We hear people in education and the world around us refer to teaching a “growth mindset” all the time. If you are unfamiliar with the work of Carol Dweck, I must insist that you check it out. It has such powerful implications for us as educators. That being said, we do have some growth mindset misconceptions that we need to tackle as we move forward. Check out this post for some food for ... Read the Post
Test Prep and Growth Mindset
Test Taking It's that time of year when many of us are charged with helping our students navigate the world of standardized test taking. We all acknowledge that testing is a double-edged sword--but if we as the "grown ups" can keep things in perspective, we can lessen stress for the students and US as well! We have the power to make a HUGE difference in how our students (and their parents) ... Read the Post
Back to school ideas and more!
Starting to think about hunting for back to school ideas? I know there are tons of blog posts out there about organization, bulletin boards, and more--but today I just wanted to share a few of my favorite back to school resources that might help you as you start to plan those first weeks. Along with them, I have included some new video previews that I have created, and I would LOVE to know your ... Read the Post
Growth Mindset for Kids
If you have followed me for any length of time, you know that I am a huge believer in helping students learn the "behaviors" needed to be successful students and human beings. The idea of "Growth Mindset" is trendy right now--but it is really important to know the research and reasoning behind this movement. We need to develop a growth mindset definition as well as a better understanding of how ... Read the Post
Academically Rich Test Prep: 6 Ideas for a Realistic, Logical Approach
Before we begin, I want to address the issue of standardized testing. It is getting a pretty bad rap in the media and among teachers--and for good reason. We test more than ever. We spend more time PRACTICING to test than ever. The stakes are higher than ever. And this saddens me...because standardized testing DOES have a purpose when done in a reasonable way. ... Read the Post
Perseverance, math collaboration, and the standards for mathematical practice…
After a few weeks off from school, I noticed that we were missing a little "spark" in math class...students seemed flat...a little "out of practice" with all our work of collaborating and talking about math. I decided it was time to break out some challenge problems and to remember this phrase off our growth mindset bulletin board... I think in our time off, some of us forgot how powerful ... Read the Post
Encouraging Productive Struggle
Last weekend I posted my thoughts about valuing "math behaviors" and the need to help students recognize some of the more "affective" sides to learning math. The more I have been thinking about it, the more I think teachers need to talk about this--we tend to get so caught up in the "rigor" discussion that we forget to talk about how to help our students navigate this challenge. The ... Read the Post