Be a pineapple!

Have just started reading Mindset- by Dr Carol Dweck. So many times in my life when I have thought that I’m just not capable in an area, only to have that challenged and find that actually I am capable and even ok at it. I'm thinking in particular about a time  when I first moved out of home and shared a house with an artist - she was a part of the underground poster collective called Jill Posters, a feminist subversive poster/graffiti group whose work challenged government and social policy around different issues, but mostly sexism and art supportive of the anti-nuclear movement.  She invited me to join but I told her I couldn’t draw, paint etc and that I was definitely not artistic. She challenged that idea and told me emphatically that everyone is an artist and somehow convinced me to join her collective. I went along to Melbourne Uni in the after-hours and joined other women who were 'accessing' the print room to screen print posters. I loved it - the subversiveness of it was ultra appealing, but so to, was the process of making art that was gutsy and challenging. And I then understood ‘art’ to be more than the ability to draw or paint. It was about an expression of ideas through many different mediums. I ended up making a fabulous poster that I am still very proud of today, about the use of a contraceptive that was widely used on disadvantaged women and girls (and still is today), called Depo Provera. It was in its testing phase at that point and not much was known about it.
Depo Provera - by Jill Posters (linnograff)













My 'fixed mindset' told me I couldn't 'do' art, but this poster gave me the confidence to have a 'growth mindset'. I went on to engage in 'art' in many ways and still make 'art' when time permits. 

The basis of the Mindset book is that we all can approach a goal or new learning with a 'growth mindset' or a 'fixed mindset' or perhaps a bit of both. During my time in New Hampshire with Kirke Olson, I was fortunate enough to visit the Parker School, where Kirke works as a school psychologist. The school caters for high school students who have learning differences or who are better suited to learning in a smaller and caring environment. This school really operates the way it says it will. Students discuss and learn about their learning styles, growth and fixed mindsets, regulation and practise mindfulness and positive relationships. Posters adorn the walls and halls reminding everyone about the importance of taking responsibility for their own actions and learning. 



So, how do we support adult students to move in to a growth mindset, when the likelihood is that many of our students are operating from a fixed mindset?
Some ideas: 
  • Talk to students about their efforts not whether they passed or not, or were right or wrong. Especially easy when we work in competency based training - its easier to say "wow, you worked hard on that piece of writing (whatever)" instead of "wow, good job, you passed"
  • Find the right parts - when I interview potential students for a place in a class, I ensure I let them know that they have some great strategies for reading, spelling, maths - that having strategies is what makes a great student and successful learners.
  • Use activities that promote a growth mindset - activities where the focus is on the strategies involved, not right and wrong. One of my favourites is the 9 letter word where students make words from 9 letters that are displayed in a grid of 3x3 squares.
  • I make sure the hidden 9 letter word is related to the topic.
  • I might give verbal or written clues for some words to enable some of the lower students to get some words in their paper
  • For extension work, I use some grammar activities - for this 9 letter word (pro mot ion) I could design an activity on syllables, 'tion' words, double vowels, rhyming words, 'pr' words and so on. 

P
O
T
I
O
N
R
M
O
There could easily be a whole 2 hours in one 9 letter word activity - and students really enjoy them, especially if they feel they have missed out, or don't know spelling and grammar.
I love the way that it promotes a growth mindset, and when a student - who doesn't expect to -  works out the 9 letter word, it really is joyous!

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