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A Mindset for Success

Session 1

Tony Swainston

Mindset 1: Introduction

Today

Part Session 1: The impact that self-theories have on learning and personal developmentTime

(mins)

1 Introduction and personal objectives 15

2 Using the 4MAT system and KASH 15

3 Self-reflection with the Carol Dweck questionnaire 15

4 Why having a growth mindset is important for academic and personal development 15

5 A whole school approach to influencing the mindsets of pupils 25

6 Rosenthal and the Pygmalion Effect 25

7 Being a positive wizard 5

8 Plan of action 5

Have you got magical hands?

Exercise 1: Three personal objectives

Personal Objectives

1.

2.

3.

Mindset 2: Using the 4MAT system and KASH

KASH

KASH

KnowledgeAttitudeSkillsHabits

Why

How What

If

The 4MAT system

Exercise 2: KASH & 4MAT

KASH is a useful acronym to reminder us about 4 things that we are affecting when we are working on the mindsets of pupils. What other things do you think we are also impacting upon?

The 4MAT model is a useful way of designing lessons. Why do you think it works so well?

Mindset 3: Self-reflection with the Carol Dweck questionnaire

Exercise 3: There are 16 questions like the three below in your course booklet

Mindset 4: Why having a growth mindset is important for academic and personal development

Self-theories

• Carol Dweck is particularly interested in how students view themselves as learners

• Her research shows that a student’s self-theory is likely to have a major effect on their self-belief, their motivation to learn and their aspirations for the future

“Mindset”

Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset

“My ability comes from my talent. It is

in my genes.”

“My ability comes from the effort I put into learning”

When the times get tough and obstacles

come along this person tends to

give in.

When the times get tough and obstacles

come along this person tries harder.

“Fixed Mindset”

These students tend to reject support when things go wrong. They say “I just can’t do it”.

They may say things like “I am hopeless at languages. I just can’t learn them.”

They believe that intelligence and ability are fixed

They try to do things with little effort so that it makes them look clever.They associate “trying” as not being clever at something.

They think that if you have difficulties you must not be bright.

When things go wrong they blame themselves or others. They stop trying and say “What’s the point?”

“Growth Mindset”

These students tend to seek support when things go wrong. They say “If I try more I will succeed”.

They may say things like “I am not good at languages - yet. But I can learn them.”

They believe that intelligence and ability can grow

They like challenges. The want to learn.

They think that difficulties can be interesting. They may be overcome by changing strategies.

When things go wrong they don’t blame themselves or others. They think that difficulties are inevitable and a catalyst for them to find out more.

Academic grades

Holistic development of a child

• Meeting life challenges (1 in 10 children and young people aged 5 - 16 suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder - that is around three children in every class )

• Successful relationships• Happiness• Links with emotional intelligence

How do you view yourself – with a growth mindset or fixed mindset? (Sometimes called an “incremental” or “entity” learner.)Has your self-theory changed or stayed the same since your school days?Discuss in pairs or threes for two minutes.Explain why you have this self-theory.

Exercise 3 continued: Self-reflection with the Carol Dweck questionnaire

Exercise 4: Why having a growth mindset is important for academic and personal development

What are the important ways that you believe a growth mindset (or a fixedmindset) will impact upon the academic and personal development of students?

Mindset 5: A whole school approach to influencing the mindsets of pupils

Read this!

opportunityisnowhere

22

Once you have a belief …..

….. it is hard to shift. But it can change

23

Break the cycle if it is negative

Self talk

Results

Behaviour

A self fulfilling prophecy

24

Pablo Picasso

“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he (she) grows up.”

25

For success we need …..

26

SchoolMindsets

ParentMindsets

PupilMindsets

An

Un

sto

pp

able

Fo

rce

Ways to increase the number of growth mindset studentsStress all around school:

1. Intelligence is not fixed. This is scientifically proven. Education increases IQ. We all learn at different rates & in different ways.

2. The “truth” that many of the most successful and creative people were once judged to have low intelligence.

3. What you are able to achieve nobody knows.

4. What you will achieve will be mostly down to your effort.

5. To learn requires effort. Remind children that if the work is not hard they are not learning. (This helps them to accept high challenge.)

6. When you learn connections in your brain are created that makes it more efficient at learning more. You will become smarter.

7. Great learners learn by asking questions. They seek support.

8. Great learners make mistakes. This is how we learn.

9. Be careful what you tell yourself.

10. Be careful what other people tell you.

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22

333

44

5

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Exercise 5: Ways to increase the number of growth mindset students

From the list of things to stress around the school given below create a diamond-nine.

Make a commitment to yourself that you will support these 10 messages around your school. Write in your booklet the first three messages (1, 2 and 2) that you will focus on in the first week.

Mindset 6: Pygmalion in the classroom

Are we all behaving like fleas?

30

31

VideoFleas in a jar

Pygmalion in the classroom

Rosenthal (1968)

Eventually he proposed four key factors that could help explain how teachers’ expectations influence student learning. They boil down to:

1. climate - warmer and friendlier behaviour towards the bloomers, 2. input - the tendency for the teacher to devote more energy to the bloomers, 3. output - the way the teacher calls on the bloomers more often for answers,

allows more time for answers, helps to shape the answers, and works together with the students and

4. feedback - giving more helpful responses to the bloomers, having expectations of higher level answers, giving more differentiated feedback if they get something wrong. (With the children they have lower expectations of, the teacher will tend to accept low quality responses and they don’t clarify what would have been a good quality response.)

Exercise 6: The importance of working on our own mindsets

What does the fleas in a jar metaphor mean to you?

Do you think that the self-fulfilling prophecy (all the Pygmalion effect) can happen in your classroom at times? How can you prevent this from happening in the future?

How can you create a culture in your classroom where the climate, input, output, and feedback supports the learning of all students?

Mindset 7: Being a positive wizard

Positive Wizards Ltd

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To make all your friends feel that there is something special in each of them.

To be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To give so much time to improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticise others.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Mindset 8: Plan of action

Contact

Tony Swainston,

Managing Director,

Tony Swainston Ltd,

20 Hollins Road, Harrogate, HG1 2JF, England

Tel: +44 (0) 1423 536307 Mob: +44 (0) 7919 045429

Web: www.tonyswainston.com

Email: tony@tonyswainston.com

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