometimes used to justify why some students aren't learning: "Oh, he has a fixed mindset." We used to blame the child's environment or ability.

Must it always come back to finding a reason why some children just can't learn, as opposed to finding a way to help them learn? Teachers who understand the growth mindset do everything in their power to unlock that learning.

A few years ago, my colleague in Australia, Susan Mackie, detected an outbreak of what she called "false growth mindset." She was seeing educators who claimed to have a growth mindset, but whose words and actions didn't reflect it. At first, I was skeptical. But before long, I saw it, too, and I understood why.

In many quarters, a growth mindset had become the right thing to have, the right way to think. It was as though educators were faced with a choice: Are you an enlightened person who fosters students' well-being? Or are you an unenlightened person, with a fixed mindset, who undermines them? So, of course, many claimed the growth-mindset identity. But the path to a growth mindset is a journey, not a proclamation.

Let's look at what happens when teachers, or parents, claim a growth mindset, but don't follow through. In recent research, Kathy Liu Sun found that there were many math teachers who endorsed a growth mindset and even said the words "growth mindset" in their middle school math classes, but did not follow through in their classroom practices. In these cases, their students tended to endorse more of a fixed mindset about their math ability. My advisee and research collaborator Kyla Haimovitz and I are finding many parents who endorse a growth mindset, but react to their children's mistakes as though they are problematic or harmful, rather than helpful. In these cases, their children develop more of a fixed mindset about their intelligence.

Kathy Liu Sun: Stop Killing Kids' Math Curiosity

How can we help educators adopt a deeper, true growth mindset, one that will show in their classroom practices? You may be surprised by my answer: Let's legitimize the fixed mindset. Let's acknowledge that (1) we're all a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets, (2) we will probably always be, and (3) if we want to move closer to a growth mindset in our thoughts and practices, we need to stay in touch with our fixed-mindset thoughts and deeds.

If we "ban" the fixed mindset, we will surely create false growth-mindsets. (By the way, I also fear that if we use mindset measures for accountability, we will create false growth mindsets on an unprecedented scale.) But if we watch carefully for our fixed-mindset triggers, we can begin the true journey to a growth mindset.

What are your triggers?
Watch for a fixed-mindset reaction when you face challenges. Do you feel overly anxious, or does a voice in your head warn you away? Watch for it when you face a setback in your teaching, or when students aren't listening or learning. Do you feel incompetent or defeated? Do you look for an excuse? Watch to see whether criticism brings out your fixed mindset. Do you become defensive, angry, or crushed instead of interested in learning from the feedback? Watch what happens when you see an educator who's better than you at something you value. Do you feel envious and threatened, or do you feel eager to learn? Accept those thoughts and feelings and work with and through them. And keep working with and through them.

My colleagues and I are taking a growth-mindset stance toward our message to educators. Maybe we originally put too much emphasis on sheer effort. Maybe we made the development of a growth mindset sound too easy. Maybe we talked too much about people having one mindset or the other, rather than portraying people as mixtures. We are on a growth-mindset journey, too.

Published in Print: September 23, 2015, as Growth Mindset, Revisited

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Carol Dweck Revisits the 'Growth Mindset'

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Opinion For many years, I secretly worked on my research. I say "secretly" because, once upon a time, researchers simply published their research in professional journals-and there it stayed. However, my colleagues and I learned things we thought people needed to know.

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Quiz - Mentalité en mathématique (compilation)

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Research shows that parents can have a powerful impact on their childrens' mindsets. The language you use and the actions you take show your children about what you expect. Giving process praise, talking about the brain, accepting mistakes as learning opportunities, and understanding the role of emotions in learning are all practices you can begin today.

Say This, Not That

The way we praise our children can have a profound impact on their mindset. Research on praise and mindsets shows that when we praise children for being smart, it promotes a fixed mindset. It sends a message that their accomplishments are trait-based, and tied to something innate. In contrast, praising kids for working hard promotes a growth mindset. It sends a message that the child's effort is what led them to success. Want more tips on what to say, and what not to say, when praising your kids? Say This, Not That!

Talk About the Brain

The brain is far more malleable than we once thought. Teaching our kids that they actually have control over growing their brains through the actions they take is empowering! Tell your children that when they work hard, that's the feeling of their neurons connecting. The dendrites are reaching out to other dendrites, trying to connect to make a stronger brain. What strengthens those connections is practice, asking questions, and actively participating in learning. When children learn that their brains physically change with effort, it leads to increased motivation and achievement. Show your kids this Brain Animation video to explain!

Accept Mistakes as Learning Opportunities

One of the best ways you can model a growth mindset is to speak candidly about the mistakes you've made, and what you've learned from them. Speak positively about your mistakes and struggles, and this will show your children that taking risks and making mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. Explain to your children that trying hard things is what helps us grow, and you can't be perfect when you try something hard!

Understand the Role of Emotions in Learning

When we get angry, scared, or feel threatened, our fight or flight response is activated. This can happen anytime, whether we're scared of a spider or scared of math! Our brains are wired to protect us when we feel threatened, and stress symptoms such as sweating, stomach cramps, and your mind going blank are completely normal. There are strategies we can use when the fight or flight response tries to take over, to help us learn. One of those strategies is called Square Breathing and it helps to break down the adrenaline that is flooding the bloodstream and preventing learning from occurring.

Want to Learn More?

Additional Reading:

Videos from the Greater Good Science Center:

You can find other videos and resources from the Greater Good Science Center at their Half Full Blog.

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Growth Mindset For Parents | Growth Mindset Parenting

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Research shows that parents can have a powerful impact on their childrens' mindsets. The language you use and the actions you take show your children about what you expect. Giving process praise, talking about the brain, accepting mistakes as learning opportunities, and understanding the role of emotions in learning are all practices you can begin today.