How might implementing a growth mindset in my mathematics classroom improve student achievement and motivation?

Seminar Title

How might implementing a growth mindset in my mathematics classroom improve student achievement and motivation?

Growth Mindset

6th Grade

Elementary

Mathematics

All Disciplines

“I don’t get it.” “I can’t do math.” How many times have you heard these statements in your classroom (or versions of them)? Like me, I’m sure too many times to count. These statements led me to look further into the idea of growth mindset and what it could do for my sixth grade students, primarily in math. We have looked into how our brains can grow and that making a mistake is a path to learning, not a failure, among other concepts. So far, I have seen many of my students push themselves to do better and not give up and they are learning from their mistakes. If you are looking for ideas on how to help your students of any age develop a growth mindset, this session may be for you.

Sara Reinke Rochester Blended 3 St. Mary’s University sarein16@smumn.edu How Might Implementing a Growth Mindset in My Mathematics Classroom Improve Student Achievement and Motivation? Seeing some of my sixth grade students’ lack of motivation and negative attitudes, primarily in math, made me want to dive into my action research question: How might implementing a growth mindset in my mathematics classroom improve student achievement and motivation? The research indicated that instructing students on building a growth mindset in themselves would be a key to increasing motivation. Another focal point was having students revisit their mistakes to help them improve their learning. The literature also suggested having students complete self-assessments or self-reflections as a tool for them to visualize and understand their individual progress. Through my review of literature, I have learned and incorporated ideas related to neuroplasticity and that our brains can grow as we learn new things. I have given examples of failure and how that might lead to greater things down the road. Students have then worked to make corrections on their own mistakes. I have also implemented self-assessments for students to fill out before, during, and after they work on a math chapter based on their daily lesson objectives. After implementing these weekly lessons and utilizing growth mindset throughout my classroom, I can see that my students are more positive and try a little harder than they did before. They care about fixing their mistakes to understand the material better, not only in math class, but also in social studies and science. I hope that continuing to be purposeful in our growth mindset language throughout the rest of the year, will instill the growth mindset in them for years to come.