1) In "Elizabeth's Dilemma," Dweck (2006) gives five possible choices. Did your initial response change after you read the narrative describing Dweck's explanation about each choice? Why or why not?
2) Carol Dweck's (1999, 2000, 2006) mindset theory derives from her initial interest in attribution theory. How do you think her research on attribution theory led their to her conclusions about mindsets?
3) What is the difference between working harder and working smarter? How can you guide a learner to work smarter?
Additional Resources:
Meet the Robinsons - Keep Moving Forward
Brain Growing Videos
Growth Mindset Videos
Power of Believing You Can Improve - Carol Dweck
Power of Belief
Growth Mindsets and Motivation
Growth Mindsets in the Classroom via Pinterest
***Next week we will read and discuss Chapter 6, What Do I Get for Doing It? (Examining Rewards).
***Have a great week :)
In the Nine-year-old Elizabeth Dilemma I was wrong for choosen option #4. As an educator and parents my first intuition was to be encouraging to Elizabeth and not hurting her feeling denote her effort. After reading the analysis of and possible reaction, I am bemused that option #5 is the best because Dweck in her research believe that kids should be told exactly what is wrong if we are to help them have a growth mindset set.
ReplyDeleteMy response changed because Dweck's response reminded them me of Dr. Kent Keith book "paradoxical cimmandment" who stated that honesty and truthfulness will make you vulnerable, be honest and truthful anyways. Students will appreciate the truth much more than meeting then half way because that student knew that he/she did not do their very best. As a disciplinarian, I told students the truth when prossessing them concerneing their behavior on assertive discipline referral so why not do the same in the classroom. Students appreciate us adult telling them the truth which in turn help then to acquired growth mindset as adult.
DeleteI love the Paradoxical Commandments"!!
DeleteI need to read his books. Thank you so very much for sharing this week :)
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
AMEN!!!!
Delete2. I believe that Dweck's research on attribution theory led to her conclusions on mindsets because if a student's success is based upon "their view of themselves in the world," then a fixed mindset implemented by false statements or beliefs can deter a student from achieving success because their understanding of themselves has been corrupted or skewed. Unfortunately, I see this quite often, and I feel that it places me in a difficult position when I have to amend this self view especially with students that have been led to believe that they are superior to others in some way or have talents that are not existent. As related in the book, this happens often with students that have been provided with false praise. For example, I many times have students in my English classes that have low level writing skills or average writing skills, but their previous grades do not reflect this fact. Often these students are extremely nice kids that may have been promoted due to personality, and when they receive a poor grade, they are devastated because this has never happened before. Just the other day I was speaking to a parent in regards to cheating. I had spoken to this parent before because the parent was concerned with the child's progress. According to the parent the child had a lot of talent. This parent's child was an average writer at best, and the student was achieving a average grade in my class until the student was caught cheating, which greatly lowered the students grade. The parent was not happy and told me that all of the other English teachers said this student was a great writer. How does one respond to that? All I could think of was to reply that while that might have been true previously, it was not true on the assignments that I had seen, and I reminded the parent that the reason I was calling was because the student had plagiarized a paper and cheated on another assignment. I felt really bad telling the parent this, but I have seen this before - students that have possibly been promoted on personality and not performance. Unfortunately, when these students reach a higher level, they panic because they cannot perform to the expectations of their fixed mindset and cheating occurs or students will quit working or will blame the teacher. When I work with students like this, I try very hard to connect with the students and illustrate to them how they can improve, so they can function at a higher academic level. Sometimes this is initially met with anger or uncertainty, but oftentimes students are appreciative because they really do not want to fail and they really do not want to cheat. They just want to know how to achieve success, and they appreciate "real" feedback. Students know when teachers are being false. Students know when their work is not at grade level standard, and I truly believe it frustrates them when we are not genuine.
ReplyDelete" For example, I many times have students in my English classes that have low level writing skills or average writing skills, but their previous grades do not reflect this fact"....Ohhhh Amen, Amen, Amen...as a former English 12 teacher, I completely understand! I always felt like the "baddie" because I felt obligated to direct their attention to their bad writing habits - because I felt like I was the last stop before college and/or career. I am old as dirt - wasn't graded via a rubric - but instead via the mighty red ink pen - and I often wonder if the rubric has been more of a stumbling block than an advantage - because it doesn't point out "specific" errors?? Who knows...maybe I am crazy. Thank you so much for sharing this week!!!!
DeleteI went from the Purple pen (hated the red) to the rubric and can see benefits and disadvantages to both. The rubric allows students to know what is expected but I do believe that at times students just hit was the rubric was asking instead of going beyond and found myself writing more specifics details on the rubric like using the purple/red pen on the paper. We had a Superintendent once who required us all (well pushed the issues when we had his child in class) to have rubrics. I do find them to be a good guide but restricting or too open when grading.
DeleteIn Elizabeth's Dilemma, I chose #4 because I felt I needed to say something positive. I truly did not like any of the choices as they were worded. I didn't like #4 entirely because it said that she would surely win next time. My next choice would have been #5, the correct choice, but I felt it was worded too harshly...."You didn't deserve to win." Perhaps "Your routines did not deserve to win." would have been better. In #4 I didn't feel right saying she would surely win next time, as one has no way of knowing what next time's competition will be.
ReplyDeleteHowever, after reading the explanation, I get it! We need to be honest. And we need to explain why so students can grow and learn. BUT how easy comments flow off our tongues..."Next time, Buddy!" "You were great!" "You're so smart!" I am guilty of it with my own kid, in the classroom, on the sports field....it's going to be a nasty habit to break! The author even comments that one of the hardest thinns for her to do is to remember not to compliment children's innate abilities and intelligences, and instead give feedback.
Jennifer....I plan on creating a list and posting them throughout my classroom so I can practice them. My memory fails me in my older age, lol.
DeleteJennifer,
DeleteI catch myself saying the same comments that you mentioned. It is a very hard habit to break. Since starting this book, I have worked on being careful of how/when I praise students. Last week I had several students get out of their seat to come up and show me that they completed an activity and earned a 100%. They are so used to being praised by adults for their innate abilities and intelligences.
#3 I believe working harder is when a student puts more effort into studying the whole chapter even if they have mastered the objective. They are not focused on the area they need to grow in, so there is less progress made. Working smarter has more of a focus on what needs to be mastered or on what they need to know, more resources are used to help master the goal and students look at the problem from different angles.
ReplyDeleteOne way to get students to work smarter is by setting smart goals. Set a goal that's specific, realistic, relevant and measurable. As teachers we need to teach them how to set up a goal or goals.
That's a great idea to use goals to help students work smarter. Maybe turning objectives into questions asked from various angles will help them achieve those smarter goals. I am going to implement that into my weekly benchmark sheets. Thanks!
Delete1) In "Elizabeth's Dilemma," Dweck (2006) gives five possible choices. Did your initial response change after you read the narrative describing Dweck's explanation about each choice? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteMy initial choice was the fourth one. However, as I was reading the choices I didn't like any of them. I find myself changing my mindset of how I respond to students. I felt the second part of choice 4 was not something that should be said based on prior reading. I felt choice five was a little harsh without a follow up. Once I read on, and the follow up to choice five was presented, it definitely was the choice that I would have selected had there been more information. Prior to reading the book, I think I would have thought choice four was definitely the right choice. I love that this book is challenging me to think and respond in different ways. I am definitely practicing my responses with my students. It is definitely a work in progress.
I feel the same way Marcella. My thoughts on how to change students mindset is growing with this book. I agree that more information needs to be provided in order to push student to the "Zone of Proximal Development".
DeleteI chose #1 at first because I took it as the way I thought she did, her personal best, not necessarily the best out there that day. When I got to the answer I was shocked that she was told she didn't deserve to win was the correct answer. After thinking about it though, she didn't deserve to win because the other gymnasts were better than her in their skills. The younger generations of students/people feel so entitled to everything....EVERYONE gets a ribbon/award for some reason or another. If we aren't doing well enough, then we should not be rewarded. In addition, had I used answer #1 I would have been setting her up for failure the for the next meet because she would not have been given any of the advice needed to be successful in the future. This all makes me think of my fixed mindset I have always had about running. I recently decided to take up the physical activity of running (I won't share my age, lol). I have always thought I could not do it, but with practice and an open mindset I have been able to work up to running 6 miles with a 13 minute mile pace, something I thought I could never do. If I ran a 5K and received a ribbon for coming in last place, it would probably make me feel defeated with a "consolation" prize. The better choice with this is to give us our finish time, which gives us an opportunity to improve in the future. This have been my favorite chapter so far.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter definitely opened me to my own issues of "fixed-mindedness." Honestly when we as educators explore our own struggles and use them as examples to our students, we can truly get the point across. I chose the 4th option, which come to find out was the most popular. It makes perfect sense though to use the last one because it does provide her with information she needs to grow. Pretty cool!
DeleteI chose #1, too, so you're not alone. I really wasn't sure which one to pick so I thought that was the best one. This chapter has given me the most to think about so far.
DeleteIn "Elizabeth's Dilemma," Dweck (2006) gives five possible choices. Did your initial response change after you read the narrative describing Dweck's explanation about each choice? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteIt did change. I, like many others, would have selected option 4. Options 1-3 seems too entitled and 5 just seemed too harsh. Option 4 wasn’t the best, but it seemed like a happy medium, especially if my daughter is in a fragile state. I could end on a happy note
Having read the explanation, I believe that I have come to a cross roads. Affirming students’ abilities has been a go-to method for me to build rapport, to encourage the student, and to build expectation. I would say stuff like, “I saw how you scored on the standardized test. You should definitely have the abilities to do this class.” If I really evaluate the results, though, my good intentions often fall flat. Many of these students I am talking to know that they have a certain level of ability. Everyone has told them that before. But having their abilities affirmed hasn’t worked for them before and it doesn’t work now. Their issue is effort. I realized that I often focus on the abilities because that was the learning environment that I grew up in. I remember being ashamed because I had to study hard to get an A whereas my friends would brag about not studying and still getting an A. The examples in the text stuck out like a sore thumb over and over again in the chapters of my own life. Being ability-identified, I find myself at a loss when I went to college and found myself surrounded by brilliant people who greatly exceeded my abilities. Often when I don’t succeed, I would justify that “it’s just not my thing.”
Choosing the path from the fixed to growth mindset opens up a world of potential for myself and for my students. This would require real honesty and transparency in terms of effort and accomplishment. One of the challenges for me as an educator is that many of my students are already set on the fixed mindset for their whole educational career. Rewiring the mindset and reestablishing the ceiling to their accomplishments is exciting but also challenging at the same time. Even in my verbiage, effort and perseverance has to be emphasized over ability. I am still learning how to incorporate this into our class room flow.
Carol Dweck's (1999, 2000, 2006) mindset theory derives from her initial interest in attribution theory. How do you think her research on attribution theory led to her conclusions about mindsets?
ReplyDeleteWhere a student attributes his/her success and failures clearly shows what type of mindset he/she carries. I think first of all it is interesting to note that a student may have different mindsets in different areas. I had always believed a learner either had a fixed or growth mindset across the board. Having various mindsets in various situations makes the task a little more challenging yet continues to tailor education and growing to the specific learner.
Learning and the techniques used to master all new material are ultimately in the learner’s head. It is the task of the educator to open the learner’s mind to his/her weaknesses. I would suggest starting the school year asking students, “What type of mindset do you have?” This will require them to research fixed vs growth mindset and prepare them to think about their own thinking.
I do a lot of journal activities with my students will definitely be introducing this concept to their journal writing at the beginning of the year. I do want to focus on praising effort, perseverance, attitude, and commitment rather than their level of academic depth. I would like to see the students search for themselves where they typically attribute their own success and failures. When they know where they place the blame, they can more easily figure out from which mindset they are drawing conclusions.
All of my students have a higher percentage of fixed mindset in all courses. It is my job to take them from being of a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. I will do that by praising the attributes they can control; providing honest feedback that gives them the information they need to improve.
Honestly.....If I answered Elizabeth's Dilemma from her mother's viewpoint..I would have chosen answer (1)...I was that mother that told her children "I" thought they were amazing....I know children need at least one person to believe in them... I surely would have never chosen answer (5). It sounded so mean! After reading the chapter though, I realize that telling your children the truth is the better choice. However, I would have had to rephrase it! After being a mother and then becoming a teacher my own mindset has shifted. We tell our students that if you are not making mistakes, you are not learning. We also tell them that we challenge brains at our school and that there is no easy button! So I personally have been working on my own specific feedback to students! Not lying to children, but expressing how I believe in their effort. Sometimes working harder, will make you smarter!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the correct response sounding mean. "You did not deserve to win." is about the child. "Your gymnastic routine did not deserve to win." is about her performance that day. That encourages her to work on her routine, which is what needs to be done.
DeleteMe too!!!
DeleteWe are learning.
After reading "Elizabeth's Dilemma" and Dweck's five possible choices, I struggled for a few minutes as to what answer to choose. I didn't really like any of the choices, but it came down to #4 and #5. I didn't like the first two choices because of the sense of entitlement they would bring by telling someone they were the best or deserved something they did not. The third choice didn't seem appropriate because she probably would not have been doing gymnastics if it wasn't important to her. For #4 I didn't like the part about telling Elizabeth that she would surely win the next time. You can't guarantee something like that. The wording for statement #5 seemed a bit harsh, but that is what I chose. After reading the explanations for all of the responses, especially #5, I felt better. Reviewing the events of the day and figuring out where improvement is needed would be something that I would have added to the initial statement.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading the choices, I thought of times when I would play review games with my class. Students who didn't win would get upset, place blame on their teammates, or place blame on the other team or even me. I would tell the class that they need to study more if they weren’t happy with how they, or their team, did. We would also talk about how no one can win at everything they do or play. As I look back, there were times when I could have spent a little more time giving specific, useful feedback. This would have instilled more of a growth mindset and helping them to improve. I could have had students reflect on how they did playing the game, thinking about what areas of the material they seemed confident in and what areas they felt they needed to improve in.
As an educator, I was guilty of given excessive praise to kids for acting right or beIng kind to one another. After reading this chapter, I have different view of how I conduct business in the office when dealing with student. I seriously belief that #5 comment was a little too harsh but it's okay to let kids know exactly where they stand and let them understand where you are coming from when instituted punishment that fit the offense.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading Elizabeth’s dilemma, I was not immediately drawn to any of the provided five choices. However, underneath the text box, it seemed that my hesitation had been noted in others earlier—for the text explicitly stated that a choice needed to be made and the combinations were not accepted. As such, I read through the options a second time, and I selected the fourth option. While I did not completely agree that the Elizabeth would “surely win the next time,” it seemed to be the closest variation to a statement that I would make. This statement seemed to implicitly praise the work that went into her gymnastic routines and emphasized a hope for future meets while continuing to encourage her in her hobby.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading the explanation, however, I did note how such statements could be ineffective (and negative), specifically when considering that I would be praising her ability and not her effort. This made me reflect on other statements that I make in relation to complementing my students. While my intentions are to complement their effort and work, the phrasing I employ may instead skew towards an inherent ability. Further noting the emphasis on growth mindset I have had for my students, this presents an opportunity for me to employ the mindset myself.
Seeing the benefit in the fifth statement (while I may have expanded upon the provided statement-much as she does later in the text), this has reaffirmed the benefits of emphasizing learning as a process. This also allows for there to be a normalcy in mistakes and emphasizes their purpose and the benefits they can present. Framing events in this way, I think will further allow for my students to see the benefits of trying-even if the results were not what was desired.
Very well said. Thank you.
Delete#1: After reading this chapter and throughout, it was a real eye opener to how do we as educators and parents respond to children and others. In “Elizabeth’s Dilemma”, I did not see myself as just one of her responses. I find that I am honest in telling children what I feel, but I add a twist to things to make then feel good about themselves. I found after reading, that this is probably not the best way to help children and others reach higher goals in life. I really liked that to help people do better they need to be in the growth mindset. I can see working with special needs students how they are hard on themselves and give up so easily. I also have children of my own that fall sometimes into the Fixed Mindset and don’t stretch themselves farther. They give up so easily and won’t try when things get hard. In today’s society, I feel people fall into having a fixed mindset and we as educators need to help student learn to have more of a growth mindset and to try things new ways. I love when I see a teacher give students a project and they are told that they have to create how to do it. The higher level students want to just be told how and what to do to earn an A, while the lower kids just want to know what they ‘have’ to do in order to get a passing grade. I see both ends of the spectrum as not stretching out their minds and growing.
ReplyDeleteOn how to get kids to have more of a growth mindset, I love what she says here: “Feedback doesn’t have to be effusive, over-the-top praise. It just needs to be honest, specific, and helpful.” In my life I have worked hard to always push trust and honestly with my students and own children. I really think that being honest in what we say to kids will help them learn to work smarter. Just because a task or project is not completed in the exact same way does not mean the information is not correct and the final project doesn’t meet all guidelines. Getting student to think outside the box and to keep trying, will help them throughout all of their lives in many aspects.
1. No it did not!! I chose #5--as a parent--I am very tough. Growing up I was always pushed to do better and be better and so that carried over with my own children! I know that I need to explain my thoughts and answers a little better when I am correcting or consoling my children.
ReplyDelete2. I have done work with mindsets before and it's just so spot on! If they have this learned helplessness---than they have a fixed mindset! It's always about how I look now and what people think of me now...it's all connected! Kids need to focus more on themselves and worry about themselves more than always just comparing to others or worrying what others think! The learned helplessness has become an epidemic! :)
3. Working smarter---walking through the steps and understand when the problem occurred or when a mistake was made! Helping to understand the WHY of the process! Getting the learners to use their words more and to communicate what's going on in that head of theirs is key to helping them succeed! Learn how to ask for help, ACCEPT help, and work past the mistakes!
Via Suzanne Zybert...
ReplyDeleteIn "Elizabeth's Dilemma," Dweck (2006) gives five possible choices. Did your initial response change after you read the narrative describing Dweck's explanation about each choice? Why or why not? Yes-I initially chose 4. However after reading on and analyzing the importance of effective feedback, yet again, I understood why 5 should have been the selection. In retrospect it made total sense that it was the worst answer. I am looking forward to the future discussion on this poor selection in the future pages. The reasoning of honest, detailed, nonjudgmental feedback goes back to the previous chapter statement of the importance of feedback being specific, constructive, and task specific.
I didn't like any of the answers for Elizabeth's dilemma and decided to pick #1. I was trying to think of what I had said to my own kids as they were growing up and doing things that gave them ribbons or trophies, but I couldn't remember what I had said. Boy, did I feel horrible when I read what that choice meant. If I were to do this over again, I would pick #5 because I see that some of these answers may be the reason why kids feel entitled now. They have been pumped up to feel good about themselves no matter how horrible their skills at gymnastics or baseball or whatever are. We aren't teaching our kids or our students that failure is okay -- that it makes us work harder to get what we want.
ReplyDeleteMichele, I think back to my 13 year old asking me "why do you want me to fail?" You're right. It's not that I wanted him to fail but he was going to learn what he needed to learn by failing and at this point in his life that failure wasn't the end all be all. I completely agree that it makes us work harder as well as learn something for later in life when adults and no one to fall back on 100% of the time like as kids.
DeleteI picked #1 too. I thought the emphasis on the You or I made them feel that I saw them differently and they were special to me. I felt horrible as well when I read what that would lead the child to think.
DeleteOh well. In our mistake we are learning the growth mindset. LOL
1) In "Elizabeth's Dilemma," Dweck (2006) gives five possible choices. Did your initial response change after you read the narrative describing Dweck's explanation about each choice? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteInitially I chose #4 - Tell her she has the ability and will surely win the next time. As a parent, this is the response I would most likely choose. It seemed to be the mentally healthiest choice. It's not a put down, it didn't blame someone or something else. At that point, I would expect her coach to come in with encouragement but also point out some mistakes and what she needed to work on before the next competition. UNLESS a child truly didn't try or his/her attitude was cocky, I would NEVER tell a child she didn't deserve to win. I think those are harsh words.
After reading the explanation of the feedback I see WHY #5 was the better choice but I still don't think telling someone they didn't deserve to win is harsh UNLESS, as I said before the student really was cocky or acted like they were better than anyone else. According to the text, #5 is the better choice because this is when it is the perfect time to GENTLY point out the mistakes and to see how to learn from them so that the student performs better the next time, especially if the student really wants to win. Yes, I see why it is the better choice but as a parent I'm not sure I could "pull that off" with my child. As a teacher/coach, I think it would be appropriate to give suggestions on how to improve her performance.
1) My initial answer and response to the situation with Elizabeth was #4. Being a parent myself, this response is similar to one that I would give one of my own children if they didn't win something. I didn't like the end of that statement though about surely winning the next time. My children participate in sports and we are a sports oriented family and I never tell my children they will be guaranteed a win. Our conversation to our children is that hopefully you will win but in order to win you have to work hard along with everyone else on your team. We always encourage them to try their best and work their hardest at everything they do. There will always be a winner and a loser and sometimes they will be the winner and other times they will be the loser. I do think it's important to be realistic with children. A similar situation occurred this last weekend at my daughter's basketball game. They lost one of their games and my daughter was frustrated that they didn't win and started blaming the refs in the game. My husband and I both told her that we were very proud of the way that she played but it is not the referee's fault that their team won. The other team played harder and ultimately won because of their effort. We encouraged her to play just as hard if not even better in her next game and maybe her team will come out a winner (which they did).
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the reasoning that Dweck gives for the fifth choice being the preferred choice, I do understand the reasoning but I also think there is a better way to have those conversations with your child or student in your class. I don't think that telling a child they didn't deserve to win is necessary. I think it is perfectly acceptable to discuss why they didn't win and what they could do better the next time in hopes of winning. This could also be a teachable moment about effort and what this child could do in order to get better and improve. As a teacher, I think it is perfectly acceptable to have a discussion with a student about what they could do in order to do better on a test or in the classroom. This would be part of the goal setting process-what can they do to improve their performance for the next time.
#1 My personal answer is a mix between 4 and 5. I would tell her that she has the equal ability to win. The other person/team out performed you. It's not about you not having the skills you need to win but instead the other team came out and gave it everything they had. They played better and performed better that time. A question I always ask my own children, students, and athletes is, "Did you do your best?" If the answer to that is "yes" then you can be mad or disappointed in yourself. If the answer is "no" or "I think I could have done this better" then that is the moment of learning and personal growth because they are aware of their challenges or weaknesses. That is a starting point from a coach on where to go back into the gym and build on those challenges and weaknesses. If they keep practicing and giving 110% effort, they they truly have a chance the next time to win and get better. I think it is important to tell children that ultimately there are some people in life who are going to better than you at different things. This means that you have to work harder. Wins will not be handed to you. My first grade teacher always said, "Good, better, best-never let it rest until your good gets better and your better gets best." Those are words that are learned at a young age but are important to understand throughout life. You constantly have to work hard because somewhere out there, someone is always working harder than you. These are words and thoughts to live by. It even applies as an adult in your career. There will always be someone who works harder than you or goes above and beyond that extra mile to be a little better than others. This is a learned behavior of those who wish and want to be successful. They have that drive within to be their best.
ReplyDeleteThere is a difference between working harder and working smarter. For students they would tell me that working harder means not knowing a word, going to the dictionary, and looking up the word but working smarter would be googling or asking Siri. :-) I have learned that when grabbing a dictionary many of the students didn't even know to look at the indicator words in the top corners to help find the page quickly but would instead scan the words on the page. Working smarter can be using resources such as people, technology, summaries, cliff notes, etc. Smarter is usually always preferred in this day in age. I will add though that sometimes working harder does gain more knowledge especially for those who have to physically do or write out words to retain the information.
ReplyDeleteAs far as guiding a learner to work smarter, I believe that we have to show them the tools that will save them time but also show the dowfalls from those tools. They need to use the smarter tool option in today's social but need to be aware of the shortfall.
In response to Elizabeth's Dilemma, I cannot settle on a specific number as my response. I would have a mixed response with 4 and 5. When dealing with my students, we do a lot of evaluating. We look to see what he or she did well, and what they still need to work on to improve. There is always areas that need improvement even when you are good at something. I agree that Elizabeth is capable of winning, but at that time, her peers out performed her. In time, with continued effort and improvement, a win could be a possibility. Even in the classroom, students should always focus on how to continue to improve and challenge themselves. I really love the example in the book about the mother referring to her child not really learning if they did not have to put forth much effort to finish.
ReplyDelete#5 is a great response but could have been worded differently. I do not belief that any good student wanted to fail but those unmotivated students need some word of encouragement and a big push to see what success looks like. Student know when they put no effort into school work but we adult sympathizes with them thinking something went wrong. I always ask questions that lead to discussion and finally find a solution to the problem. Best advise, listen, be observance and take action.
DeleteI agree with mixing #4 and #5. I think that would produce the best answer in my opinion. I didn't like the second part of #4 and felt #5 was too harsh but could have been reworded.
Delete2) Carol Dweck's (1999, 2000, 2006) mindset theory derives from her initial interest in attribution theory. How do you think her research on attribution theory led their to her conclusions about mindsets?
ReplyDeleteI believe this was an natural progression. Students and their parents often create a "self-fulfilling prophecy" in the classroom. I often hear disparaging statements such as "he'll never pass ___ grade" or "math has never been strong in our family". This holds students back and set the bar low, keeping students in this fixed mindset. Likewise, I have parents which encourage and support their children, believing that the growth we strive for can happen. In those cases, we see that growth happen! The child's attitude is completely changed when those around him believe in his effort! Dweck's mindset theory could have found a great deal of support through observation in any classroom-observation of any ability level! I know I have students in my classroom at all levels who demonstrate growth mindset and fixed mindset!
Answering the first question, I really didn't like any of the answers given. I did lean more towards the 5th choice, but I wanted to change the wording some. I always hated the way many parents talked to their children after a ball game. They often set the child up for failure and victim playing. I raised my kids to ALWAYS do your best and don't complain about the outcome. I teach the same way. It amazes me how the student and parents will blame a computer! Really? Life is hard and we need to prepare every child for it. Therefore, I spend a lot of time shattering ideals and fantasies. Most of my parents blame the behavior on diagnosis. I am sorry, but ADHD and anger control is not a disability in the real world. I have to get them prepared for no IEP or money from the state. This year I had 2 two students withdraw because I wouldn't continue their fantasy that they deserved everything. Currently, they are living with their parents and working a minimum wage job. They found out the police don't accept an IEP and now have felonies.
ReplyDeleteIt is the job on an educator to prepare students for the real world. Students need to be taught that there may be times work or problems will be challenging, but you have to push through and try your best. You may have to redo work or problems until they make sense. There will be times you won't do well or fail at something, but the next move is what is key. They need learn from that mistake. They need to focus on what can be done differently and how to improve from that point.
Delete3. Working harder vs working smarter is an age old saying. Just because you spend ten hours on something doesn't necessarily mean you are studying harder! Studies have proven that one hour of being focused equals four hours of time spent trying to finish a task. I believe working hard or working smart cannot be separated. Even when you have to work hard you have to make smart choices. One does not wake up and say I am only going to make smart choices today. One learns about choices through hard work and some failure.
ReplyDeleteIn order to work harder and smarter one must set goals and work towards them. Make mistakes but be smart enough to learn from them. Make a plan and be organized . Working harder and smarter goes hand in hand.
I love the phrase "Police don't accept IEP." As an educator and a parent, I would always treat and teach everyone to the highest standard without accepting excuses. Yes, a student may have some form of disability but can still play basketball or Football and excel to the professional level then what stop them achieving same academic excellent in the class.. I enjoyed reading analysis of all choices.
DeleteSusan, I agree with you in the statement that working harder goes hand in hand with working smarter with goal setting. It's okay to make error and work smarter not to repeat same mistake or error next time.
DeleteAfter reading Elizabeth's dilemma, I actually picked the 5th choice. To me the information seemed more valuable than the other choices. I wouldn't of put it so bluntly but it is the information I would have used to help with the lose. I wished I would have had my education experience before I had children. I know I gave my children "shallow" compliments as they were growing up. Only now I see how I should have handled it differently.
ReplyDeleteI probably would've picked #5 to start if they didn't put it as bluntly as they did. It seemed a bit too harsh.
Delete1) Like most people, I did not like the way any of the choices were worded. I would have somewhat combined 4 and 5: "You have the power (ability) to decide to do better the next time (not win a ribbon the next time). Let's take a look at what went well, and where you need to improve (instead of you didn't deserve to win). I'll help you set some goals." Of course, that wasn't an option. Although I 'knew' #5 was the best answer, I think honestly I have a tendency to lean more towards a #4 response. As the author points out she still needs to be mindful of commenting on effort, practice, and hard work over ability and accomplishment, so do I.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I had a student who was disappointed about a score she received on an assessment (NWEA's MAP). She was sure she was going to show growth. My internal empathetic self wanted to tell her it was okay; you'll do better next time. But, I didn't do that! I know she plays soccer, so I used that analogy. We talked about how one game doesn't make her a good or bad player. When you have a bad game, you look back at what you need to get better at and focus on those skills. We did the same by looking at the scores of the different instructional areas, and set some goals for her to practice.
I like the way you combined #4 and #5. I would do the same. I was not a fan of the second part of #4 but I still liked it better than #5. I felt it was too harsh .
DeleteI felt 5 was too harsh as well. I also didn't like the wording of the choices.
DeleteI like the way that you took your student to a familiar sport as the analogy and then set goals. I agree that using something that has given the student the opportunity to enjoy success from working hard allows them to draw that same skill into other areas.
Good post
2) It seems a straightforward conclusion that Dweck’s mindset theory derives from attribution theory. Fixed mindset in both high and low achieving students reflects the task difficulty, luck and innate ability dimension of attribution theory.
ReplyDeleteIf a task is too difficult some will simply not try, or even try to find a way to cheat (believing that Google knows everything and understands the particular context being my favorite example). If they believe something is beyond reach, unattainable or just too unrealistic to be worth the bother, then they won’t bother. Someone with a fixed mindset sees this difficulty and does not believe it to be possible. A low achieving student may shut down or quietly sit it out. A high achieving student (as in the gifted and talented examples) may have a complete melt down because they have never had to deal with a task being difficult enough to result in failure, or even something less than an A grade. Recently I was speaking with my brother about high school and he brought up how several students in his AP Biology class could not handle their first C and D grades on assessments and showed genuine distress and disbelief. The difficulty does not fit their concept of their level of ability being gifted and talented.
Personally I have heard my own students attribute success on a quiz to luck because they went in with negative expectations. They do not connect their correct answers to the effort we put into internalizing the information in class. In both scenarios students relate their perceived innate ability to predicted success or failure. The words “I can’t do this” have echoed often in my head throughout the last two chapters especially. The fixed mindset does not account for effort because things are either easy and doable, or hard and not achievable. It is passive. The growth mindset accepts responsibility for an outcome instead of attributing it to luck, difficulty or ability. It does not enable failure or success to be default states of being.
1) In "Elizabeth's Dilemma," Dweck (2006) gives five possible choices. Did your initial response change after you read the narrative describing Dweck's explanation about each choice? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI, of course, was in the majority of people and picked option #4. I was not a fan of any of the choices, but having to pick one, I went with #4. I did not like the wording of the choices. I liked the beginning of #4 but not the ending. I felt #5 was too mean. After reading, I understand and agree with choice #5, but I think if they would have expanded on the response as they did in the explanation then I would have picked #5 initially. Reading this section really made me question what I say to my students and my own children. I am definitely guilty of using responses like #1 and #4. My children are 6, 4, and 2 and I know I have told my kids they are the best at something when they may not be. I will definitely be more conscious when I respond to my own children and students after reading this chapter. It has already made me stop and think when I respond.
In Elizabeth’s Dilemma, my choice did change. I initially chose number one with the emphasis on the you/ I. I have actually told my children, grandchildren and my students that “I” thought they were the best. I remember telling my daughter that “I” thought she was the prettiest one on the cheerleading squad. I thought it would be a way of letting them know how special they are to me and that I see them through different eyes. I now understand that I am not giving any useful feedback. I thought number 4, “Tell her she didn’t deserve to win” was cruel. After I read the explanation and the additional information that was given I understood the feedback was the emphasis and not that she didn’t win.
ReplyDeleteThere were many good points in this chapter that helped me to pull everything together. The fixed and growth mindset were an important point in this chapter. I am one of those people that tell my students how smart they are and I am proud of them. I now realize that I could have been fostering the fixed mindset and not fostering the ability to grow into tougher assignments or creating students that will easily give up.
This book is making me very mindful of my choice of words when I am encouraging and giving feedback to my students and grandchildren.
#3. Working smarter is something I explicitly try to model and do with my special needs students. Making a to-do list for the week and analyzing in in terms of time management and priority are something that I have seen make a difference in a student's confidence and willingness to try. In class we talk about reading and writing with intention, that the goal is not to complete the worksheet, but to become more skillful at multiplying fractions, etc. I have also found it helpful to have the students divide their To-Do Lists into 2 categories: Finish, and Work On, as it helps them to feel less overwhelmed by the tasks and understand that they are building up stamina for difficult tasks, like finishing an AR book. I translate it to 'real life' lists too and sometimes share items from my lists with them, modeling that action with purpose brings more meaningful outcomes that 'going through the motions."
ReplyDeleteAs a gymnastic parent, this hit home. Of course I always thought my daughter was the best and I would tell her great job even if she didn't have the best meet. After reading Elizabeth's dilemma , I realize that I shouldn't sugar coat anything and I need to be positive, but direct with students. I highlighted the sentence, " Honest, detailed, nonjudgmental feedback will be more likely to inspire her to strive to meet high standards."
ReplyDeleteIn “Elizabeth’s Dilemma, Dweck (2006) we were forced to choose one answer from five choices. Being a mom and a teacher, part of me chose #4, and part of me chose #5. I am about being positive as often as my human self will allow me to me. (I have my negative moments.) I would have said, “You have the ability to do great things. Continue to train (on specifics) and stay positive and you will win/succeed when you have earned it.” I don’t agree with being so harsh and say, “You didn’t deserve to win.” That type of straight forward feedback will work with those who ARE self motivated and want to succeed to prove someone wrong, or who are naturally driven. Students need to hear positive motivation as well as constructive criticism. We have to be careful that students don’t feel defeated right off the bat.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, students need to be told specifically what they need to work on to become smarter. “Honest, detailed, nonjudgmental feedback will be more likely to inspire her to strive to meet high standards.” (Silver 2012) We need to teach students that failure is a building block to learning. You must fail in order to learn. Some students need to be taught how to have a growth mindset. In all fairness, for a student to learn, he/she has to be taught how to go about learning; on what specifically to focus. As teachers we know that “all students can learn”, they just learn differently and with different amounts of training, work, and perseverance. “...everyone, with effort and guidance, can increase their intellectual abilities.” (Silver 2012)
Therefore, not only do we need to continue to stay positive, we need to be more thoughtful in our feedback so we don’t create entitled students. Teaching students through modeling our own efforts in continued learning and growth will encourage students to see that effort and perseverance will help them continue to grow. This type of mindset teaches students that perseverance, effort, and learning are life-long.
When I first read "Elizabeth's Dilemma," I would not have chosen any of those responses. Perhaps the closest would have been #4 in that I would have told Elizabeth that with hard work and persistence, she could gain the ability to win. I'm not sure if my response would have helped in this scenario. I try to impress to my students that things can become possible if they focus, and put forth the effort in understanding what areas need worked on in order to succeed. In other words, strategic effort is directly correlative to earning success. This ties into the direct honesty of #5. I want my students to recognize their own strengths/weaknesses in order to adapt themselves for failure or success. Perhaps I worry too much that many of my students would feel too defeated to make an effort toward success instead of wallowing in failure. I'm pretty direct with my students about what they need to do in order to complete the goals they have set for themselves. I plan on continuing this directness as much as possible. I agree with Silver when she quotes Dweck's believe that we, as teachers "can empower rather than entitle learners by teaching them to focus on things they can control," in other words, those aspects that can be directly related to success/failure.
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ReplyDeleteI'm another who probably would not have chosen any of the responses as stated, but was leaning 4. I can see the value of keeping a learner encouraged and that reminding them that hard work will eventually pay off. After reading the explanations I want to lean towards #5, but I have had student's react extremely poorly to even such direct criticism (you didn't deserve to win), even after explaining in detail what barriers prevented success and what should be done different next time to improve. Whether they are right or wrong there a certainly a number of parents who object to such a negative conclusion. I think ultimately number 4 and 5 have to be combined. Identify problem areas for what they are, but also stress the idea of working Working harder, more practice, and the idea that you will eventually find success.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Robb. I think 4 and 5 combined would have been the best choice. When my son was in sports, there were so many kids whose parents were convinced that their kids were the best and could do anything with little to no effort. These kids were often the ones being beat down by the struggles of the sports. They needed to realize that success consists of hard work, effort, and practice. Nothing comes naturally. We always told our son, no matter how good you think you are, there is always something that can be improved. No one is perfect.
DeleteI believe that if students work hard and put effort into their assignments and studying even if they have “mastered” the objective then they are working on becoming better and working towards their goal. If they are not focused and enjoying the subject, they are struggling in then they are less likely to put forth the effort. Working harder and smarter in the subject they are struggling in and what they need mastered and giving them the resources to help them master their goal, students are able to look for help from many different areas/angles. One way that I get my students to focus and work hard is to have them set strong goals for themselves. We meet every week and go over their goals for the week. They have to set a realistic, specific and measurable goal. I always tell my students that it is okay to make mistakes but they need to learn from them. If something is not working/helping them then they need to ask for support and we can revisit their goals.
ReplyDelete1) In "Elizabeth's Dilemma," Dweck (2006) gives five possible choices. Did your initial response change after you read the narrative describing Dweck's explanation about each choice? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteMy initial response did change after I read the explanation for each choice. As a parent I want to reassure my child after they performed horribly. After I read what the correct choice is, it made perfect sense that we don't want to give our children a false sense of hope. We need to be realistic with our children so that they don't end up feeling entitled.
Question 1: My initial response was #5, but I was hesitant because it sounded so harsh. I debated for awhile between 4 and 5, but 4 was promising a medal as the end result and there was no way to know that would happen. So, #5 seemed the best option. Even though it is sometimes difficult to give feedback like that students and our children deserve honesty and need to understand the value of always striving to learn more and improve.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #1 My first response (since I had to pick one of them) was #4 always trying to give hope for the future. But not without thinking I would encourage great effort at doing something you love to become very good at it. My husband would have picked #5 for sure, so in a way when I think about how I respond to my only childs abilities I want to be encouraging but honest. I have been paying close attention to how I respond to my students in intervention groups. They are not reading at grade level and might always struggle to get there, but they are making small gains and that is important. I have to agree. Our students need gentle honesty.
ReplyDeleteMy responses would have been both #4 Tell her she has the ability and will surely win the next time and #5 Tell her she didn't deserve to win. Both of my teenage daughters are very active in sports. I like to be as positive and encouraging as possible with my daughters, but at the same time I try to be brutally honest with them. If they don't have a great attitude and give their best effort they are going to hear about it from me. By telling her that she has the ability to win, but at the same time that she didn't deserve to win, I think she will hard work harder and she will put herself in a better position to win next time. Too often we sugar coat things for children and it creates a false sense of reality for them about how they are actually performing in school and extracurricular activities.
ReplyDeleteIn Elizabeth's dilemma, I, like many others, first chose answer #4, although I wasn't really fond of the end of the answer. I could kind of see choosing #5 also, but I went with #4 initially. I've always been in the mindset to tell children that they have the ability and can succeed with hard work, but I don't agree with telling them that they will win next time because there are no guarantees in winning. After reading through Dweck's descriptions of each answer, I did change my mind to #5. I am not surprised that answer 5 is the least chosen mainly because I feel that no one wants to tell his/her child/student that they don't deserve to win; however, after reading the explanation, I fully support the idea of answer #5 because I've been involved in a situation that very much relates to students not being prepared enough to "earn" the win. I wish I would have read this chapter a couple weeks ago when it was assigned because I would have been able to properly explain to said students why they were not getting the ability to participate in an event that they were not fully prepared for. My situation involves a team that I am coaching. One student, in particular, was touted so much by coaches in previous years, that he couldn't accept the fact that he wasn't performing over and above everyone else. It became very hard to coach him because he was convinced that the judges were his problem, not his performance. Unfortunately, said student let his ego overtake him and his grades and he became ineligible to compete at all. He became so convinced that he could do anything and just started "skating by", which became his downfall.
ReplyDeleteIn Dweck's example, I didn't initially like any of the choices. I knew from earlier reading that we would be asked to choose number 5, but it was written in such a harsh manner that I couldn't bring myself to choose it. When it is paired with all of the additional phrases, then the choice becomes very obvious.
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