SECONDARY MATH FALL NEWSLETTER
Fixed
Mindset
Growth
Mindset
Intelligence
is
static.
Intelligence
can
be
developed.
Leads
to
a
desire
to
look
smart
and
therefore
a
tendency
to…
Leads
to
a
desire
to
learn
and
therefore
a
tendency
to…
•
Avoids
challenges
•
Embrace
challenges
•
Give
up
easily
due
to
obstacles
•
Persist
despite
obstacles
•
See
effort
as
fruitless
•
See
effort
as
path
to
mastery
•
Ignore
useful
feedback
•
Learn
from
criticism
•
Threatened
by
others’
success
Inspired
by
others’
success
•
OCTOBER 2015
GROWTH MINDSET
Teachers Nurture Growth
Mindsets in Math
In this article in Education Week, Evie Blad reports
on how students’ mindsets can have a direct
impact on achievement in mathematics. “A blend
of family attitudes, cultural ideas, and frustration
often leads students to believe that math ability is
a fixed trait like eye color,” she says. “They
believe they are either born with the skills
necessary to succeed in math class or they’re not.”
Despite skepticism from some parts of the
mathematics field, new strategies are emerging for
teachers to help students develop positive learning
attitudes toward math. Read more. (Education
Week)
RESOURCES ON GROWTH
MINDSET
Work to foster a Growth Mindset in your students.
Find resources for teachers and parents on growth
mindset at The Mindset Kit website.
https://www.mindsetkit.org
https://www.ted.com/talks/
angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit?language=en
•
In her late 20s, Angela Lee Duckworth left a
demanding job as a management consultant at
McKinsey to teach math in public schools in San
Francisco, Philadelphia and New York.
After five years of teaching seventh graders, she
went back to grad school to complete her Ph.D.
in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania,
where she is now an assistant professor in the
psychology department. Her research subjects
include students, West Point cadets, and
corporate salespeople, all of whom she studies to
determine how "grit" is a better indicator of
success than factors such as IQ or family
income.
https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believ
ing_that_you_can_improve?language=en
•
2
Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the
idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn
and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two
ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too
hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to
solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great
introduction to this influential field.