My Growth Mindset Plan

Changing My Mindset

Developing an authentic Growth Mindset requires me to listen to the voice inside my head, pay attention to my attitude, and rephrase the feedback I give myself regarding growth (Dweck, 2006). Dweck explains how to grow a growth mindset with four steps.

Step 1: Learn to hear your “fixed” mindset voice.

While I work to develop my abilities in teaching, art, and researching I know I will need to rephrase the feedback to reflect the growth mindset. It is easy for me to think: ‘I do not know anything and I am not sure I am able to contribute much’. ‘I am not very good at art. Why should I try?’. I also know it is too easy to struggle with receiving feedback from others regarding teaching.

Step 2: Recognize that you have a choice.

I can respond to my life’s challenges by allowing the challenges to hurt my identity or I can learn how to shift my focus on how I am learning. I am going to choose to make the choice to build my growth mindset!

Step 3: Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice.

Instead of saying those negative things, I can respond with statements like: “I am learning how to improve my researching skills.” “I can learn how to improve my art. I might not be very good… yet.” I need to allow myself to think, “I will listen to feedback given during observations or a walk-through with an open mind and not allow myself to believe it is an attack to my identity. I am a learner and I am learning.”

Step 4: Take the growth mindset action.

I think creating a Growth Mindset Plan is valuable because it will prevent the opportunity to create a “fake” growth mindset. This plan will remind me of what I want to accomplish with the growth mindset. I have now thought through the ways I want to accomplish my goals and I know the attitude I need to work toward maintaining. While integrating those four steps in my responses to challenges, I will follow my growth mindset plan.

My Plan

Step 1 of My Plan:

Becoming active on Twitter and my blog will really hold me accountable and allow me to develop professionally and collaborate with other learners. I need to be constantly learning through reading and sharing how I implement innovative teaching. It is valuable to learn how to connect the theory and research to what I am doing in the classroom. It is easy to keep it separate because it does require more work. However, the website and Twitter will require me to follow through with evidence.

Step 2 of My Plan:

In the past year, I have been introduced to many different books that support innovative teaching. I will commit to reading one book every two months. The new knowledge I will gain from what I read will only be useful if I follow through and implement the new knowledge I gain into my classroom by creating at least one activity for each resource. I will share my new knowledge and activities on this blog.

Step 3 of My Plan:

I sat through a lecture my senior year at Baylor about how it is impossible to become an expert at all things at once. A person must invest time, focus, and energy on one technology at a time. This year, I would like to become a Google Certified Educator and receive my G Suite Certification in 2019. I believe this will help me integrate technology appropriately.

Step 4 of My Plan:

I want to continue researching and documenting the successes and learning experiences of what happens in my classroom. I should be able to seek out answers to my “wonderings” and I should be able to use data to drive a deeper understanding and better response to how I can help my students succeed.

Step 5 of My Plan:

It is valuable to present and share what we have learned in the classroom and in school with other professionals. I have often found that the participants during professional development sessions teach me a lot about new ideas and how I can improve my teaching.

Final Thoughts:

I will model the message of “yet” through my life first. I will then work to communicate to myself and students with the message in mind. In order to promote the growth mindset, I will continue reading more by Dweck, as well as Jo Boaler, and Robert Kaplinsky. They all have great resources and fabulous websites.

https://robertkaplinsky.com/lessons/

Week of Inspirational Math(s)

The growth mindset provides a way to grow and learn that support success. I believe I will grow more in the program and in the classroom because I have developed an awareness of the effects of allowing the process of learning to demean my identity.

Sources:

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY, US: Random House.