Developing a Growth Mindset (Week 1 Focus)
The challenges of working with struggling students who lack fundamental math skills and concepts are both a content issue and a mindset issue. Mindset is a relatively new concept brought to light largely through the research of developmental psychologist Carol Dweck. Motivation can be a major challenge for students attending summer school. Growth Mindset refers to the idea that people’s intelligence and abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. “This view creates a drive for learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all people have had these qualities” (Dweck, 2006). Instruction for Week 1 will focus on activities that strive to create a “risk-free” classroom environment where all students are willing to take on challenges and push themselves. Because teacher interaction and feedback play such critical roles in students’ mindsets, each week there are featured instructional language frames designed to make the learning clear, make it safe to risk mistakes, and communicate a high confidence in all students’ ability to rise to the learning challenges. The goal is to give learners feedback about their progress and their results so they can specifically see their growth. Growth Mindset concepts developed during summer school: • Every student has the capacity to grow and learn challenging mathematics. • Effort is far more important than talent when working to master new concepts. • Mistakes, challenges, and setbacks are essential and useful parts of the learning process—especially in mathematics. • The brain is like a muscle. Using your brain makes it stronger.
4 Scholar Zone Summer: Math
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