Growth mindset + METACOGNITION + Partnership = Student Potential
Through reflective analysis of student work and working in a co-learning relationship with 8 host teachers, some themes began to surface for the students in the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board. Students across all grade levels (K-7) were observed as engaged
in learning but struggling when asked to explain or apply their newly acquired knowledge to their teacher or others.
Many students were “going through the motions” of what they understand
as learning. Through observations and
conversations, students revealed that they believe their part in the learning
process is to regurgitate the information presented to them with minimal thought
around the application of this knowledge. A survey of 100 junior students in our board was completed and 53% of these students said that either their teacher or their parents were in charge of their learning. These students do not consider themselves part of the process of
learning and are thus not mindful of how they learn.
Many students were generally observed as being compliant and displaying the features of a good student. They took part in discussions and engage in the activity until it came time for them explain what they learned or to complete an assignment based on what they learned. At this time, they sat for long periods of time, stared into space, hid or erased their work or sometimes jumped right into the work without fully understanding what is expected of them. In order to dig deeper into each of these ideas, student interviews were conducted, surveys given, observations were made and work samples were collected to better understand what is truly happening throughout the learning process. Below are some examples of pivitol moments and learning that came out of 3 specific classrooms. These moments are just snapshots of one particular moment in one particular classroom but it is surprising how many of these moments happened across the Board at different grade levels.
Many students were generally observed as being compliant and displaying the features of a good student. They took part in discussions and engage in the activity until it came time for them explain what they learned or to complete an assignment based on what they learned. At this time, they sat for long periods of time, stared into space, hid or erased their work or sometimes jumped right into the work without fully understanding what is expected of them. In order to dig deeper into each of these ideas, student interviews were conducted, surveys given, observations were made and work samples were collected to better understand what is truly happening throughout the learning process. Below are some examples of pivitol moments and learning that came out of 3 specific classrooms. These moments are just snapshots of one particular moment in one particular classroom but it is surprising how many of these moments happened across the Board at different grade levels.
Growth Mindset
In one of the host classrooms (junior), the host teacher and I noted that several of her students had great difficulty with self regulation and output of responses both orally and in written. These students were disruptive, distracted and would not start or complete any assignments without the one to one guidance of their teacher. As I shared my observations with the host teacher and we reflected together, a wondering regarding mindset arose. From here, I conducted several student interviews and continued to ask questions while students worked. They were asked, what kinds of classroom environments would help them learn, what they thought would make a difference for them and the role technology played in their learning. What was noted was that a handful of students in her classroom had a very fixed mindset regarding their ability to learn. Some responses to some of these questions resulted in answers such as: " Math is too hard and I can't do it" or " I'm just not good at it" (HPCDSB students 2014). On the right is two examples of a short survey we conducted after I worked through a mindset PREZI with her students. These students thought they were not really good at anything or only good at something that was easy for them. One student states they are not good at math because "its hard".
These responses lead us to believe that a growth mindset is one condition necessary to uncover the potential in students. Recently, a lot of research has been done on Mindset. Carol Dweck is a leader in this field. She has been quoted as saying, "Success is not determined by innate talents and intellect. Rather, success depends upon mindset - the degree to which we believe we have the capacity to cultivate our intelligence and grow our abilities." (Carol Dweck 2010). Mindsets have a great impact on learning and personal growth. Students who have a growth mindset tend to believe that they can grow their ability through hard work, believe that effort is a positive attribute and try hard in the face of frustration or difficulty. They become life long learners who are emotionally resilient and have the ability to learn from their mistakes. Some tips for building a growth mindset in students: * build a classroom culture where making mistakes is celebrated * give specific feedback that identifies accomplishments * encourage kids to take a risk and come to know themselves as a learner * recognize and intervene in negative self talk |
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Metacognition
Teaching students to become meta cognitive starts with their ability to be mindful in their approach to learning. Mindfulness is a purposeful way of paying attention. It is being in the moment of learning. Students who become distracted by outside stimulus, often have
difficulty being present in their learning. Students need to practice these strategies often in order to refocus their attention. Below is a flow chart of how being mindful causes a student to stop and assess before reacting.
difficulty being present in their learning. Students need to practice these strategies often in order to refocus their attention. Below is a flow chart of how being mindful causes a student to stop and assess before reacting.
Burke and Hawkins see mindfulness in education as essential to building metacognition in students. "In an age in which character education is in the forefront of many mandates, mindfulness is the key to unlocking students’ potential to learn how to accept themselves and others and how to engage in the world around them in a constructive manner. It provides them with the tools to make healthy choices and decisions and to be responsive rather than reactive in daily situations. In short, mindfulness can help students create a more peaceful and more successful personal and professional life path — a path that will lead them to come to know and understand themselves and others better." (Burke & Hawkins (2012).
In her book "Getting to Got It - Helping Struggling Students Learn How to Learn", Betty Garner explains metacognition as the ability to change and not just regurgitating facts or skills. She says, "Learning is created by the learner and generates its own energy that reinforces itself through a cycle of ongoing creativity and change...... the more engaged students are in creating meaning, the more they change and learn. It is crucial that our students learn how to learn - how to figure out how to figure out - so that they can make sense of unfamiliar information they encounter. (Garner 2007)
In the book, "Making Thinking Visible" by Ritchart, Church & Morrison they state, "It is one thing for us as teachers to articulate the kinds of thinking we are seeking to promote: it is another for students to develop a greater awareness of the significant role that thinking plays in cultivating their understanding (p.15). In other words, being metacognitive also requires educators to conference frequently with their students about their learning. Students are often unaware of what or how they are thinking and why they make choices. This is due in part to that they have never been asked to be metacognitive before. This became real to me through student interviews this year. When I asked 4 students ( Grade 7 students) to tell me about what they were thinking when they solved a math problem, the answers I received made me think that students were not equipped with the vocabulary or have had the practice to do so.
SWST: So (name), tell me how you solved that problem? What was your thinking?
Student 1: Ahhhhh..... I used my strategies.
Student 2: I don't know. I just solved it. Just did what the teacher told me to do.
Student 3: Well I used the problem solving model. I drew a picture and figured it out.
Student 4: I don't know.
When these results were shared with the host teacher, we came to realize that they needed more practice thinking about their thinking so we developed a set of questions that the host teacher and I would ask the students often. We knew that was in part that they had not thought about their thinking before AND they did not have the vocabulary necessary. One point of interest that arose was the idea of teaching the concept to another person in order to help build metacognition. Although we did not explore this idea in depth, both the host teacher and SWS teacher agreed that this could be a notion to study further in the future. What impact does teaching a skill to another person have on a students own metacognition?
Some examples of questions the host teacher and SWS teacher came up with that may be helpful are:
*Tell me about your thinking.
*How did you solve that problem? What thoughts went through your mind?
* What difficulties did you have?
*How did you overcome those difficulties?
* What questions do you still have
*How would you teach this to someone else?
More work is needed in this area in order for students to become conscious of their learning and thinking and build their cognitive structures.
In her book "Getting to Got It - Helping Struggling Students Learn How to Learn", Betty Garner explains metacognition as the ability to change and not just regurgitating facts or skills. She says, "Learning is created by the learner and generates its own energy that reinforces itself through a cycle of ongoing creativity and change...... the more engaged students are in creating meaning, the more they change and learn. It is crucial that our students learn how to learn - how to figure out how to figure out - so that they can make sense of unfamiliar information they encounter. (Garner 2007)
In the book, "Making Thinking Visible" by Ritchart, Church & Morrison they state, "It is one thing for us as teachers to articulate the kinds of thinking we are seeking to promote: it is another for students to develop a greater awareness of the significant role that thinking plays in cultivating their understanding (p.15). In other words, being metacognitive also requires educators to conference frequently with their students about their learning. Students are often unaware of what or how they are thinking and why they make choices. This is due in part to that they have never been asked to be metacognitive before. This became real to me through student interviews this year. When I asked 4 students ( Grade 7 students) to tell me about what they were thinking when they solved a math problem, the answers I received made me think that students were not equipped with the vocabulary or have had the practice to do so.
SWST: So (name), tell me how you solved that problem? What was your thinking?
Student 1: Ahhhhh..... I used my strategies.
Student 2: I don't know. I just solved it. Just did what the teacher told me to do.
Student 3: Well I used the problem solving model. I drew a picture and figured it out.
Student 4: I don't know.
When these results were shared with the host teacher, we came to realize that they needed more practice thinking about their thinking so we developed a set of questions that the host teacher and I would ask the students often. We knew that was in part that they had not thought about their thinking before AND they did not have the vocabulary necessary. One point of interest that arose was the idea of teaching the concept to another person in order to help build metacognition. Although we did not explore this idea in depth, both the host teacher and SWS teacher agreed that this could be a notion to study further in the future. What impact does teaching a skill to another person have on a students own metacognition?
Some examples of questions the host teacher and SWS teacher came up with that may be helpful are:
*Tell me about your thinking.
*How did you solve that problem? What thoughts went through your mind?
* What difficulties did you have?
*How did you overcome those difficulties?
* What questions do you still have
*How would you teach this to someone else?
More work is needed in this area in order for students to become conscious of their learning and thinking and build their cognitive structures.
Partners in the learning
When students are invited to take part in the learning process from start to finish, they experience a sense of agency and responsibility for their learning, an approach that lends itself to greater student engagement and intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
The quote above was the starting point of an inquiry with a host teacher around student inquiry this year. This host classroom was made up of mostly boys with varying abilities. The host teacher had an interest in student led inquiry and knew that she needed to engage these boys in order that they would be successful. So a journey began. At first, the host teacher and SWS tried to uncover what we thought would provoke the learning. Students were interviewed and questions generated around what interests and questions were present. It was thought that hockey would be a good starting point. What happened next was remarkable. The host school was in the midst of getting a new playground, and one day some people arrived on the school yard (just outside the classroom window) to measure and tape off the new playground space. Several students took notice of what was happening at the window and got up from their seats to take a look. Questions regarding what was happening starting pouring from the students and thus the inquiry was born. The students took what they were interested in and wondered about (which was not what the teacher had planned) and the learning developed. Had the teacher decided to continue with her plan, a great learning opportunity may have been missed.
"Learning can no longer be understood as a one-way exchange where we teach,they learn. Rather it is a reciprocal process that requires teachers to help students learn with understanding" (Student Engagement Monograph May 2011).
"Inquiry based teaching is problem or question driven; it encourages collaboration; it makes kids into explorers and discoverers; it requires kids to think; and it puts teachers in non conventional roles." (Harvey & Daniels 2009). Student inquiry is at the heart of allowing students to become empowered over their learning. It allows them to examine ideas and questions that matter to them. They become highly engaged in the question and use strategies to solve problems that are real to them. Students learn to become inquirers through discovery. When student's feel as though they are in charge of their learning, their thinking will develop and deepen. They become invested in their learning and take ownership of it with their teacher. The become co-learners.
Research also tells us that in order to be worthy, inquiry must have several components. First, the inquiry must be authentic. By that it must be a real life issue that others would want to study and that has several perspectives to contemplate. Next, it must have academic rigor or it causes students to question, synthesize and interpret information to build their knowledge. Active exploration is yet another component of inquiry learning. Large amounts of time are spent doing research, experiments, consulting with experts and then organizing thoughts using digital devices and communicating their findings in a variety of ways. ("What Is Inquiry?" What Is Inquiry? N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2013.) At the heart of all of these components is voice. Students need to have great into what and how they study what they are interested in. Essentially, it is allowing our students to become 21st century explorers and life long learners with a quest for knowledge.
Finally in the Monograph, Inquiry- based Learning , one of the guiding principles that stand out best for this pivotal moment are: Don't wait for the Perfect Question. The host teacher was responsive to the wonderings of her students and was willing to let go of anything she had planned and let the students take the lead and become partners with her in the learning. She did not know how or what her students were going to discover, but they took ownership of this learning and together they uncovered some great learning.
In conclusion, my observations, conversations and reflection on student work has led me to believe that there are three important conditions must be in place in order to uncover student potential. Those conditions are a growth mindset, student metacognition and students and teachers as co-learners or partners in the learning. These all have implications for students, teachers and our system as we try to provide support and make sense of student thinking and learning.
Research also tells us that in order to be worthy, inquiry must have several components. First, the inquiry must be authentic. By that it must be a real life issue that others would want to study and that has several perspectives to contemplate. Next, it must have academic rigor or it causes students to question, synthesize and interpret information to build their knowledge. Active exploration is yet another component of inquiry learning. Large amounts of time are spent doing research, experiments, consulting with experts and then organizing thoughts using digital devices and communicating their findings in a variety of ways. ("What Is Inquiry?" What Is Inquiry? N.p., n.d. Web. 17 June 2013.) At the heart of all of these components is voice. Students need to have great into what and how they study what they are interested in. Essentially, it is allowing our students to become 21st century explorers and life long learners with a quest for knowledge.
Finally in the Monograph, Inquiry- based Learning , one of the guiding principles that stand out best for this pivotal moment are: Don't wait for the Perfect Question. The host teacher was responsive to the wonderings of her students and was willing to let go of anything she had planned and let the students take the lead and become partners with her in the learning. She did not know how or what her students were going to discover, but they took ownership of this learning and together they uncovered some great learning.
In conclusion, my observations, conversations and reflection on student work has led me to believe that there are three important conditions must be in place in order to uncover student potential. Those conditions are a growth mindset, student metacognition and students and teachers as co-learners or partners in the learning. These all have implications for students, teachers and our system as we try to provide support and make sense of student thinking and learning.