Growth Mindset- 9/19/16

THANK YOU!! The Two-by-Ten Challenge created GREAT conversation in 5th and 4th grade PLCs this past week! ! (We ran out of time in 3rd grade but will add that to our next agenda)

Mindsets:

Now that we have completed 4 weeks of school and spending time to review concepts is coming to an end, you may begin to hear students voicing frustration while attacking new concepts. It is important that we listen to our scholars, because those negative comments are often about their own struggles and we need to support their feelings.

Consider having a quick lesson about "fixed mindset" vs. "growth mindset" in your classroom. This is appropriate for all grade levels. I have share some examples that you might consider to help your students change their language in the classroom.

Remember that "one small negative thought can turn into: a huge, speeding ball of ugliness. On the contrary, a small positive thought can have the same effect blossoming into a beautiful outcome."

Mindset Design Challenge idea: Using Play Doh, pipe cleaners, and multi-colors of Post It papers, create models to represent a fixed mindset, a growth mindset, and an innovator’s mindset. Take a picture(s) of your structures and insert them into a single Google Drawings. Also insert a text box and write a brief blurb describing your thinking.

April 4, 2016

Carol Dweck, author of Growth Mindset, discusses how an integrated curriculum affects the way students view learning in this 4 minute video from Connect Ed. Dweck states that "expertise in the real world is about knowing something from every angle." This affirms our goal and work to integrate in our PLCs. She also talks connecting math and science to real world things and the impact that has on learning. Listen to when she talks about growth mindset and how it aligns to our Engineering Design Process. WOW!

Nov. 16, 2015

I heard this quote and it has really resonated with me.  Many days we do the same routine and follow our same habits because it is comfortable. Our students do not come to school for comfort, they show up to molded and prepared for the future.  

Good is simply not good enough anymore if we want to prepare today's students to be productive

citizens in our ever changing society.  I am heavy hearted about Paris and the responsibility that we as educators have to teach not only content but personal responsibility. It does not matter what a scholar's situation is outside of school, we have 7 hours a day to impact them. If you are still reading this- I hope you feel this same passion to move onto better & best because our scholars deserve it!

Sept. 14, 2015

As I listened to several of you talk about parent conferences that have already been set up and I think about some of the questions I fielded on curriculum night, I find it interesting the same comment I hear each year from parents.  “I was not good a math either.”  “He/she is NOT a math person.” 

In the English/Language Arts worlds there are several gurus, Penny Kettle and Donalyn Miller whose passion is to teach students to FALL IN LOVE WITH BOOKS.  My personal beliefs align with both Kettle & Miller I feel that helping students find their passion is reading very tangible.  But how do we teach students to find their PASSION in math?

I read an article from August issue of STEM Magazine discussing how students perceive their relationship with math.  Often students, even those who are confident about math, do not arrive at a LOVE for math.  Professor Zahra Hazari states, “If we want to empower students and provide access to STEM careers, it can’t just be about confidence and performance.  Attitudes and personal motivation matters immensely.”  Once again MIND-SET plays a roll in being able to develop a math identity!!!  Please take time to read this article. 

FYI:  We receive this resource in an email from Candi Amos that says: 

Here is the August STEM Magazine ready for distribution as you wish.

Remember, it's PDF printable and you have unlimited distribution.



STEM Magazine August 2015 Issue

November 17, 2014

Creating DIFFERENTIATED Math Assignments in Front Row

Thank you to Sarah Ganus for sharing this great tip with me, so I can pass it along to the staff! Your desire to share with your colleagues is one reason I LOVE teaching. I am thankful for teachers who value the growth of others, not just students. This reminds me of that saying, "You're only as strong as your weakest link."

The Printable page in Front Row allows teachers to create meaningful math worksheets for every student in his or her class. Front Row gives the option to print both Individualized Practice and Standards-Based Practice, depending upon what you want to accomplish that day.

Individualized Practice

The Individualized Practice sheets are created based on the skill (standard or sub-knowledge) on which each student in a class is currently working. With one click of the mouse, you will have a PDF document with a personalized printable for every student.

Click here to see a screenshot of the Printables page

Once you select the domain and click on "Generate (Domain Name) PDF" button, a new tab will open that has a different printable for every student!

After your students are finished practicing, you can check their answers using the answer keys that are generated for each student and located at the bottom of the document. Even if two students are both working on the same skill (3.NBT.2-2.0), they receive printables with different problems.

Since the printables are completely individualized, students are able to work at their own level.

If students work on the same skill for a long time and have difficulty moving on, they will constantly receive different printables to practice that one skill. Since the numbers and questions are different each time, each printable will be different than the time before.