1. A Growth Mindset: Motivating Students to Learn
Phebe Shen
8-9 February, 2016
Karatekin University

2. About me I love traveling and have visited 27 countries
Grew up in Seattle, Washington
Ethnically Chinese (Made in Taiwan)
Writing instructor and project coordinator for international students for over ten years
I love traveling and have visited 27 countries
Most recently, I went to Cappadocia in Turkey (Brrrr)
Favorite Turkish food so far: kunefe

3. Have you ever heard the following?
“English is so hard.”
“I can’t do this.”
“I give up.”
“I’m bad at languages.”
“Why do we have to do this?”

4. Affective factors in language learning
Students’ affective filter can negatively affect students’ language learning
Fear of failure, lack of motivation, self-perception as learner, fear of making mistakes, lack of self- confidence, etc., all can impact how well a student learns a language
How do we help students overcome these factors to become better students and language learners?

5. What is intelligence?
Find a partner and tell them if you agree or disagree with the following statements and why:
1. Everyone is born with a certain amount of intelligence that determines how smart we are.
2. Teachers should tell students that they are smart.
3. Once we get to a certain age, our brains stop developing.

6. Kahoot.it

7. Can we get smarter? We often think of intelligence as fixed.
However, new research focuses more on how the brain is like a muscle and gets stronger with use: neuroplasticity.
Muscles are as something we develop with use. When not used, certain parts shrink.
“Use it of lose it!”

8. How the brain works

9. Animal brains grow with stimulus

10. So do human brains

11. Our brains can get smarter!
When we learn new things, the dendrites, which create connections between brain cells, grow and get stronger.
The more connections are made and strengthened, the easier something gets.
How we think about learning and intelligence affects our attitudes towards tasks that are difficult, like learning a language.

12. What is a growth mindset?

13. Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
Intelligence like eye color: fixed
Intelligence like muscle: it can grow
Avoid challenges
Embrace challenges
Give up easily due to obstacles
Persist despite obstacles
See effort as useless
See effort as path to mastery
Ignore useful feedback
Learn from criticism
Threatened by others’ success
Inspired by others’ success

14. Developing Growth Mindset in Students
Be a model! Share a personal story about a time when you overcame a struggle in learning and overcame a problem.
Focus on the following:
1. Hard work
2. Strategies
3. Help from others
Share your story with a partner!

15. Praise the Process, Not the Person
Our natural inclination is to praise students and kids for being smart
Studies show that students who receive praise for being smart did worse on more challenging exams than those students who were praised for effort.

16. Do’s and Don’ts of Praise
Instead of (Person Praise)
Try (Process Praise)
Great job! You must be smart!
Great job! You must have tried really hard!
See, you are good at English. You got an A on your last test.
You really studied for your English test and your improvement shows it.
You got it! I told you that you were smart.
I like the way you tried all kinds of strategies on that problem until you finally got it.
You are such a good student!
I love the way you stayed at your desk, you kept your concentration, and you kept on working. That’s great!

17. Yoda and Growth mindset

18. Help Students to Adopt the Right Mindset
Instead of…
Try…
I’m not good at this.
What am I missing?
I give up.
I’ll use some of the strategies we learned.
I made a mistake.
Mistakes help me improve.
This is too hard.
This may take some more time and effort.
I’ll never be as smart as she is.
I’m going to figure out what she did so I can try it.

19. Other Activities
Have students create a chart for class on how to have a growth mindset. They can use the phrases from the handout or something they make up.
Make growth mindset recognition cards. (Lots of examples on Pinterest)
Have students write a letter to a future student that shares a struggle they had when trying to learn something. How did it make them feel? How did they overcome it and what did they learn? Collect the letters and pass it back to the students during a difficult time, such as final exams.
Have a growth mindset rubric.

20. A growth mindset is for all of us
We must also foster a growth mindset in ourselves authentically
Be a lifelong learner
Grow in our own mindsets, strategies, and habits as learners
Model and teach students about what it means to be an effective learner

21. Growth mindset song

22. Questions and Contact Information
Please feel free to contact me at:
Phebe Shen
I would love to hear about how you:
used what you learned in the workshop
adapted the ideas into your classes
shared with others
any other ideas or feedback you have.

23. Sources “Do’s and don’ts of praise”by mindsetkit.org
“Growth Mindset Lesson Plan” by Khan Academy and PERTS
Willis, Judy. “Praise that Discourages Children.” Psychology Today.
“You can grow your intelligence” by mindsetwork.com