By, Jenn Hayhurst
On 7/21/16 #G2Great celebrated the amazing book, A Mindset for Learning by Kristi Mraz and Christine Hertz. With Kristi and Christine at the helm, we spent the hour thinking about the stories we tell ourselves about growth and learning, and how to attempt to see the world through the eyes of our students. Promoting a growth mindset for students begins with us.
This post is dedicated to many the many voices who embrace the search for knowledge over the safety of what is already known.
Christine, Chris, and Mary…
It’s a funny thing that risk has everything to do with loss and yet it’s synonymous with growth. How do we build environments for risk taking? Well it’s a lot more than a collection of rules – it’s a frame of mind. Start the school year with fresh eyes and be ready to create a world for new students. Build spaces that support independent work. Look at classroom design and think, how am I supporting growth and learning? The choices we make are ours alone, and we are obligated to make smart decisions for our students:
Kristi, Jen, and Pam…
Learning is an experience. Our work is not done in isolation because every lesson is connected to a larger process. If we want to make a positive impact on how students perceive themselves then we have to hold them in the highest esteem. We need to read our students as thoughtfully as we read our professional texts:
Christine, Briana, Justin, Bryan, Eric, and Kristi…
Having a growth mindset is a lovely idea. If I believe I can do it, I can achieve it. How do our actions really support that kind of thinking? Growth mindset is rooted in the learning process itself. It isn’t accomplished by the end of the day, or week, or even the year. It’s the work of a lifetime. A growth mindset is a way of life that begins as an extension of our beliefs about ourselves and our students:
Akilah, Kristi, Kristin, Christine, Dana, Sonja, and Kate…
Our students are living in the narratives we write for them. The kinds of stories we tell them and ourselves impacts the kinds of teachers we become. Akilah’s tweet inspires me to write some professional development work around storytelling and growth mindset. Kisti shared a collection of articles about the power of stories, and Kristin shared a Prezi as a resource for growth mindset. Thank you so much! Our #G2Great PLN is a community, one that supports, connects, and encourages us to dream:
Mary, Christine, and Kristi…
We are teachers and joy is our job. Our message of joyful learning that embraces play is an important one to send out the to world. We live in serious times and students will inherit a world that requires flexible thinking that stems from creative play. Our kids will need to be resilient in the face of adversity. Empathy will deconstruct walls to progress, and persistence will help to unlock inner strength and stamina. We are not just teaching reading, writing, and math we are teaching students how to read the world. Above all else let’s be a part of building strong optimistic hearts and minds. Thank you Kristi and Christine for writing such an important book for teachers everywhere:
