“Motivating every Student to Learn by fostering a Growth Mindset”.

1. “Motivating every Student to Learn by fostering a Growth Mindset”. Presenter: Dana DeWitz

2. Objectives: The participant will: • Define a Growth Mindset • Understand how the brain works • Identify how students are motivated • Develop a plan for motivating every student

3. Agenda • Introductions • Opening Activity • Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset • Brain Function • Learning/Motivation/Plan • Closure

4. Effort Focus Growth Neurons Motivate Praise Believe Success Introductions Whole Group: • Share your Name & Position this year At Your Tables: • Share - 1 thing you hope to learn at this session • or 1 thing that makes you nervous about this year

5. Let’s Get Started! • On a sheet of paper, write comments you might give to a student • They could be ones you’ve heard • They could be your own or make some up • Get as many as you can in 2 minutes

7. Mindset…It’s a choice! Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset Intelligence can be developed Leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to: Embrace challenges Persist despite obstacles See effort as the path to mastery Learn from criticism Be inspired by others’ success How does this sit with you? What resonates? What doesn’t? Intelligence is static or innate • Leads to a desire to looksmart and therefore a tendency to: • Avoid challenges • Give up easily due to obstacles • See effort as fruitless • Ignore useful feedback • Be threatened by others’ success

8. How the Brain Works: • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqGz7uqoPZ4 • Find a partner • Wearing the same color as you • At a different table • Stand and discuss • Discuss the video with this partner: • What is an important message? • What do you question? • What did you learn?

9. Now What? • How do we teach children the truth about their brains and mindset? • How can we use this knowledge to motivate every student?

10. First Steps: How to ‘Build’ Motivated Students: 1. Teach students the truth about where getting smarter comes from. Their brains are like muscles. The more they work them (practice), the smarter they become. 2. To get smarter, students must BELIEVE they can do it. Spend time creating learning activities that prove to them they can learn anything. (Correct rigor and relevance for each student). Show your belief in them to build confidence. 3. Teach students what effective effort really is. It’s not just getting sweaty or getting it done. 4. Give Feedback. It motivates when given about things students can change: effort, belief in self, strategies.

11. Efficacy Model of Development EffectiveEffort Confidence Learning • Belief in Self • Belief that “I can!” or “I can learn it!” • Borrow confidence • Don’t know it YET! • Tenacious Engagement –Stick with it – Never give up • Focus on Feedback – Getting it right? Keep Going! If not, change it up! • Strategy Formulation - Change strategies until you get it!

12. Motivation Comes From Feedback • Feedback motivates when: • It is specific • It is given about things students can change: effort, belief in self, strategies. • It is positive • It is timely • It doesn’t label (“smart”, “a natural”, “genius”)

13. Get your lists out. Put a star by comments that will motivate students. Discuss at your table. How we say it CAN Motivate Students!

14. Let’s Make a Plan: Weekly: Daily: Reinforce the Weekly Focus Review past ones Practice giving feedback Teach students to give it too! • Decide on a focus: Wk #1: Teach about the brain – it’s like a muscle Wk #2: Talk about Confidence – belief in self is critical, you can borrow it though Wk #3: Teach Effective Effort Wk #4: Teach Strategies to accelerate learning **Focus on your Feedback – write examples you’ll start using over and over

15. Objectives: Can you? • Define a Growth Mindset • Understandhow the brain works • Identify how students are motivated • Develop a plan for motivating every student

16. Closure: Think it, Write it, Share it Sketch out your first week plan What is your objective? What materials might you use? How will you teach it? How will you reinforce it? Then share it at your table

17. Resources: • Video on Growth Mindset: • Mindset by: Carol Dweck • dadewitz@rochester.k12.mn.us • Efficacy Institute: http://www.efficacy.org/ • Curriculum Repository: Efficacy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS-oZLHRK1Y

18. Neuroscience • In the past, neuroscience taught that people never add new neurons to their brains; all the brain cells you were ever going to have, you had at birth. In fact, many of these were thought to die off as we age. • Recent discoveries prove the old view was wrong. The brain can in fact create new neurons throughout life, especially in response to new challenges. These newly created neurons (along with the rewiring of existing neurons) are building blocks for mental circuit development.

19. Neuroscience • Once formed, new mental circuits become stronger and more efficient through repeated use, so that the same mental work can be done with far less energy. • This increasing efficiency underlies the experience of complex tasks becoming “easier” over time, and is the basis for development of high-level expertise.

20. Feedback - My “Go-To’s”: • #1 Strategy for learning is LISTENING, if you’re not listening, you’re not learning. • Practice more, you’ll get better • Work harder, you can do it! • What do you need to work on? • You don’t know it YET! • Your brain isn’t broken, but that strategy is! • Great effort! You did it by working hard! • How did that strategy work? • Look at how smart you are getting with all of that effort!!!

21. So, what kinds of things count as strategies? Listening better? YES! Asking for help? YES! Doing it a different way? YES! Watching someone else do it, then trying it? YES! Turning work in early to ask for feedback? YES! Asking for extra practice? YES!