Concepts of Educational Tech
Growth Mindset Plan
Growth mindset is important because it is the belief that we can develop our abilities with dedication and hard work over a period of time. We are not predestined to stay at a certain level of intelligence or ability which is what a fixed mindset would have us to believe. When faced with a challenge, we have to make the decision to either attack it head-on or shy away from it because we are afraid to fail.
I will admit that I have a little bit of both mindsets inside of me. There are times when I step out of my comfort zone and try new things. Deciding to start a master’s program is an example of my growth mindset coming out. I have not been in school myself in quite a long time, and I’m adapting to the challenges as they come along. As for teaching though, I have more of a fixed mindset. I have been teaching for over fifteen years. I know what has worked for my classes in the past, and I don’t like straying from that. As we all know though, times change, and we need to be more adaptable in order to help ourselves and our students. This will require me to shift my mindset when it comes to teaching.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Step one entails recognizing when your fixed mindset voice is trying to pull you away from doing something that may be challenging to you. It’s that little voice that brings up all of your insecurities and tells you that you’re not good enough. That voice doesn’t like for you to take the blame for your own shortcomings and hates to be criticized.
Every time that fixed mindset voice starts talking, you have to recognize that you have the choice to listen or to ignore it. You can choose to take the easy way so that you don’t have to face possibly failing in front of everyone or accept the challenge to push yourself to grow your abilities. When you do fail at something, you can either shut down or find ways to improve yourself. Learn to accept feedback from others and build upon your core beliefs.
Think of when you learned to ride a bike. When you took your first big fall, did you just give up? Your mom or dad probably helped you get up, gave you feedback on how to improve, and then you jumped back on again. We have to learn how to react to bumps in the road that could cause us to crash even in our lives.
The fixed mindset is a sneaky fellow. He creeps in at the most inconvenient times to create doubt in what you’re doing. When he comes around, combat the fixed mindset with the voice of the growth mindset. The fixed mindset wants you stuck in the same old rut the whole time. Growth mindset wants you to take in the feedback you get as you try new things to grow and further develop into a well-rounded person. Change the perspective of your situation and face it with bravery and an open mind.
Think of that bike again. When you fell, you might have scraped a knee or elbow some, but then you got back on to ride some more. I lived out on an old dirt road growing up. My siblings and I rode our bikes up and down it all the time. It had some super loose sand in places. There would be times we would get stuck or even slide and fall. It would then be time to climb back up and go again. In life, you’ll have setbacks and challenges. You just have to make sure that you do not let them hold you back from achieving your biggest dreams.
Once you hear growth mindset outmaneuver the fixed mindset, a plan must be made in order for growth to truly happen. Take on new challenges and keep working hard to learn more from the feedback given to you along the way. You only stop growing once you allow yourself to be stopped.
A big part of the growth mindset is the power of “yet.” It is easy when you’re struggling with something new to throw in the towel and say that you’re done and quit. I teach high school math, and my students really struggle with concepts from time to time. I have had students that look at part of an example and give up before they even start because it looks too difficult. We need to work daily on retraining our students’ brains to accept that they may not get it at first, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t get it eventually. High school students are afraid to look dumb in front of their peers, so they would rather just not try than look that way. We need to create a safe environment for them to learn without judgment so that they will spread their wings to try and fly on their own without the fear of failure. Knowing that they don’t understand yet implies that they can work their way up to comprehension. I tell my students from day one that I am there to help them in any way possible, but I can’t learn it for them. They have to take the initiative to ask for help if they really need it.
I, myself, am having to work towards a growth mindset. I tend to struggle with my fixed mindset that’s been instilled in me throughout my life. I have always been the person that was obsessed with getting an A. I worked hard for it. I still do. I am seeing though that the courses we are taking in this program are trying to get us to look at a growth mindset and open ourselves up to there being less control over what we have to do. We are given the opportunity to expand upon our own ideas without rigid boundaries and guidelines. I can see my own mindset growing along the way as we discuss the different parts of the program.
​
​
Video Resources:
Learning manifesto
My Passions
I am passionate about developing my students into lifelong learners who desire to find out more about the world around them and not just stay isolated in their own little area. I want them to be able to think for themselves and use the knowledge that’s up for grabs around them to make good decisions in their lives. We, as teachers, should be passing along more than just the knowledge of our subject area. We need to be preparing them for their futures no matter what that may look like. Some of the jobs that our students may have in the future haven’t even been thought of yet, so they need to be prepared for all the possibilities of what is to come.
One of the best things that we could do for our students is to teach them about the growth mindset. I have students who get discouraged quite often when they don’t understand fully what is being taught in my class. I teach algebra in high school, so that isn’t a new story for me. I have to remind them that they just don’t understand it yet. Everything is a work in progress. You have the ability to grow better as time goes on. If we can promote a growth mindset, this will help students know that failures don’t define them, but help them grow into fuller people instead.
​
​
My Thoughts on Digital Learning
Digital learning needs to be more widely used in education. Our students are fully immersed in technology almost from the beginning of their lives. Small kids are able to take a phone or tablet to run their favorite games or watch videos and shows. We need to find ways to integrate technology more into our classrooms because students have access to knowledge at their fingertips as long as they are taught how to properly seek it. Technology could really help teachers to develop classes that are interactive and give students more choice and ownership in how they learn. Differentiation would truly be where it needs to be to help our students learn in their own ways if we can find or develop the tools to make it happen.
​
​
There are some issues that come up though with digital learning as well. Teachers aren’t given much training when it comes to using technology in the classroom. New tools are bought from time to time, but we aren’t always told how to go about using them effectively. Students must also be closely monitored while on technology to make sure that they are on task instead of sneaking around to play games or posting to social media. Technology isn’t always fully available to everyone either. I am lucky to work for a school district that has one-to-one devices for our secondary students, but they don’t always have internet access at home to finish assignments. Some schools don’t even have that much, so digital learning is pretty much impossible.
Cons of our Current Education System
One of the biggest challenges that I see in my classroom is that the learning standards that are set for us need to be reevaluated. In 2012, the state of Texas released its latest math standards. I remember going to a workshop and being completely floored by what had been done with the standards. Things that I had been teaching in Algebra 1 were suddenly dropped down as far as 6th grade. Topics in pre-calculus were now in algebra 1. I have a problem with this. A big part of our students simply aren’t developmentally ready to handle certain types of math at the ages that they are being taught them now. I know that soon the state will be changing our standards up again, but I’m afraid that it will be even worse than it is now. People making the decisions about our education system don’t have experience in education, so I can’t see things getting better.
​
This leads me into my next concern. Starting in third grade, Texas students are made to take the STAAR test. We have to make sure to teach all of the standards for our grade level before a particular point in time so that students can take this big test which could possibly hold you back in school if you’re in fifth or eighth grade. Instead of getting to teach enriching lessons that help the students to truly understand the concept the correct way, teachers have to speed through topics before students can even comprehend what is going on. I frequently have students that are asking me to slow down or why we have to move so fast. I just have to tell them because I know the pace I have to keep in order to get everything taught before the STAAR test comes around. I despise having to leave some of my students behind that don’t fully grasp a concept before I move on. Another thing that happens due to the amount of importance that’s placed on these standardized tests is that some teachers only teach what’s on the test. I make sure to teach all of the components of a particular topic, but I do mention things that are frequently on the STAAR test and strategies that can be used to handle them. All of this focus on standardized testing leads to less creativity being allowed in the classroom.
The Impact I Hope to Make
I hope to be a teacher that students can look to as a support when they need it. One of my greatest joys in teaching is to see a student that has been struggling on a topic finally have that “aha” moment when it all clicks. I want to be able to help them develop into a future leader of innovation. I’m trying to find a way to bring more choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning to my classroom because I am seeing in this program how COVA really helps a student to learn. It will be a work in progress, but I hope to figure it out soon.
