Thursday, July 29, 2010

Voice Thread with Mindset

Hello!
Today I am posting a Voice Thread with a discussion about and review of Mindset. It's my first Voice Thread, but this is a Web 2.0 program that I am very excited about. 

For an interactive discussion about Mindsets and their effect on education/classrooms, Click on the voice thread and join in!!!

http://voicethread.com/share/1237704/

Friday, July 2, 2010

Can Change Happen in Your School?

Educators work very hard.  We do our very best every day using the knowledge we have to ensure students are learning.  The trouble is - our work is quite difficult and as of yet, we have not been effective in servicing ALL students.

A study in Germany by Falko Rheinberg found that when educators are growth minded, their students progress and when the educators have a fixed mindset, the students who entered the class underachieving, left as under acheivers (2000).  The fact is that we have an enormous influence on our students and their achievement. The question is, how do we move all educators to use the influence they have towards greater student learning? 

Chip Heath and Dan Heath, authors of Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard contend that if you want change to happen, "somebody, somewhere has to start acting differently." Since Growth-Minded educators are used to growing, changing, taking risks and learning, it is our responsibility to lead our colleagues in acting differently.  The book lays out a pathway for leaders to facilitate changed behavior, even with limited resources and support.

The book is a treasure for it's simplicity, readability, and usefulness.  Their recipe for change could not be more growth-minded.  They explain that all humans have a rational brain (a small rider) which is logical.  At the same time we have an emotional brain (a large elephant) which gets whatever it wants and gets spooked easily.  Finally, they explain that the path a person is on affects his/her behavior.  Change the path and the behavior is likely to change.

Any effective leader knows that the only way to lead large groups is to nurture the leadership abilities of your colleagues.  In order to do that, you have to be willing to "grow your own" and develop the hard-working and caring people who surround you, rather than wasting time, energy and resources mining for "talent."  Use Switch to figure out how to mine for talent in your own backyard by mentoring and developing your people so that they begin to act differently.

happy reading...

The Growth Mindset in Educators

Today I want to ask if you believe in your colleagues. It's easy to read Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck and decide that YOU can grow and change and learn, but do you also apply that to others? It is also easy to realize that children can grow and change and learn, but do you believe that of the adults with which you work?


There are so many qualities that make great leaders, but an important quality of a great leader and coach is a belief in all people to grow. As the educators around me have taken Dr. Dweck's research to heart and used it for their personal growth, I have noticed a small group of people who really only apply it to themselves. To be truly growth-minded, we have to apply the growth mindset even to those we believe in the least. Maybe ESPECIALLY to those who we believe in the least. Otherwise, what's it all for? It's just a way to define the better people from the "fixed" ones. That is the exact opposite of what Dweck's work is about.

If we approach everyone from the growth mindset - that all can learn, improve with practice and effort, and grow capacity, then our organizations will grow. Behavior is contagious. Approach someone who doesn't normally produce as if s/he IS a producer, and s/he will likely surprise you. Make it cool to achieve. Celebrate the successes of those who have tried (even if they failed at some part of their project). If people fail to achieve, there is likely a reason. Find the reason and see if you can't clear their path for them.

I am a runner. A jogger really, but without the coaching of good friends who tell me I can run faster and better, with effort, I would still be a walker who runs a bit in between. My colleagues easily coax and encourage me to run faster and longer and more often. They hold me accountable to my runs and ask about my miles. When I fail, they tell me it's OK and ask what I learned. They give me tips and encourage me to go on. Then they follow up with me a week later.

What a great model for educators. Isn't a school year so much like a marathon anyway?

Cheers all and encourage your co-workers. Believe in them the way you want others to believe in you.