Growth Mindset in ECS Classroom

I encourage a growth mind setting when Each student has a voice, there is no right or wrong answers students feel free to express their thoughts.

I teach growth mindset by having the students self assess before they come up with a solution. I have them answer: “What do I know right now and how can I apply it the problem”

It is really helpful when a student knows what gaps there are in their understanding and then grow themselves to fill in that gap.

We’re not exploring any new ground here. We’re simply renaming concepts that have been used since before I was in elementary school. ( A very long time ago) All we’re doing is adding the component of behavior modification via positive reinforcement.

I’ve always used a growth mind set strategy in my shop classes, constantly asking kids to work through obstacles and rework success for even better results. Our district evaluations ask us to show student growth, so I appreciate the re-enforcement from code.org on this subject.
Throughout this class and problem solving unit we ask our class to stay open minded and to not criticize failure. We promote questioning, peer evaluation, and allow others to provide input. The student will hopefully get a spark from the positive environment and look at better ways to proceed with work

Something that I do with my students is continually ask them if the answer or the process is the most important part of solving problems, to which the respond in chorus “the process…” They feel comfortable discussing how they think about problems and what relationships they saw or what tools they brought to bear on problems in need of solving. In order to always lead room for growth, I ask my students what they would change next time, knowing what they know now.

I really love the having the growth mindset yourself comment. I think it is so important to setup a culture where students can feel as though they succeed when they try new things, even if those things result in a failed attempt. I often tell my students I do not care how many times you fail, I only care about how many times you get up, brush yourself off and try again.

I emphasize growth mindset by clearly articulating it to my students and parents/guardians and reiterating it throughout the year. Students are graded according to standards-based grading and have the chance to practice more and try another assessment if they do not “yet” meet standards.

I can do more though. I am thinking through making grades throughout this part of the course (and to some extent throughout the rest of the course) based on honestly reflecting on problem-solving steps instead of on completely showing progress in specific content skills. I can see this being implemented partially through individual conferences where I can see exactly where understanding breaks down. I hope it helps students!

As an art teacher, with many students that are often insecure about their artistic ability, I emphasize the importance of the process and practice. My hopes are that it takes the edge off of creating a “perfect” product. In computer science I have tried to focus on modeling problem solving, especially since they know me as the art teacher, which has made learning computer science a more of a class owned pursuit.

I think CS lends itself naturally to growth mindset, since none of us, no matter how long we have been programming, can know it all. And I always look forward to the times when a student shows me how to do something - either something new, or something that I have taught them in a better way.

I try to circulate around my classroom often to observe and assist when necessary. I try to help guide students in the right direction when they have questions and I try to reinforce that it’s a process and the more they practice and work the better they will be. Especially in computer programming, I encourage students to own their mistakes and learn how to fix them because it’s all part of the process.

I try to focus the students on the process of achieving answers rather than on one possible answer. I believe this has allowed the students to feel free to think about other possible solutions which can certainly benefit the problem solving process.

Growth mindset can be
with one on one between students, and with me. I allow students to express what are their wants and needs in any subject.

The growth mindset is a big aspect in my classroom since so many students have never heard or learned anything about computer science topics. I encourage them to find different ways to find a solution and to try new things. I make them search through their own work to make them see where they made a mistake instead of me just pointing the mistake out. I could add extra focus on helping them learn from criticism in a problem solving unit because then they will understand their mistakes and know how to improve their work in the future.

I encourage a growth mindset by praising the learning process rather than the correct answer. Finding ways to celebrate “failures” that lead to discovery has helped this click for many students.

Occasionally, I’ve had students get behind on assignments or projects. Often, these students are worried even panicked about being penalized for being late or getting too far behind. In those instances it has become clear to me the reasons some of these students have fallen behind–they have spent extra time on assignments or projects because they are trying to produce a quality piece of work, or they are taking a different approach and in the process learning and trying to understand a new set of tools. My response has been that I love to see students that are taking the time to be thorough, creative, and produce a quality piece of work vs. just rushing through everything so they can have everything completed (which often does not = depth of thought or quality work and leads to false sense of accomplishment). This has been great to witness students that have this approach.

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It is so important to model what you want your students to learn. I set up a culture in my classroom where students can feel comfortable to do trial and errors. I hope my students learn the process of problem solving and be able to reflect on what they can improve.

I showed this video in my class, and discussed as a parent/teacher how I too have to change how I think sometimes. I gave the example of the common core…and how they want you to explain a process, and that one way isn’t the only way. How as a teacher we have to start teaching that way, and students to be open to understanding the process of things. I showed them this video on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBkQAxt1JXA The discussions were great on how different people problem solve…and how a lot of us have been conditioned to do things ONE way and why… BECAUSE! I loved the discussions we had and I told them to have that sort of mindset going into this section. That collaboration is key to teaching others.

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Every lesson is about growth. I like to use a bell ringer to see what the students already know about the concept. Then it is important to use the beginning knowledge as a starting point from where you want to go with the curriculum. Also throughout the year I use ThinkCERCA to help grow students literacy. As far as using growth mindset in problem solving you can see how students attack a problem and then have them explore different options. The more options they are exposed to solve a problem the more likely they are to grow in their problem solving skils,

I use the graphic for the growth mindset versus the fixed mindset as my background and try to talk about it often, but I have also created a safer environment in my classes for failure. I insist that students turn assignments in, and if they aren’t at least adequately correct, I give them back and press for refinement. We use the word yet a lot. I also encourage my kids to “break” programs, ideas, practices, etc., to find flaws and see them as opportunities to make things better, not as a judgement on themselves or their work.

I guess I already implement it because I always let my students redo their assignments for a better grade. If they didn’t get it right they first time, I let them try again (after we discuss what needs to be fixed). “You almost have it, but not quite - or in this case, not yet.”

I can add extra focus on growth mindset during a unit focused on problem solving during our class discussion time. A lot of times students “guess” at the questions I give them during discussions, and it would be simple to say “that’s an interesting thought, we are on the right track, what some other ideas do you have?”

This can also be used when working with the alogrithims. They may not get the “right” answer the first time, but they can keep attempting it until they do get it. There are no consequences for trying again.