How might implementing a growth mindset change the environment in my math classroom?

Seminar Title

How might implementing a growth mindset change the environment in my math classroom?

Growth Mindset

8th Grade

Middle School

Mathematics

All Disciplines

Do you ever hear your students say “I hate math” or “I’m not any good at math”? Have you ever wondered how you can change this negative perception? I wondered about this very thing which led me to dig deeper into a growth mindset and how implementing it in my classroom would be beneficial. There are many aspects to formulating a growth mindset. One of the areas I stressed was the value of making mistakes. Students need to know that making mistakes and failing is a good thing. This is what allows our brains to learn and continue to grow. By focusing more on the process instead of the outcome, students are able to improve their chances for success. Please join me if you wish to learn about more ways implementing a growth mindset can change your classroom.

Growing more and more frustrated with negative attitudes towards math steered me in the direction of my action research question: How might implementing a growth mindset change the environment in my math classroom? Sub-questions include: How might implementing a growth mindset change the attitudes in my math classroom?; How might implementing a growth mindset change the level of engagement in my math classroom? Research indicates that having a growth mindset leads to greater success by realizing that everyone is capable of learning given the right tools and that success is not based on ability. I felt this would be a great idea to implement with my eighth grade class. Through my review of literature, I found numerous methods for implementing a growth mindset. I decided that I would focus on a just a few after giving an introduction on the neuroplasticity of the brain. I incorporated mindset language with the use of weekly quotes and stressed the value of mistakes to show how our brains grow when we are being challenged by correcting/finding mistakes in problems whether it be the student’s own mistakes or someone else’s. I have a ‘wall of failure’ which gives an example of famous people that failed multiple times before they reached great success. Students are able to see the growth they are making by doing self-assessments of their level of understanding before and after we do a lesson and with the use of daily exit tickets. The greatest difference I have seen to this point is with a student that really struck a chord with me last year. She would constantly write notes on her assignments about how she didn’t have a math brain, hated math, couldn’t do it and so on. So far this year, she has yet to write any notes like this on her papers. The students generally seem to enjoy coming to class more and have made several references to the quotes that have been used as many were hung throughout the school that they colored. They have liked being able to ‘fix’ their mistakes before being scored on quizzes or tests. I am hoping that this change in attitudes will carry through to the following years and with other classes.