Growth Mindset and Universal Design Learning

  Because I am teaching in the cafeteria this year (fondly referred to as the classeteria), I found it wildly important to go 100% digital. So far, it has worked well, with lots of grace and patience extended to both students AND The teacher. I do my best to maintain a growth mindset, especially with how we have had to start the year; however, I have noticed that there are some things that make my tiny "fixed mindset" voice rise up and scream in protest--like grading procedures and the idea that I don't have to grade EVERYTHING my students do. Fortunately, my growth mindset  voice wins in the end, and keeps me on the right track. 

    I love the idea of Universal Design Learning, because it helps students to understand the "why" behind the lessons. So often, teachers focus so much on content that they forget to stop and explain the reasoning behind what they are learning. Over the last several years , I have done my best to explain to my students WHY we do some of the more complex things we do, the way we do them. I have found that when I do this, my students are able to focus better on competing their work. Conversely, when I tell them they have to do it a certain way "because I said so," fewer of my students will engage with the lesson or the work. Like most people, they just want to know that they are not just wasting their time by doing busy work. 

    Be sure to check out my Growth Mindset plan!  

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

 For more years than I can remember, I have lived by the motto, "Improvise, adapt, and overcome."  This school year, more so than the last 20 years, this motto has served me well.  As a coach and a teacher, I have tried to teach my students that "I can't "  should not be part of their vocabulary; but over the years, I have learned that simply adding the word "yet" to the end of that sentence has made all the difference in their motivation for improvement. Over the years, I have seen those students who really grab hold of the "yet" work their way from lower level middle school sports teams to varsity level high school teams--a few even to college teams. This growth mindset is what I try to instill in every one of my students. 

     As I have gotten older, I have discovered the NECESSITY of maintaining a growth mindset. Without it, I just don't think I would have survived this long as an educator. This pandemic  has changed the face of education, and I have watched teachers with a fixed mindset panic, cry, and even quit. Those who continue to improvise, adapt and overcome, still get frustrated ( and maybe cry a little), but they keep pushing through, finding solutions to the problems they run into, and working collaboratively with others to help them along the way as well. 

    In the 2nd nine weeks, my AVID classes will be discussing Growth mindset and how having one can help you be successful in school, in work, and in LIFE!