Chapter 5:
Who Are Our Learners and
How Do We Get To Know Them Better?
Who Are Our Learners and
How Do We Get To Know Them Better?
Understanding Our Students' Mindsets
By showing respect for our students' mindsets, attitudes, goals, and experiences, we as teachers help them to have a more positive learning experience (Doyle, 2011). A critical mindset to understand and respect is how students' view their own intelligence and abilities.
The work of Carol Dweck (2006), describes two categories of mindsets about personal intelligence and abilities: fixed mindsets and growth mindsets. Students with fixed mindsets believe that their intelligence and abilities won't improve by studying -- instead they see putting effort into a class as a public signal that they aren't smart. Students with growth mindsets believe that their intelligence and abilities are dependent on how hard they study, so they are more willing to take risks and respond to classroom challenges.
By showing respect for our students' mindsets, attitudes, goals, and experiences, we as teachers help them to have a more positive learning experience (Doyle, 2011). A critical mindset to understand and respect is how students' view their own intelligence and abilities.
The work of Carol Dweck (2006), describes two categories of mindsets about personal intelligence and abilities: fixed mindsets and growth mindsets. Students with fixed mindsets believe that their intelligence and abilities won't improve by studying -- instead they see putting effort into a class as a public signal that they aren't smart. Students with growth mindsets believe that their intelligence and abilities are dependent on how hard they study, so they are more willing to take risks and respond to classroom challenges.
Changing Our Students' Mindsets
Students with fixed mindsets about their learning abilities present a challenge to teachers trying to convince them of the benefits of their increased workload associated with active learning (Doyle, 2011). There are specific strategies for building relationships with students and convincing them that they can control the growth of their intelligence and abilities (Dweck, 2006). These strategies including praising students' efforts, teaching them about how the brain learned, providing usable feedback, and teaching them study skills.
Students with fixed mindsets about their learning abilities present a challenge to teachers trying to convince them of the benefits of their increased workload associated with active learning (Doyle, 2011). There are specific strategies for building relationships with students and convincing them that they can control the growth of their intelligence and abilities (Dweck, 2006). These strategies including praising students' efforts, teaching them about how the brain learned, providing usable feedback, and teaching them study skills.
Relationship-Driven Teaching
Since the human brain doesn't separate emotion from cognition (Caine & Caine, 2006), we need to respond to the emotional needs of students to maximize their learning experience (Doyle, 2011). Emotions matter because how students feel about their perception of the teacher's level of caring about them will influence how motivated they will be by a challenging assignment or constructive criticism (Doyle, 2011). The work of Rogers & Renard (1999) recommends that teachers seek to understand their student's emotional sources of motivation and then manage the learning context to make a positive emotional connection with students. The best ways to make this emotional connection is through providing a safe learning environment based on mutual respect, explain what value the learning experience will provide, and provide meaningful evidence of the students' success (Rogers & Renard, 1999).
Since the human brain doesn't separate emotion from cognition (Caine & Caine, 2006), we need to respond to the emotional needs of students to maximize their learning experience (Doyle, 2011). Emotions matter because how students feel about their perception of the teacher's level of caring about them will influence how motivated they will be by a challenging assignment or constructive criticism (Doyle, 2011). The work of Rogers & Renard (1999) recommends that teachers seek to understand their student's emotional sources of motivation and then manage the learning context to make a positive emotional connection with students. The best ways to make this emotional connection is through providing a safe learning environment based on mutual respect, explain what value the learning experience will provide, and provide meaningful evidence of the students' success (Rogers & Renard, 1999).
SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
Self-Talk for Students that Promotes a Growth Mindset
- Teach students to pay attention to their internal self-talk about their intelligence and abilities. Positive growth-mindset self-talk focuses on future possibilities, like "you can do this." Negative fixed-mindset self-talk focuses on past failures, like "you're just not good at this."
- Teach students that they have a choice about what self-talk message they create.
- Teach students to talk back to themselves with a positive growth-mindset. Praising students efforts, not their abilities, is one way to send positive messages that the students can incorporate as self-talk.
- Reinforce students' choice of the growth mindset through positive reinforcement.
PERSONAL AND/OR PROFESSIONAL CONNECTIONS
My high-school guidance counselor taught us a very powerful self-talk strategy that I still teach to students each semester. As part of a training she gave focused on reducing test anxiety, she recommended the following visualization exercise:
- Close your eyes and imagine the person in your life who is most supportive of you. Imagine that they are standing just behind you and have their hand on your shoulder.
- Let yourself feel the warmth of their love and support.
- Imagine them patting their hand on your shoulder and telling you over and over, "You can do this. You can do this."
- Open your eyes and know that, "You can do this."
RESOURCES
Caine, G., & Caine, R. (2006). Meaningful learning and the executive functions of the human brain. In S. Johnson & K. Taylor (Eds.), The neuroscience of adult learning (pp.53–62).San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Doyle, T. (2011). Learner-centered teaching: Putting the research on learning into practice. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus.
Dweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. NewYork:Random House.
Rogers, S. ,& Renard, L. (1999). Relationship-driven teaching. Educational Leadership. September, 34–37.
Doyle, T. (2011). Learner-centered teaching: Putting the research on learning into practice. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus.
Dweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. NewYork:Random House.
Rogers, S. ,& Renard, L. (1999). Relationship-driven teaching. Educational Leadership. September, 34–37.