cirtl spring 2016 the college classroom meeting 4 - fixed and growth mindset & assessment that...

CIRTL – The College Classroom Meeting 4:

Fixed and Growth Mindset &

Assessment that Supports Learning

February 18, 2016

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Peter Newbury

Center for Engaged Teaching, UC San Diego

[email protected]

Tom Holme

Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University

[email protected]

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

on target by hans_s on flickr CC-BY-ND

What do you notice?

What do you wonder?

mindset and assessment collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 2

Your experiences of

fixed and growth mindset


Vocabulary Check: Mindsets [1]

Growth Fixed

mindset and assessment collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

intelligence can grow

capable of growth

potential to grow and

change

intelligence is a fixed

trait

inherent talent

inborn genius

immutable

4

Match contrasting cases of fixed and growth mindset

fixed growth

fixed growth

fixed growth

fixed growth

fixed growth

fixed growth


Graphic by Nigel Holmes [2]



Agency “Human agency is the capacity for human beings to make

choices. It is normally contrasted to natural forces, which are causes

involving only unthinking deterministic processes.” Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_(philosophy)


more

expert-like


deliberate

practice

more

expert-like


mindset

deliberate

practice

more

expert-like

In your opinion, which of these is true?


A) you need a growth mindset to engage in

deliberate practice

B) if you have a growth mindset, then you’ll engage

in deliberate practice

C) both

D) neither


If you need a growth mindset to engage in deliberate practice to become more expert-like in your discipline…

…what about your students? What is their mindset towards your class?




Likely a mix of fixed, growth, and no mindset.




Likely a mix of fixed, growth, and no mindset.

How do you help your students become more expert-like?

Feedback and Practice that Enhance

Learning (How Learning Works)

20

When Practice Does Not Make Perfect… Students’ writing in public policy course


They Just Do Not Listen! Students’ presentations in medical anthropology course



21

When Practice Does Not Make Perfect… Students’ writing in public policy course


The instructors don’t recognize

their own expertize, fail to give

useful practice and feedback.

expert blindness

curse of knowledge

They Just Do Not Listen! Students’ presentations in medical anthropology course



22

Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback are

critical to learning. [3]


Music by Piulet on flickr CC Excellent Shot by Varsity Life on flickr CC



23



Goals can direct the nature of focused practice, provide the basis

for evaluating observed performance, and shape the targeted

feedback that guides students’ future efforts. [p. 127]

Targeted feedback gives students prioritized information about

how their performance does or does not meet the criteria so they

can understand how to improve their future performance. [p. 141]


Assessment we’re all familiar with:

homework


For the introductory course in your field (Chem 101,

Psych 101, etc.) how many homework problems do

students solve for each chapter?

A) 0

B) 1-8

C) 9-16

D) 17-25

E) 26 or more problems

Breakout room discussion:


Does the assigning of homework in introductory courses

influence students in the same way? Would you expect

students with a growth mindset to approach homework in

different ways than students with a fixed mindset? (Try to

think of specific examples).



26




practice is goal-directed

practice is productive

timely feedback

feedback at an

appropriate level

Aside: contrasting cases


Sometimes the best way to describe what something is, is

to describe what it’s not.

Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing many

examples in which the same concept is at work and providing a

firm foundation of factual knowledge

(How People Learn [1])

Contrasting Cases


feedback not at

appropriate level

feedback at

appropriate level

unproductive practice productive practice

practice is not goal-directed practice is goal-directed

untimely feedback timely feedback

Two-part Discussion (“jigsaw”)


Part 1: build up your knowledge about one characteristic

Part 2: share your characteristic with others, and learn

about other characteristics from them

Discussion Part 1


Follow the link in the chat window to find your Part 1

breakout room. Take 5 minutes to discuss your

characteristic by exploring contrasting cases. Remember to

consider the mindset of your students.

Be prepared to share your thoughts with others in Part 2.

Rooms 1&2 (green) feedback (not) at appropriate level

Rooms 3&4 (yellow) (un)productive practice

Rooms 5&6 (purple) practice is (not) goal-directed

Rooms 7&8 (orange) (un)timely feedback

Discussion Part 2


Follow the link in the chat window to find your Part 2

breakout room. Take 1-2 minutes each to discuss your

characteristics with the others in the room.

(green) feedback (not) at appropriate level

(yellow) (un)productive practice

(purple) practice is (not) goal-directed

(orange) (un)timely feedback

Contrasting Cases


feedback not at

appropriate level

feedback at

appropriate level

unproductive practice productive practice

practice is not goal-directed practice is goal-directed

untimely feedback timely feedback


What kind of assessment gives

timely feedback at an

appropriate level to support

goal-directed and

productive practice?

mindset and assessment collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu Robert Talbert

tinyurl.com/RobertTalbertRubric 35

Rubric = Instructional Scaffolding

36

supports growth mindset

goal-directed

Goals can direct the nature of focused practice, provide the basis for evaluating observed performance, and shape the targeted feedback that guides students’ future efforts.

targeted feedback

Targeted feedback gives students prioritized information about how their performance does or does not meet the criteria so they can understand how to improve their future performance.

path to improvement: rubric needs to be given before, and built into, assignments (not just a grading scheme at the end.)


Mindset for your students


You

must foster

a growth mindset

in your students.

Email from a faculty member in


"Our discussions on undergraduate education seem to focus mostly on where we want students to be and how to teach to get them there. In my view, this ignores an important dimension, namely the raw intellectual quality of a student and the fact that this varies hugely across our student body. This creates intrinsic limitations.

“Our discussions seem to assume that we can, in principle, teach all students all things, if we have the right methods. In my view, every student has an inherent intellectual range, and the best we can do is push them to the top of this range. This range varies enormously from student to student. Some students will never understand the difference between a _____________ and a ____________ and there isn't anything to do about it.

“If the goal of education is to enable each student to realize their potential, we need to appreciate the vast differences in these potentials."

The Remarkable Reach of Growth Mind-Sets[1]


Mindset for your students


You must have a

growth mindset about your

students’ ability to learn.

You

must foster

a growth mindset

in your students.

and you

Watch the blog for next week’s

readings and tasks


Next time

Meeting 5: Active Learning

References


1. Dweck, C.S. (2016). The Remarkable Reach of Growth Mind-Sets. Scientific

American Mind (January/February 2016), 27, 36-41.

doi:10.1038/scientificamericanmind0116-36

2. Nigel Holmes http://nigelholmes.com/home.htm

3. Ambrose, S.A., Bridges, M.W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M.C., & Norman,

M.K. (2010). How Learning Works. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.

4. Wing Sue, D. Microaggressions in Everyday Life. Retrieved June 19, 2015, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-

life/201011/microaggressions-more-just-race

cirtl spring 2016 the college classroom meeting 4 - fixed and growth mindset & assessment that...

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