When I started this program I had not read or heard of Carol Dweck’s book, The Growth Mindset. After watching her videos and reading the book, I started to think about how I could incorporate this into my own learning, my teaching, and how it will affect my innovation plan.
Coincidentally, we piloted a new math program this year. As luck would have it, they decided to do the pilot in 2nd grade, rather than start it in kindergarten. My students were lost, frustrated, and ready to give up. I started to implement the growth mindset into my math lessons to let them know that failure was expected and accepted. For some students, this was the thinking that helped them overcome the hurdle of learning math a new way. I saw their frustration levels drop and their confidence grow. This didn’t happen overnight, but it has made a tremendous difference when I start teaching a new unit and concept. I see more of a willingness in them to accept that they will need to put in the work. I teach the gifted and talented students, which by nature, failure for some is enough to derail them. Focusing on the growth mindset has given them a skill that helps them accept “failure for the moment” and lets them know that it’s OK.
Having said all of this, I don’t think having a growth mindset is enough. I do think it’s important to realize that learning is work. It takes effort, commitment, and perseverance. It takes grit. Learning new things doesn’t just happen through osmosis because you tell yourself you have a growth mindset. When I began this program, I didn’t realize the type of learner I had become. I expected to read, study, take a test and get a grade. The CSLE+COVA approach was new to me and it took time to wrap my head around it. Beginning the program by reading and becoming familiar with the Growth Mindset helped me refocus and realign my learning goals with this ADL program.
These experiences I have had as both the learner and the teacher is something I will be able to use when introducing my innovation plan to teachers. The idea of allowing for failure, allowing for time, and allowing for adjustments is what will push my innovation plan forward. Guiding teachers to let go of the “fixed” mindset and adopting a growth mindset will transfer to the students as we implement blended learning in the classroom through a station rotation model.
TED. (2013). Grit: the power of passion and perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth. YouTube. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8.
TED. (2014). The power of believing that you can improve | Carol Dweck. YouTube. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X0mgOOSpLU.
Blended Elementary 