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2016 Dustin Franz for Week Madison Reid, a student in a combined 2nd and 3rd grade classroom, leads a discussion on good listening with her classmates during a morning session at Cleveland’s Wade Park Elementary School. Such classroom exercises are part of Cleveland’s districtwide social-emotional learning plan. Growth Mindset

Editor’s Note Contents Commentary An emphasis on non-cognitive skills in 11 Growth Mindset, Revisited schools has spurred efforts to instill 2 Tracking Students’ and Mindsets Beyond Growth Mindset: growth mindsets in the classroom. In this 13 Creating Classroom Opportunities Spotlight, read how schools are embracing In Math, Positive Mindset May 4 for Meaningful Struggle social-emotional learning, nurturing Prime Students’ Brains growth mindsets, and creating classroom 15 Why a ‘Growth Mindset’ Won’t Work 6 Nurturing Growth Mindsets: opportunities for meaningful struggle. Six Tips From 7 Caution Urged on Measuring Social-Emotional Skills Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 2

Published January 13, 2016, in Education Week’s Special Report on Extending the Digital Reach Tracking Students’ Emotions and Mindsets By Benjamin Herold

he race is on to provide stu- dents with personalized learn- ing experiences based on their individual emotions, cognitive processes, “mindsets,” and characterT and personality traits. Academic researchers, for example, are busy developing computerized tutor- ing systems that gather on students’ facial expressions, heart rate, posture, pupil dilation, and more. Those data are then analyzed for signs of stu- dent engagement, boredom, or confusion, leading a computer avatar to respond with encouragement, empathy, or maybe a helpful hint. “The is that emotions have a pow- erful influence on ,” said Sidney D’Mello, an assistant professor of com- puter science and psychology at the Uni- versity of Notre Dame, in Indiana. The increasing power and affordability of eye- tracking, speech-recognition, and other skills, but also curiosity, perseverance, experiences that are customized for each technologies have made it possible for re- and a mindset that mistakes are powerful individual student’s cognitive strengths searchers to investigate those connections learning opportunities. and weaknesses. more widely and deeply, he said. Ideally, the software would be able to Privacy concerns and continuing de- “Ten years ago, there were things you recognize each student’s strengths and bate about the appropriate use of such could do in a lab that you couldn’t do in the weaknesses across each of those domains, technologies for schools in addressing messiness of the real world,” D’Mello said. then provide a steady stream of custom- character, mindset, and affect will help “Now, you can get a reasonable proxy of a ized problems based in part on such fac- shape what happens next. student’s heart rate from a webcam.” tors as a student’s capacity to keep trying But district leaders such as Brien Still, widely available classroom appli- to solve new challenges, said Matthew Hodges, the executive director of K-12 cations of such work might be a decade or Peterson, the group’s co-founder and CEO. schools for the 28,000-student Colorado more away. For now, though, the MIND Research Springs School District 11 are eager for More prevalent now are digital resourc- Institute gauges mindset and character new resources to help personalize student es that seek to measure and support the traits primarily at the aggregate level, learning, based on more than just aca- development and self-identification of such based on laboratory research and analysis demic ability. “noncognitive competencies” as self-man- of user data about the “typical” 2nd grader. “A digital tool that understands what it agement, perseverance, and a “growth Other vendors, meanwhile, are wres- is the teacher wants all students to know, mindset” that recognizes skills can im- tling with the opposite challenge. Prince- and knows how each student thinks and prove with effort. The U.S. Department of ton, N.J.-based startup Mindprint Learn- learns, and gives the teacher on how Education’s new National Education Tech- ing, for example, uses a battery of online to present the material differently would nology Plan, for example, officially calls for cognitive assessments to provide highly be gigantic,” Hodges said. more work to develop such tools. customized profiles of how individual stu- Organizations such as the MIND Re- dents learn, including from Coverage of the implementation of college- and search Institute are at the forefront of verbal reasoning to spatial . career-ready standards and the use of personal- those initiatives. The group’s widely used But the company, like others in the field, ized learning is supported in part by a grant educational math software, called ST is still trying to find user-friendly ways from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Math, provides students with learning for schools and parents to turn the result- Education Week retains sole editorial control exercises that aim to build not only math ing information into compelling learning over the content of this coverage. 䐀愀琀愀 愀渀搀 䄀猀猀攀猀猀洀攀渀琀

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眀攀戀猀椀琀攀㨀 眀眀眀⸀椀氀氀甀洀椀渀愀琀攀攀搀⸀挀漀洀 攀洀愀椀氀㨀 猀愀氀攀猀䀀椀氀氀甀洀椀渀愀琀攀攀搀⸀挀漀洀 Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 4

Published December 9, 2015, in Education Week In Math, Positive Mindset May Prime Students’ Brains Scans provide support for theory

By Sarah D. Sparks skill at soccer is innate, for example—and pus—an area often associated with the math is a subject often associated with a ability to quickly remember math aving a positive mindset fixed mindset. and processes—and the other brain areas in math may do more than Of the children in the study, 47 were associated with math problem-solving. just help students feel more asked to either stare at a fixed point or Imagine starting your car on a confident about their skills identify whether a series of addition prob- frosty morning. If you warm up the en- and more willing to keep lems were correct while scanned gine a bit before starting out, the car Htrying when they fail; it may prime their using functional magnetic resonance im- is primed to work better. And if you’ve brains to think better. aging, or fMRI, a noninvasive method of just tuned up your engine, it is able to In an ongoing series of experiments at identifying brain activity by measuring run more efficiently. Stanford University, neuroscientists have changes in blood flow in the brain. Chen’s findings suggest a positive found more efficient brain activity during Chen and his colleagues found that stu- mindset could be giving the brain a math thinking in students with a positive dents with higher positive-mindset levels similar double boost: “Overall, there is mindset about math. in math were more accurate at identify- an upregulation of the general cognitive It’s part of a growing effort to map the ing correct and incorrect math problems, network involving , spatial pro- biological underpinnings of what educa- even after controlling for differences in cessing, and cognitive control supporting tors call a positive or growth mindset, in IQ, age, working memory, reading ability, math cognition,” he said. “Then, specifi- which a student or and math anxiety. cally, one of the interesting components other skills can be improved with train- A lower positive-mindset level was is the hippocampal region, which shows ing and practice, rather than being fixed likewise associated with lower math per- a very specific effect for memory retrieval and inherent traits. formance. for problem-solving. If we want to solve “Our findings provide strong “This is very, very exciting,” said Carol 3+4=7, there are several different ways that a positive mindset contributes to chil- Dweck, the Stanford psychologist who to solve it, but the hippocampus plays a dren’s math competence,” said Lang Chen, first coined the terms “growth” and “fixed” role in retrieval rate in solving arithme- a Stanford University postdoctoral fellow mindsets, but who was not involved with tic problems. It’s one of the cognitive-core in and neuroscience. Chen’s study. “We’ve typically asked how hallmarks for efficient problem-solving for “Beyond the emotional or even motivation- does [mindset] affect students’ willing- math in children.” The more positive the al story of ‘positive mindset,’ there may be ness to take on challenges and their abil- mindset, the higher the activation and up- cognitive functions supporting the story.” ity to stick to that challenge when they hit regulation researchers saw in those areas setbacks. This opens up a whole new area, and the better students performed on the which is getting ready to solve a problem. math problems. Seeing a Mind in the Brain “My hunch is that often in the fixed In a forthcoming study previewed at mindset, your mind is preoccupied with ‘Is the Society for Neuroscience’s annual this hard?’ ‘Will I look smart?’ ‘What will Echoes of Other Studies meeting in Chicago in October, Chen and happen if I don’t do this?’ ‘I’m not good at Dweck said that pattern aligns with colleagues tested 243 children ages 7 to math,’ instead of getting that brain ready separate findings by Bruce McCandliss, 9 for intelligence, numerical problem- to do it,” Dweck said. a Stanford education professor not associ- solving and math reasoning in word prob- ated with Chen’s study, who found differ- lems, reading ability, working memory, ences in the brains of people who perform and math-anxiety levels. Chen also gave Mapping the Links better at solving math problems, but had the students a survey designed to identify Students with high positive-mindset not looked at whether those differences positive-mindset levels in math, such as levels had generally greater brain activity were related to mindset. questions about how much they enjoyed in a number of areas of the brain associ- “For certain people when they get solving challenging problems and how ated with math problem-solving: the hip- ready to solve a problem, their brains are competent they felt in learning math. pocampus, the left dorsomedial prefrontal in a ready, prepared state,” Dweck said. The researchers focused on math be- cortex, the left supplementary motor area, “It’s as though they’ve prepared what they cause other studies have found that a stu- the right lingual gyrus, and the dorsal are going to need and gotten it all online.” dent’s mindset can be different for differ- cerebellum. In particular, the researchers Chen’s study is one of the first to look at ent domains—he or she could believe that found faster, smoother connections, called the potential benefits of positive-mindset reading ability can be improved but that “upregulation” between the hippocam- levels on cognitive processing generally, Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 5

Where Mindset Makes a Difference

New research suggests students with a more positive "growth mindset" in math have brains that may be more primed for solving math problems. In a Stanford University study, students who scored higher on an assessment of positive mindset have more brain activity throughout several areas associated with math problem-solving, as well as more efficient connections with the hippocampus, an area associated with memory recall in math.

but there is already mounting evidence we have modularized the human mind dle of a larger, longitudinal study tracking that a growth mindset can improve the will not hold up.” how 60 students’ attitudes and underlying emotional and motivational supports for brain activity change as they grow from learning. age 7 to 12. The researchers are trying to For example, studies have found that Thinking and identify differences in students’ mindsets students with high growth-mindset lev- Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, an as- and performance if they started out per- els are less likely to suffer from perfor- sociate professor of education, psychol- forming generally well or poorly in math. mance anxiety or threats, ogy, and neuroscience at the University Separately, the researchers are also and more likely to learn from—but not of Southern California, who studies how working with Jo Boaler, a Stanford math obsess over—their mistakes. A 2011 emotions contribute to learning, agreed. education professor and a co-founder of study by Jason Moser, a neuropsycholo- “The emotion and thought structures Youcubed, an intervention to improve gist at Michigan State University, found in the brain are totally entwined, totally growth-mindset levels in math. people with a high growth mindset were docked in the brain,” she said. She has “Mindset can change quite a lot more likely to show conscious attention found the cognitive habits often associ- across age and grade level, so we really to mistakes and learn from them more ated with a fixed mindset—like focusing want to see how that change can relate quickly. on grades or considering errors a threat to different brain functions and differ- “A lot of researchers, cognitive sci- to your —can make the brain re- ent math achievement,” Chen said. “We entists, have traditionally thought of act emotionally to the wrong things dur- want to look at the unique contributions motivation as something very separate ing learning. of positive mindset to math achievement from intellectual performance or abil- “If you are trying to do math and and development.” ity,” Dweck said, but as a broader group worrying about whether you are go- of researchers from neuroscience, educa- ing to fail or not, rather than the pro- Coverage of learning mindsets and skills is tion, and psychology have started work- cess of doing math, ... that is not deep supported in part by a grant from the Raikes ing together, “we are finding the brain learning,” she said. Foundation. Education Week retains sole edito- doesn’t separate these things. The way Chen and his colleagues are in the mid- rial control over the content of this coverage. Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 6

Published March 14, 2016, in Education Week’s Rules for Engagement Blog Nurturing Growth Mindsets: Six Tips From Carol Dweck

By Evie Blad and improvement are,” Dweck said. “Effort is wa s h i n g t o n one route to learning and improvement.” tanford researcher Carol Here are six tips Dweck clearly tapped into a pulled from Dweck’s powerful and compelling idea talk: when she linked the of growth mindsets to aca- 1. Acknowledge demicS success. As fans of Dweck’s research can the nuance in the quickly explain, people with fixed mind- research. sets see strengths and skills as innate Growth mindsets are traits, like eye color. You’re either born not a trick that with them, or you’re not. But people will solve every chal- with growth mindsets recognize that lenge in the classroom, the brain can grow and change through Dweck said. The enthu- effort, and they embrace failures as op- siasm for the research portunities for developing new strate- sometimes leads to an gies and approaches to learning content expectation of unreal- and they find challenging. istic results, research- Enthusiasm for Dweck’s work has ers have said. And that spread rapidly, and her name is a buzz- same enthusiasm can lead skeptics to dumb” is more important than being word in many schools as teachers buy dismiss them all together. Fellow mind- vulnerable and learning a new idea, she into the idea that helping students shift researcher David Yeager has even said. Those triggers are different for dif- their mindsets can lead to academic published a paper called “Social-Psy- ferent people. They could be struggles, gains. chological Interventions in Education: setbacks, criticism from mothers, or But, in recent years, Dweck has They’re Not Magic,” which he just calls even meeting someone who is smarter or worked to balance that enthusiasm by “The Magic Paper.” more talented, Dweck said. busting some misconceptions about her “A growth mindset is not a panacea, “Do you hate them just a little bit? Or research and its applications in schools. but it does empower [students] and help do you say, ‘wow how did they develop That includes a wildly popular Educa- them learn,” she said. those skills?’ Maybe I can learn from tion Week commentary and a keynote them.” address at EdWeek’s Leaders to Learn From event in Washington. 2. Everyone has a fixed mindset “I fear that my work, which grew up sometimes. 3. Name your fixed mindset. to counter the failed self-esteem move- There’s a misconception that every Dweck told of a consultant in Austra- ment, will be used for the same purpose, student and teacher can be put into one lia who encouraged business executives trying to make kids feel good but not ac- of two categories: those with growth to name their “fixed-mindset persona” tually changing the process of learning,” mindsets and those with fixed mindsets, so they could have a fun, comfortable Dweck said, explaining her concerns. Dweck said, but in , everyone “has way of discussing it with peers. As people have embraced the growth a little bit of both.” The either/or mental- In schools, the name gives a quick mindset idea, they haven’t always fully ity causes some people to ignore chances identifier to the triggers students and understood every dimension of the re- they have to address the fixed mindsets teachers identify, and it helps them rec- search. Among the biggest misconcep- they do have about some areas. ognize their responses that might not be tions? That boosting students’ mindsets “Let’s legitimize that fixed mindset, productive, she said. is simply a of praising effort because we all have it somewhere; we “Name it, claim it, and talk about it,” rather than results or helping students are all a mixture,” Dweck said. “And she said. “And over , recruit it to work develop new strategies for approaching watch for those fixed-mindset triggers.” with you on your growth mindset goals.” content they struggle with, Dweck said. What sparks students’ fixed mind- For students, that might mean call- “Sheer effort is highly important, sets? It’s whatever makes them retreat ing their mindset by their middle name but it is not the ultimate ; learning to that place where avoiding “looking or a goofy nickname. Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 7

“When we’re in a crunch, when we’re asking for answers when they don’t un- ships may help build this in a on deadline and I’m not sure we’re gon- derstand and instead ask “What can I school, Dweck said. na make it, Duane shows up,” one Aus- do to help myself?” she said. “What is the larger that al- tralian man told his coworkers, accord- lows teachers and students to feel safe? ing to Dweck. His organization’s morale That we’re out for your development? and productivity shot up as they adopted 5. Put mindsets into a greater We’re not here to sort you into who can those strategies, she said. school-culture context. succeed and who can’t.” The larger culture of a school can in- fluence their mindset formation, Dweck 4. Move beyond effort. said. Students are less likely to avoid 6. Don’t use mindsets to label If teachers and parents want to nur- “looking dumb” and more likely to try students (or yourself). ture growth mindset in children, they new approaches if they believe that Dweck said she’s been disappointed should move beyond just pushing them their school is interested in their suc- to hear that some teachers have used a toward effort. They should also help cess, she said. Similarly, in workplaces, student’s mindset as an excuse, saying them identify new strategies and ap- employees are more likely to display things like “that child can’t learn; he proaches so that effort can be produc- growth mindsets when they believe has a fixed mindset.” tive, Dweck said. I discuss that a bit in that the organization believes in devel- “We used to say kids don’t have the this story about how math teachers can oping abilities. ability. Now we’re saying they don’t have strengthen growth mindsets by chang- Social-emotional learning efforts and the mindset? I think it’s protective. It’s ing their approach to the content. school climate initiatives that encourage our way of saying ‘It’s not my fault that Children can then move beyond just students to build supportive relation- child isn’t learning.’”

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Published April 20, 2016, in Education Week Caution Urged on Measuring Social-Emotional Skills Scholars note flaws in current methods By Sarah D. Sparks wa s h i n g t o n

raditional methods of study- lenges—have garnered great interest tions designed to improve such quali- ing social-emotional skills will as potential levers to lift student aca- ties as motivation, self-efficacy, and have to evolve in more reliable, demic achievement through non-aca- persistence—Jolene Jesse, a program less subjective ways if educa- demic skills. director in the National Science Foun- tors and policymakers expect “It’s only in the last five years that dation’s education and human resourc- toT incorporate them validly into account- mindset has moved from an influential es directorate, said the instruments ability systems and school improvement academic theory to an educational phe- being developed are largely self-re- plans, education researchers meeting nomenon,” David Miele, an education ports. here last week cautioned. professor at Boston University, said dur- For example, to identify changes in a The federal Every Student Succeeds ing a symposium on the research at the student’s “grittiness,” a researcher might Act broadens the definition of school American Educational Research Associa- ask students to rate, on a scale of 1 to 5, success, requiring states and districts tion’s annual conference. The gathering how much they agree with such state- to include nonacademic factors in their drew more than 16,500 researchers from ments as “Setbacks don’t discourage me” accountability systems. Concepts like around the world. or “I finish whatever I begin.” growth mindset—the that intel- But the research studying the skills ligence and other skills are not fixed, hasn’t quite caught up with their rising but can be improved through effort— popularity, some scholars said. Beliefs vs. Actions and grit—the ability to sustain inter- In an analysis of 167 National Sci- Such methods are long-established, but est over a long period and persist in ence Foundation-funded studies of in the symposium and several other dis- a task in the face of boredom or chal- those skills—including 88 interven- cussions at the AERA meeting, research- Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 8

ers warned that surveys like these can be flict between the explicit beliefs they are of student surveys of academic persis- muddier and vulnerable to . learning and implicit beliefs that may be tence with a behavioral test measuring “Let’s say we were studying students’ more fixed, Shumow said. “We think the how long high school students would math ability,” said Evan Heit, the direc- implicit beliefs are where it’s at.” continue to perform a difficult but mun- tor of the NSF’s division of research on Heit, of the NSF, pointed to a recent dane task while being distracted. learning. “How satisfied would we all Brookings report calling Students’ own reported persever- be if we did that by simply asking stu- for researchers studying social skills ance predicted how likely they were to dents, ‘OK, how good are you in math?’ to distinguish better between charac- complete their first year of college in We probably would not be very satisfied. ter traits and the related comparison with others at their own So should we be using self-reports for that can be trained. Heit and his col- school. But the student reports were not [social-emotional learning]?” league Jesse called for more observa- accurate for comparing the college-per- For example, Lee Shumow, an edu- tional protocols that would help teach- sistence rates between one high school cational psychology professor at North- ers and researchers understand what and another. ern Illinois University, evaluated how grit or a growth mindset looks like in By contrast, performance on the be- an intervention affected teachers’ and day-to-day practice. havior task did accurately predict differ- students’ growth mindsets. After con- ences in college persistence both within ducting teacher training and a six-week the high schools and between them. curriculum designed to boost growth As children grow to adolescence, mindsets among teachers and students, Duckworth said, they may compare Shumow used self-reported surveys but themselves more to their peers, which also observed 10 7th grade and 15 high may also affect how accurately they re- school science classes. port their own persistence, self-efficacy, She measured how often teachers or self-control. used feedback to students that sup- One of the limitations of using stu- ported growth mindset—for example, dent self-reports to measure grit, Duck- “You did well on this test; see how your worth said, is they are “a judgment studying is paying off?”—and how of- based on a that’s influ- ten they made comments that would enced by many things other than the undermine a growth mindset, such objective .” as comparing students’ test scores or In , in a separate study, Duck- saying, “You aced this test; see how worth and postdoctoral researcher smart you are?” Lauren Eskreis-Winkler flipped the Students whose teachers pro- grit research structure on its head: vided more growth-oriented feed- They used a survey designed to get back had better performance students thinking about other, and higher levels of growth younger students as the inter- mindset. vention to increase students’ During teacher training, own gritty behavior. the middle and high school In a randomized con- teachers participating in trolled experiment, the re- the growth-mindset inter- searchers gave 550 middle vention answered survey questions in school students basic information on ways that suggested each had a strong True Grit? It Depends grit and randomly assigned some to fill growth mindset. Even when students or teachers an- out a survey giving “tips” to 4th grad- “We did measure teachers’ mind- swer surveys frankly, they may be influ- ers on how to be more persistent and sets using a standard survey to mea- enced by comparing their own behavior gritty. Then the researchers asked all sure mindset,” Shumow explained, “but with that of their peers—what research- the students to complete challenging teachers are pretty savvy. ... They knew ers call reference . math problems in an online program, exactly how they were supposed to re- That’s why prior studies have found but added that they could “take a break” spond, and they answered [the ques- very high-performing students in com- and simple tions] accordingly.” petitive schools often report being less whenever they wanted. And sure enough, during classroom hardworking than they actually are. In both cases, students who had act- , the teachers who were It can also be why between-school ed as “mentors” to other students via part of the intervention made more com- comparisons of grit don’t always work the surveys persisted in the math task ments supporting growth mindset than well, according to another study pre- longer and with fewer breaks than those did teachers who had not taken part in sented at the meeting by University of who had not been mentors. The effect the intervention—but the intervention Pennsylvania psychology professor An- was strongest for students who were ini- teachers also made more undermining gela Duckworth, who coined the term tially deemed low-performing in math. comments than the teachers in the con- “grit”; mindset researcher David Yaeger The results have also been repeated trol group. at the University of Texas at Austin; and with three groups of adults: at-risk com- “We think the statements the teach- colleagues at Stanford University and munity college students, unemployed ers made and the behavior they dis- the University of Notre Dame. workers trying to find a new job, and played in the classroom” reflect a con- The researchers compared two types smokers seeking to quit. ILLUMINATE EDUCATION The Importance of a Growth Mindset in Turnaround Teachers The pattern proves true time and time again. Often, behind people who’ve overcome underprivileged backgrounds to achieve distinction with one or more facets of adult life is found an educator (or several) who left an indelible mark of inspiration on an otherwise-threatened upbringing. More often than not, turnaround teachers nurtured potential, instilled resiliency and encouraged a desire to pursue personal goals.

When these accomplished individuals give award acceptance speeches and reflect upon their Effective teachers represent perhaps the most perseverance through adversity, they’re often important factor in boosting student achievement. quick to acknowledge the turnaround teachers When they exhibit a growth mindset, they’re more who touched their lives. They gratefully recognize likely to establish high expectations for students, Mrs. Johnson from fifth grade social studies and make instruction engaging and offer extra help Mr. Smith from ninth grade English for helping to when necessary. Unlike individuals who convey mold them into the people they’ve become today. fixed mindsets, teachers with growth mindsets But what exactly sets turnaround teachers apart, genuinely believe each of their students is enabling them to succeed with helping close the capable of learning the covered material and they achievement gap that separates high-poverty use strategies to unlock hidden potential. schools from more affluent districts? The answer often lies in their mindsets. In the case of high-poverty schools, significant gains can be made in math and reading The Power of Growth Mindset proficiency when educators with growth mindsets Growth mindset – the belief that qualities like are in place. In addition to attacking the intelligence and talents aren’t inherent but rather challenges facing underprivileged students are cultivated over time through hard work and head-on, these teachers are willing to take a look dedication – typically gets linked to students, yet in the mirror and strive for personal betterment the concept applies to teachers as well. with regards to their instruction skills. Development of the right mindset often proves necessary in order to serve as a successful (cont. page no. 2) turnaround teacher. “The notion of treating both teaching and learning as a ‘privilege’ truly embodies what it means to have a growth mindset.”

Mindset Characteristics in Effective Turnaround Teachers

Gail L. Thompson – the Wells Fargo Endowed • Respected Leadership: Turnaround teachers Professor of Education at Fayetteville State develop relationships built on mutual respect, University – co-authored an article for ASCD that serving as positive role models for their students. concludes by stating, “Regardless of where they work • Collaborative Approach: Turnaround teachers or the type of principal they have, effective teachers foster student participation and create classroom remain true to their overall goal: to offer an outstanding environments that empower students to take education to all students whom they have the privilege control of learning. of teaching.” The notion of treating both teaching and learning as a “privilege” truly embodies what it means • Genuine Care: Turnaround teachers demonstrate to have a growth mindset. concern for both their students’ academic and personal well-, displaying kindness and While there are many qualities turnaround teachers compassion. personify in helping transform low-performing schools by improving at-risk student learning outcomes, some Ultimately, adoption of a growth mindset benefits characteristics emerge as trends. students and teachers alike. Yet many impressionable students from underprivileged backgrounds need the Here are five traits related to having a growth mindset guidance of a turnaround teacher to discover their that turnaround teachers often demonstrate: true learning potential. When such teachers effectively • Strong Determination: Turnaround teachers have impart the of resiliency and personal an exceptional desire and persistence to drive empowerment to foster learning achievement, then the student learning success. seeds have been planted for a success story in the making. • Lofty Expectations: Turnaround teachers don’t settle for anything less than the best effort each student has to offer.

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COMMENTARY

Published September 23, 2015, in Education Week Growth Mindset, Revisited By Carol Dweck

or many years, I secretly learning and improving. Too often now- tralia, Susan Mackie, detected an out- worked on my research. I say adays, praise is given to students who break of what she called “false growth “secretly” because, once upon a are putting forth effort, but not learn- mindset.” She was seeing educators who time, researchers simply pub- ing, in order to make them feel good in claimed to have a growth mindset, but lished their research in profes- the moment: “Great effort! You tried whose words and actions didn’t reflect it. sionalF journals—and there it stayed. your best!” It’s good that the students At first, I was skeptical. But before long, I However, my colleagues and I learned tried, but it’s not good that they’re not saw it, too, and I understood why. things we thought people needed to know. learning. The growth-mindset approach In many quarters, a growth mindset We found that students’ mindsets—how helps children feel good in the short and had become the right thing to have, the they perceive their abilities—played a key long terms, by helping them thrive on right way to think. It was as though edu- role in their motivation and achievement, challenges and setbacks on their way cators were faced with a choice: Are you an and we found that if we changed students’ to learning. When they’re stuck, teach- enlightened person who fosters students’ mindsets, we could boost their achieve- ers can appreciate their work so far, but well-being? Or are you an unenlightened ment. More precisely, students who be- add: “Let’s talk about what you’ve tried, person, with a fixed mindset, who under- lieved their intelligence could be devel- and what you can try next.” mines them? So, of course, many claimed oped (a growth mindset) outperformed Recently, someone asked what keeps the growth-mindset identity. But the path those who believed their intelligence was me up at night. It’s the fear that the mind- to a growth mindset is a journey, not a fixed (a fixed mindset). And when stu- set concepts, which grew up to counter the proclamation. dents learned through a structured pro- failed self-esteem movement, will be used Let’s look at what happens when gram that they could “grow their brains” to perpetuate that movement. In other teachers, or parents, claim a growth and increase their intellectual abilities, words, if you want to make students feel mindset, but don’t follow through. In they did better. Finally, we found that good, even if they’re not learning, just recent research, Kathy Liu Sun found having children focus on the process that praise their effort! Want to hide learning that there were many math teachers leads to learning (like hard work or try- gaps from them? Just tell them, “Every- who endorsed a growth mindset and ing new strategies) could foster a growth one is smart!” The growth mindset was even said the words “growth mindset” mindset and its benefits. intended to help close achievement gaps, in their middle school math classes, but So a few years back, I published my not hide them. It is about telling the did not follow through in their classroom book Mindset: The New Psychology of about a student’s current achievement practices. In these cases, their students Success to share these discoveries with and then, together, doing something about tended to endorse more of a fixed mind- educators. And many educators have ap- it, helping him or her become smarter. set about their math ability. My advisee plied the mindset in spectacu- I also fear that the mindset work is and research collaborator Kyla Haimov- lar ways with tremendously gratifying sometimes used to results. justify why some stu- This is wonderful, and the good word dents aren’t learn- continues to spread. But as we’ve watched ing: “Oh, he has a the growth mindset become more popu- fixed mindset.” We lar, we’ve become much wiser about how used to blame the to implement it. This learning—the com- child’s environment mon pitfalls, the misunderstandings, and or ability. what to do about them—is what I’d like to Must it always share with you, so that we can maximize come back to finding the benefits for our students. a why some A growth mindset isn’t just about effort. children just can’t Perhaps the most common misconception is learn, as opposed to simply equating the growth mindset with finding a way to help effort. Certainly, effort is key for students’ them learn? Teach- achievement, but it’s not the only thing. ers who understand Students need to try new strategies and the growth mind- seek input from others when they’re stuck. set do everything in They need this repertoire of approaches— their power to unlock not just sheer effort—to learn and improve. that learning. We also need to remember that ef- A few years ago, fort is a means to an end to the goal of my colleague in Aus- Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 12

itz 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. 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 cre- ate false growth mindsets on an unprec- edented scale.) But if we watch carefully for our fixed-mindset triggers, we can be- gin the true journey to a growth mindset. What are your triggers? Watch for a fixed-mindset reac- tion 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 teach- ing, or when students aren’t listening or learning. Do you feel incompetent or defeated? Do you look for an ex- cuse? 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 bet- ter 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 mes- sage 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 por- traying people as mixtures. We are on a growth-mindset journey, too.

Carol Dweck is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton professor of psychology at Stanford University and the author of Mindset: The New Psychol- ogy of Success (Ballantine Books). Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 13

COMMENTARY

Published December 7, 2015, in Education Week Teacher Beyond Growth Mindset: Creating Classroom Opportunities for Meaningful Struggle By Brad Ermeling, James Hiebert, and Ron Gallimore

rowing interest in teaching efits for deeper learning. But struggle is “grit” or “growth mindset” Capturing Key Ideas only productive when students engage is a hopeful sign. It reflects Evidence suggests that significant with a task that captures the central idea an increasing awareness learning benefits result when students of a lesson. that richer, deeper learn- are allowed to do some of this hard work ingG can flow from having students strug- on their own and struggle with ideas gle with a challenging task and persisting they do not quite yet understand. Ben- Struggle vs. Frustration until completion. efits are gleaned when the lesson goal is Engaging students in productive But with this hopeful sign comes helping students deepen understanding struggle is a challenge for teachers as well the risk of an ends-means reversal, a and learning of important concepts or as the students. It takes time, persistence, common misapplication of many good problems. Struggle is most useful when it and some experimenting to plan rich ideas. Consider cooperative learning, helps students grasp and retain key les- learning opportunities that challenge but for example. Cooperative learning was son ideas, the ones with the most payoff in don’t frustrate students. Activities need intended, as growth mindset is now, to comprehension and understanding to stretch students’ thinking and perfor- be a means to deeper, richer learning. For example, suppose the goal of a 4th mance just beyond the level they can do on But too often it became the end itself. grade lesson is introducing the concept of their own—the zone of proximal develop- In many classrooms, students have adding fractions with unlike denomina- ment, or ZPDs, some call it. learned to be better “cooperators” but tors. Students already know how to add Struggle works and does not frus- often without any distinct benefit for fractions with common denominators, trate when students have the deeper learning. To avoid a similar such as 2/5 + 1/5. One question teachers and tools to tackle novel problems—ones fate with growth mindset, the instruc- might typically pose in the new lesson is, they’ve not seen before, and are just be- tional goals must be richer-learning, “Can you find a common denominator for yond what they’ve already learned and not just struggle. the problem 1/2 + 1/3 = ?” mastered. In mathematics, that might Seventy-five years of research docu- But this question does not get at the mean a problem that can be solved by ments that learning is enhanced when stu- key idea for the lesson—recognizing applying concepts learned in previous dents persist until successful—through that units or wholes must be broken into weeks—for example, the de- perplexity, dilemma, and struggle. This same-size parts to calculate an exact scribed earlier that finding exact answers “struggle effect” appears even in studies answer to the problem. Finding common when adding (or subtracting) fractions re- of conceptual teaching and learning when denominators can eventually be part of quires amounts to be divided into same- investigators were not looking for it. a procedure for finding the size of these size parts. Designing challenging tasks This result wouldn’t surprise the phi- parts, but finding common denominators that do not frustrate students but require losopher and education reformer John at this point does not call students’ at- just enough stretch takes refined and Dewey. In 1910, Dewey described learning tention to the key idea. continuing teacher assessment and judg- as beginning with a dilemma—an uncer- A better question to start the lesson ment. tainty about how to proceed. Struggling to is this: “Can you find how much juice we Another crucial teaching role in pro- work through uncertainty and ambiguity would have if we added 1/2 cup of juice ductive struggle lessons is providing to discover a solution was, for Dewey, es- and 1/3 cup of juice? Show how you found timely assistance. When a challenging sential to meaningful learning. the answer by drawing a picture or writ- task opens a productive-struggle zone, Struggling and persisting in the face ing how you thought about the problem.” the teacher’s judgment is again criti- of uncertainty is finding its way back This question provides students with cal. Success depends on teachers recog- into prescriptions for good classroom an opportunity to struggle with the key nizing when a little timely assistance practice. Advocates for meaningful idea they need to understand—how to sustains student persistence but does struggle recommend that teachers avoid divide a cup of juice into smaller, equal not prematurely terminate productive telling students how to solve problems. amounts, so you can find an exact total struggle and learning. Instead, teachers are urged to allow amount for 1/2 + 1/3. Getting the right balance can be dif- students to wrestle with a problem and Asking students to persist or struggle ficult. For teachers accustomed to avoid- try to solve it themselves. with classroom tasks can yield big ben- ing student struggles, there is tempta- Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 14

tion to intervene and help students get the right answers. To do so runs the risk of turning the activity into the classic recitation- lesson—turning stu- dents into passive receivers of knowledge and teachers into “tellers.” For teachers who are adopting a new emphasis on grit and growth mindset, the other extreme can be equally problem- atic—urging students to persist with a task that is well beyond their ZPD, with- out necessary tools to meaningfully tackle the challenge.

Ear Training John Dewey was asked what he meant when he advocated that teachers should not “tell students what to do.” Puzzled that he had been interpreted this way, he said teachers could tell students all they wanted to tell—but they should be aware students would only hear what they have been pre- pared to hear. Struggling, or persistence, for Dewey, was (among other things) a way of preparing children to hear. Educators would do well to adopt this rule of thumb for how and when to engage students in struggle—that is, when you’re preparing them to hear something really important. This places meaningful parameters on what students should struggle with and when teachers should encourage it. Creating opportunities for meaningful struggle in the classroom that truly en- rich student learning involves several key elements:

• Determine timing and placement for Valuable student growth and learn- Learning Forward and the 2014 Outstanding productive struggle within the unit or ing won’t come from struggle alone. Paper Award from Emerald Publishing. curriculum—lessons that are “prepar- There is little purpose in persistence ing students to hear something really that yields no tangible benefits in in- Dr. James Hiebert is co-author of The important.” creased knowledge, understanding, or Teaching Gap: Best Ideas from the World’s • Align struggle activities with clear, spe- skill. But giving students an opportu- Teachers for Improving Education in the cific learning goals. nity to struggle through a difficult prob- Classroom, and Making Sense: Teaching and • Design struggle tasks based on as- lem with a clear learning goal in mind, Learning Mathematics with Understanding. sessment of students’ prior knowledge combined with just enough stretch and He has directed multiple federal grants on and skills. strategic assistance, students can devel- the teaching and learning of mathematics in • Foster a safe environment that encour- op lasting connections about important schools and on the preparation of mathemat- ages student inquiry and exploration of ideas, increased capacity for productive ics teachers. important ideas. struggle, and durable skills for solving • Use probing questions to solicit stu- novel problems in life. Dr. Ron Gallimore (@RonaldGallimore) dent thinking and provide strategic is the co-author, with Roland Tharp, of assistance to nudge students through Dr. Brad Ermeling (@BradErmeling) is Rousing Minds to Life: Teaching, Learn- their ZPDs. coauthor of Teaching Better: Igniting and ing, & Schooling in Social Context. Since • Follow-up each struggle episode with Sustaining Instructional Improvement. He 1983, he has conducted instructional carefully structured lessons that build spent seven years working as an educator improvement studies and is currently on students’ ideas, address misconcep- in Japan developing first-hand knowledge involved in researching the improvement tions, and help students forge new un- and expertise with Japanese lesson study of teaching at UCLA’s LessonLab Research derstandings. and has published numerous articles on Institute. Dr. Gallimore has received the • Assist students to reflect and articulate collaborative inquiry, productive struggle, Grawemeyer Award in Education, the IRA what they learned as a result of produc- and instructional improvement. Ermeling Albert J. Harris Award, and a University of tive persistence. received the 2010 Best Research Award from California Presidential Award. Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 15

COMMENTARY

Published July 17, 2015, in Education Week’s Finding Common Ground Blog

continue to speak up about the harm- ful way that high stakes testing is being used, but we can also change the way we Why a ‘Growth use the tests we create and use in our classrooms. First of all, use less sum- mative testing. Formative assessment Mindset’ Won’t Work is the sweet spot. Be less concerned about grades and more concerned about formative assessment. By Peter DeWitt • More feedback - If we want things like class size to matter more, than we need tanford professor Carol proach the influence, and we may have to change the way we provide feedback. Dweck’s work is being used to change how we approach it. Reflect on the feedback you provide to all over the world. When we As Hattie continued to speak, he students. Does the feedback go deeper look at what school should said the reason why growth vs. fixed as the students gain more expertise in epitomize...the growth mind- mindset has a low effect size is due to the topic? Or do we just slap a grade Sset should be at the center. Many adults the fact that adults have a fixed mind- or a sticker on a paper and say “Great who work in schools say we need to get set and keep treating students accord- job!” Praise, although great to hear, away from a fixed mindset, because a ingly, so right now the effect size is low, does not move learning forward. student’s intelligence and future are not and will continue to stay low unless we • Flexible Grouping - When we put stu- set. There is always room for growth. change our practices in the classroom. dents in ability groups like Lions, Ti- But what if our actions in school We put students in ability groups, they gers and Bears, something I was guilty contribute to the reason why a growth get scores on high stakes tests that help of, they know which group has the high mindset has a low effect size? label them, and then we place them in achieving students and others who are Recently, John Hattie gave a keynote Academic Intervention Services (AIS) not as gifted in the curricular area. Stu- at the Annual Visible Learning Confer- which adds to their fixed mindset. Once dents, no matter their academic level, ence in San Antonio, Texas. Over 1,000 students enter into AIS or Special Edu- can provide effective feedback to each attendees from all over the world sat in cation, very few leave. other if it has been modeled correctly. the audience when Hattie gave a key- Students are conditioned to have a • Different Questioning - 95% of questions note focusing on The Science of How We fixed mindset, and it’s due to us. stay in the surface level. According to Learn, which is the title of his book that Hattie’s research, Experienced teach- was published 2 years ago. ers ask 75% surface and 25% deep. Ex- As Hattie was going through the What can we do differently? pert teachers ask 75% that are deep and Skill, the Will and the Thrill of learn- First and foremost, we have to get 25% that are surface. ing, he put up a slide that said, “Growth away from having a fixed mindset be- • Stop talking so much - “Teachers ask vs. Fixed mindset - .19.” For those of you cause it has terrible implications for how more than 200 questions per hour,” who don’t know, and for full disclosure, we treat students. We do not have a crys- which means wait time is low and stu- I work with John as a Visible Learning tal ball, and we shouldn’t treat students dents are not getting the opportunity Trainer. I gave up being a school princi- who struggle like they will struggle for to talk with one another. Try to do a pal in a community I loved to work with the rest of their lives. It’s like a self- Think, Pair, Share or cooperative con- him. I write about his work from time fulfilling prophecy. If we treat students versations. to time because it provokes some of my like they will always struggle...they may best thinking. And because I’m such a always struggle. huge fan of the growth mindset (I barely Besides... In the End graduated from high school and was re- If students aren’t doing well in our We talk a lot about the growth mind- tained in elementary school), this slide classrooms it may not be due to them and set but our actions may be counter- poked my own hornet’s nest. may require that we change the way we productive to putting it into action. A We usually look for effect sizes that teach. “Change the environment and not growth mindset is so vitally important are .40 or above, which is what Hattie the child.” When we use ability groups, for adults and students. Adults need to refers to as the Hinge Point. The Hinge categorize students by test scores, and do have that mindset for their own growth Point provides a year’s worth of growth not instruct in a variety of ways, we will but more importantly for the growth of for a year’s input. A .19 is concerning be- continue to treat students with a fixed their students. cause it is so much lower than the Hinge mindset. Our fixed mindset puts them at Talking about the growth mindset is Point. The of Hattie’s work is a greater risk of having a fixed mindset. not good enough. Our actions are where that an influence with a low effect size We need to try to do the following: the rubber hits the road. If we believe (ex. Growth vs. Fixed Mindset) doesn’t the growth mindset is important, and mean we shouldn’t do it. The low ef- • Less Testing - Yes, I know. We don’t feel believe that it should have a higher ef- fect size may be due to how the adults like we have control over this but we fect size, then we need to follow up with in the classroom or school building ap- do have control over parts of it. We can the actions to make it happen. Spotlight On Growth Mindset / edweek.org 16

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SEPTEMBER 2011

1 Education W EEK Spotlight on i mplementing common S tandard S n edweek.org 2012

On Teacher Evaluation On Implementing Common Standards Editor’s Note: Assessing teacher Published February 2, 2011, in Education Week On Data-Driven Decision Making performance is a complicated issue, raising questions of how to Editor’s Note: In order to implement the Common Core Published June 30, 2011 in Education Week best measure teacher effectiveness. This Spotlight State Standards, educators Editor’s Note: Access to examines ways to assess teaching Wanted: Ways to Assess need instructional materials and data provides district leaders with assessments. But not all states and efforts to improve teacher the opportunity to make informed are moving at the same pace, Schools Find Uses for evaluation. instructional and management and some districts are finding decisions. This Spotlight the Majority of Teachers common-core resources in

examines the potential risks and INTERACTIVE CONTENTS: short supply. This Spotlight advantages of data systems and Predictive Data Techniques By Stephen Sawchuk highlights the curriculum, the various ways in which data can 1 Wanted: Ways to Assess professional development, and By Sarah D. Sparks the Majority of Teachers online resources available to be used to improve learning. They’ve long been a standard in the he debate about “value added” measures of teaching may help districts prepare for the 4 Gates Analysis Offers Clues be the most divisive topic in teacher-quality policy today. he use of analytic tools to predict business world—both credit scores and common core. INTERACTIVE CONTENTS: student performance is exploding car-insurance premiums are calculated to Identification of Teacher It has generated sharp-tongued exchanges in public forums, with predictive analytic tools. Yet they have Effectiveness InteractIve 1 Schools Find Uses for Predictive in higher education, and experts say in news stories, and on editorial cOntentS: T been slower to take hold in education.an- Data Techniques the tools show even more promise for K-12 5 State Group Piloting Teacher pages.T And it has produced enough 1 Educators in Search of “School districts are great at looking schools, in everything from teacher place- Prelicensing Exam Common-Core Resources 4 Leading the Charge for Real-Time policy briefs to fell whole forests. ment to dropout prevention. nually at things, doing summative assess- Data 6 Report: Six Steps for Upgrading But for most of the nation’s 4 Higher Ed. Gets Voting Use of such statistical techniques is ments and looking back, but very few are 0-stu- Teacher Evaluation Systems teachers, who do not teach sub- Rights on Assessments 6 Proposed Data-Privacy Rules hindered in precollegiate schools, however, looking forward,” said Bill Erlendson, the assistant superintendent for the 32,00 Seen as Timely for States by a lack of researchers trained to help 7 Peer Review Undergoing jects or grades in which value- 6 Common Core’s Focus on dent San José Unified School District in Revitalization ‘Close Reading’ Stirs Worries 7 States Make Swift on districts make sense of the data, according added data are available, that California. “Considering our economy sur- Student-Data Technology to education watchers. debate is also largely irrel- 7 Few States Cite Full Plans vives on predictive analytics, it’s amazing to COMMENTARY: Predictive analytics include an array of me that predictive analytics evant. Now, teachers’ unions, for Carrying Out Standards 8 Surviving a Data Crash don’t drive public edu- 10 Moving Beyond Test Scores statistical methods, such as data cation. Maybe in content-area experts, and 8 Common Core Poses Published February 29, 2012, in Education Week 9 ‘Data Mining’ Gains Traction mining and modeling, 12 My Students Help Assess administrators in many states Challenges for Preschools in Education used to identify My Teaching the factors that and communities are hard at work 10 Common Core Raises PD 13 Taking Teacher Evaluation COMMENTARY: predict the examining measures that could be Opportunities, Questions to Extremes Educators in Search 11 My Nine ‘’ of Data Analysis likelihood of cOmmentary: used to weigh teachers’ contributions to a specifi c 15 Value-Added: It’s Not Perfect, 11 Standards: A Golden 12 Education as a Data-Driven learning in subjects ranging from career and technical But It Makes Sense Opportunity for K-16 Enterprise result. education to art, music, and —the subjects, Collaboration of Common-Core Resources

13 Data Rich But Information Poor PAGE 2> RESOURCES: 12 The Common-Core 17 Resources on Teacher Evaluation Contradiction By Catherine Gewertz RESOURCES: s states and districts begin the work of turning com 15 Resources on Data-Driven re SOurceS: mon academic standards into curriculum and instruc Decision Making 14 Resources on - Common Core tion, educators searching for teaching resources are often finding that process frustrating and fruitless.- A Teachers and curriculum developers who ar road maps that reflect the Common Core State Standards can e trying to craft

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