Pupil Support Worker Conference 22 nd January 2016 Mindsets Lesley Williams and Laura Clark Educational Psychology Service

Take the mindset quiz Think about how you would have answered these questions when you were in school ? What kind of mindset do you have?

Are we born smart or not? Is intelligence fixed from birth? Do we have ‘built-in’ talents as a baby? Or… do talents, abilities and intelligence itself grow from experience?? What we’ll be looking at

1. Born SMART….?

At birth, we can’t WALK or TALK These abilities don’t pop up overnight…. ….. they DEVELOP as we LEARN!! Importance of development

Good at maths? Good at acting? Good at science? Good at music? So, are we born…

Was Einstein born a genius?

Was Michael Jordan born slam dunking?

Was Taylor Swift born a singer?

What can we learn about learning from animals?

Ratty intellect… BORING Nothing to do in the cage but eat and sleep –No stimulation EXCITING Cage had opportunities for rats to play and interact –Lots of stimulation Lab rats were placed in 2 different environments:

After a while, the stimulated rats were found to be smarter than the boring rats. Their brains were even HEAVIER than the boring rats. Rat results

What do you think? Are our abilities determined from birth?

Two beliefs about intelligence

Fixed mindset Believes: Intelligence is CARVED IN STONE Scores in a test MEASURE POTENTIAL Intelligent people shouldn’t have to WORK HARD Failure reflects a LACK of INTELLIGENCE

Growth mindset Believes: Intelligence is MALLEABLE Learning requires HARD WORK and EFFORT ALL individuals CAN LEARN and improve We CANNOT MEASURE a person’s POTENTIAL

Thinking about mindset OBSERVE the mindset you adopt You can CHOOSE to adopt a growth mindset When you meet challenges REMIND yourself about the growth mindset

2: The Brain

The brain weighs 1,300 – 1,400 grams It is mostly made up of water and makes up about 2% of the body’s weight It uses 20% of the body’s energy It is made up of 100 Billion neurons Forming different areas called Lobes Facts about the brain…

Frontal Lobe Parietal Lobe Temporal Lobe Occipital Lobe

Emotion Reasoning Speech Motion Planning Problem solving Impulse control The Frontal lobes are used for:

The Parietal lobe is used in: Touch Pressure Temperature Pain

The Temporal lobe is used for: Hearing Memory

Vision We use this lobe to process what we see The Occipital lobe is used for:

The different parts of the brain let us do things think things remember things All of the lobes, and all their functions, are important in everyday life.

Learning helps our neurons GROW. The more we learn, the more connections they make.

What about your brain? Tell the person next to you about a skill that you have mastered through practice. What about a new skill that you are learning or would like to learn? How could knowing about the brain change your mindset when you approach a task? How could you talk about these examples to support your pupils’ learning?

In summary… The brain is like a muscle that gets stronger and works better the more it is exercised. Too often pupils believe the brain is static, leading them to think talent and giftedness are permanent, unchanging personal attributes that automatically bring later success. Every time you work hard, stretch yourself and learn something new your brain forms new connections and over time you actually become smarter.

3: Promoting and Supporting a Growth Mindset Goals Responses Praise

Different ways people view failure Some people view it as a learning opportunity. They value learning. While others view it as confirmation that they are not smart.

Goals: are the things we aim for

Goals: performance Those with a FIXED MINDSET tend to create PERFORMANCE goals. They believe that a person’s POTENTIAL can be MEASURED. They aim to receive validation from others. Receiving low marks mean that they are not smart. Both success and failure cause ANXIETY.

Goals: learning Those with a growth mindset tend to create LEARNING goals. The goal is MASTERY and COMPETENCE. Scores and marks reflect how people are doing NOW and do not measure a person’s potential. Creating goals for learning has shown to INCREASE PERFORMANCE and enjoyment and decrease negative emotion.

Responses: are how we react to events

Response: helpless Fixed mindset Unmotivated Lack of perseverance Decreased enjoyment Depressed Anxious Responsible for the setback Disengaged and avoid getting involved with studying

Response: mastery Growth mindset View setback as a challenge Try harder Look for other ways to do things Factor in many different points Engage with the problem ?

Praise People are very sensitive to the messages they receive about themselves. The way we interact with young people can foster either a growth or a fixed mindset. Praise for effort v. praise for ability.

Praising for ability (e.g. talent or intelligence) Praising intelligence makes kids fragile. “Wow, you’re really smart!” “Look at how well you did on this project. You are so intelligent!” Our tendency to praise gifted children for their intelligence may actually be detrimental to their long-term intellectual growth and development.

The Alternative: Praise for effort “You must have tried very hard!” “ You really studied for your test and your improvement shows it!” “ I like that you took on a challenging project. You’re sure going to learn a lot.” “I love that you kept trying, even when it got difficult! Good job!” “ I like the way you tried all kinds of strategies on that Maths problem until you got it!”

Praise for effort (cont.) Ask questions about their work in a way that admires and appreciates their efforts and choices and gets them to reflect on the satisfaction they feel from working hard. - “You put so much thought into that essay. How did it feel to hand it in? -“That picture has so many beautiful colours. Tell me about them. -“I could tell you put in a lot of practice on that piano piece. How did it feel to perform it?

Praise for effort (cont.) For a pupil who worked hard but didn’t do well: -“I liked the effort you put in, but let’s work together to identify some new strategies to try next time” -“We all learn things at a different pace. It may take more time for you to catch on to this, but if you keep working as hard as you are, you’ll get it” -“Everyone learns in a different way. Let’s keep trying to find the way that works for you”

Providing Feedback Instead of focusing on a student’s score on a test or assignment, provide specific feedback – Look at mistakes as opportunities to talk with students about strategies, effort, and their understanding – Help students focus on learning as a process rather than one-time performance – Provide specific feedback on what kept the student from succeeding and how he/she can improve

Providing Feedback (cont.) Be honest with pupils and then give them the tools to do better. – “You scored 3 out of 10 on the reading test. Here’s the intervention we’re going to do together twice a week to improve your reading.” - “You received 2 yellow cards for talking out in class and disrupting the learning environment. Here are some strategies for getting the teacher’s attention without getting in trouble.”

What will I say? I’m not good at this I’m awesome at this I give up This is too hard I can’t make this any better I just can’t do Maths I made a mistake She’s so smart. I’ll never be that smart It’s good enough Plan A didn’t work What are you missing? You’re on the right track Try some of the strategies you’ve learned This might take you some time and effort You can always improve so keep trying You need to train your brain in Maths Mistakes help you learn better You need to figure out how she does it so you can try it Is it really your best work? Good thing the alphabet has 25 more letters!

Lasting change Use frequent formative feedback High levels of challenge for every pupil Explicitly welcome mistakes Engaging in deliberate practice Reward effort not attainment Model a Growth Mindset

Summary A growth mindset helps people to be motivated and to succeed A growth mindset can be learnt We can foster a growth mindset in others by the type of feedback we give and by teaching them about the brain’s huge potential Role models give people evidence of the growth mindset in action

Resources Websites Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing Mindsetworks.com Book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol Dweck