In this workshop we started off by looking at how beliefs about ourselves (mindset), are formed - especially through the way we communicate.
The group got into groups of 3; a coach, a listener and a talker. The talker told the listener about a challenge they were facing, and the talker tried out different forms of encouragement. The aim was to experience what it is like to give and recieve communication that puts us into the growth mindset (I can do this), as apposed to a fixed mindset (this is too difficult, I’ll give up).
This exercise was inspired by an experiment performed by Carol Dweck, that showed the way we communicate has an important effect on how we perform and behave subsequently.
We then moved on the the second part of the workshop - creativity. We started by solving the problem: how can you build a free standing tower of a certain height that is stable enough to be moved? I supplied each team with a can, 2 peices of cardboard, some string and a length of sticky tape. In fact, no group met the challenge completely, but the exercise showed that there are many ways of solving a problem.
This illustrates one of Roger von Oech’s ideas about creativity - always look for the 2nd right answer. Each team tried to solve the problem in a different way. It’s only by coming up with lots of ideas that we can choose the best. I also raised the point that schools often encourage people to think that there is only 1 right answer; tests, questions etc.
We had a group discussion about creativity and how it is useful. I documented our discussion as a mindmap:
I presented another idea from Roger’s book: a whack on the side of the head; the usefulness of ambiguity. We split into groups and each group came up with an problem that we could solve with some creative ideas. Each group chose a random word and had to use this as a ‘jumping off’ point to solve their challenges.
Finally I asked people to consider the question: “where could you use more creativity in your life right now” as homework for the next session.
Today we ran the first in a 5 workshop series on learning for St. Martin’s secondary school. I’m glad to say it was well received, and I had a lot of fun running it! We had 10 parents and 10 students attending.
I really wanted everyone to feel comfortable asking questions and discussing what we’re covering, so we started by playing a lot of warmup/trust games.
I then asked people to put stickers on 5 scales that represented their capacity to change: intelligence, musicality, creativity, memory and 100 metre race time. We can do this again in a few weeks and see if people’s beliefs have changed.
We then had an open QA on what is learning, how do we learn, what good teachers are like.
I presented some information on Kolb’s learning cycle. I wanted to present some information on the structure of the brain, and how our brain’s structure actually changes as we learn - but we were running tight on time and I wanted to move onto the mindset discussion.
I presented some information on mindset, how this relates to the feedback stickers, and an experiment that Carol Dweck ran on communication in the classroom. We had a brief discussion about what fixed and growth mindset was, and some examples.
We split into groups, with each person coming up with 2 things they see as fixed (trait), and 2 things they see as growth (capable of change). We came together as a large group and people shared some of their fixed and growth beliefs.
We ended with brief feedback and comments for next time. I asked people to think about their fixed beliefs, and what they could do if they wanted to change them.
How we give praise to children can have a significant effect on their beliefs about learning, their resilience and their test scores.
Carol Dweck has done a lot of research in this field, and published a series of studies in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1998, Vol. 75, No. 1, 33-52.
128 children (10-12 years old) were given a set of moderately difficult puzzles and were then told they had done very well. A third were praised for their effort (”you must have worked really hard”), a third for their ability (”you must be smart at this”) and a third were given no additional feedback.
The children were then asked if they wanted to take a harder or easier test (performance or learning goal). 67% of children who had been praised for ability chose the easier test. 92% of those who had been praised for effort chose the harder test.
A harder test was given to all children to examine how they responded to failure. Those praised for effort enjoyed the harder task and wanted to persist in the test more than those praised for ability.
Finally all the children took a test equal in difficulty to the first test. Children receiving ability feedback solved 0.92 fewer problems than they did on the first test. Children praised for effort solved 1.21 more.
By being aware of our communication in the classroom, we can encourage children to choose learning goals over performance goals. We can help them to persist longer and to enjoy overcoming challenges. And we can increase their performance in tests.
How can we get these results into our schools? I offer 2 ways:
- a INSET workshop in mindset, read more here.
- one on one coaching with teachers.
How do we move forwards in life? Sometimes we get inspired and move from there. Othertimes, we remove something that is holding us back.
The aim of this workshop is to examine the ways our beliefs about learning affect us. For example, I used to believe I wasn’t capable of learning a foreign language. This made it much harder for me to learn. Once I realised I was holding myself back with a limiting belief, I was able to enjoy learning something new!
We’ll also look at how communication can affect mindset - which can make large differences in the classroom!
Influenced by Carol Dweck’s book “mindset“, we look at
- how our beliefs affect our experience and interaction with the world,
- how to uncover limiting beliefs that are holding us back,
- how to move towards growth based beliefs.
As usual, expect games, fun and group discussion!
The workshop is 90 minutes with a 10 minute break. Home made cookies supplied by me!