Growth Mindset in the Classroom

Like many good teachers, I sometimes question my work, my methods and even the impact of my work on my students.  Recently, I have been particularly interested in the impact of mindset in the classroom.

Teaching is rarely a hundred-meter race, but mostly a marathon. After learning about how growth mindset helps a student learn, I've found that I've become more and more interested in my own mindset when I'm teaching. 

Those moments when we are about to start learning something new. Students may express frustration when faced with something new, and perhaps what they are supposed to learn seems overwhelming to them.

In such situations, it is crucial to demonstrate the learning process and get the students to engage with the challenge. 

Then, step by step, the teacher guides his or her students through the learning process. Sometimes learning happens in a steady, gradual process, sometimes it is a clear moment of insight when all the pieces fall into place.

It's a moment of joy when you see your students learning new skills and feel excited about it, too.  Growth Mindset helps educators create more of those moments.  

Here is an article that I find useful for learning to use the language of Growth Mindset  

Mindfullness

Many educators have been worrying about the shortening attention span of children for over a decade already. AD/HD and ADD are common abbreviatons for describing this condition in children. However, also aduts are having problems with shortening attention span.

Daniel Goleman  (Author of Emotional Intelligence) tells in this video what might be the key to learn about concentration skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBg2i7ZsXgk

We need to start teaching mindfullness in schools. It actually needs to be added into the curricula.

Study Shows the Importance of Emotion Regulation

This interesting study indicates that parents' well-meant regulation of the child's emotions and feeling may be hindering their emotional development.

"The ability to self-regulate emotions and behavior in response to changing environmental demands is among the most fundamental skills that children develop in early childhood and these skills underlie successful development in multiple domains across the life span."


http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/dev-dev0000536.pdf

As it is important to teach children emotional regulation it is also important to let them discover ways to practise those self-regulatory skills themselves. I think one of the biggest factors in successfully teaching emotional regulation is the adult's example.

Parents shoud be very careful especially when expressing negative emotions. I definitely think that those emotions should also be expressed. But the expression should align with the experienced harm so that children learn to estimate how to react properly to minor setbacks.

Negative emotions are and have been important for our survival. Thus, we tend to pay more attention to negatives than to positives. This is why we should knowingly pay attention to positives in our daily lives.
 

 
  

Social And Emotional Learning – Latest Interesting News Stories

These are the latest interesting stories about social and emotional learning with links and my comments.

No Place for Social-Emotional Learning In Schools? Are You Sure?

Back in early January, I wrote a commentary for Education Week that focused on ways that those of us who care about SEL can get critics to understand why it's important that schools focus on SEL.

If you read the blog, and scrolled down to the comments, you saw that I did not win everyone over. I actually had some people e-mail me to send support because they were appalled by the comments. [ click here to read more ]
  

My comment:

This is exactly what I think about the importance of SEL. You just can't ignore emotions and focus only on academics. Because emotions can't be excluded from the learning process. In fact, they should be used to facilitate learning.   

 

Dogs go to school as part of social-emotional learning programs

Dive Brief:
Schools are increasingly opening their doors to “comfort dogs” as administrators recognize the animals’ ability to contribute to a positive school climate, MindShift reports.

In New York City, for example, 42 schools are participating in a pilot program in which dogs provide emotional support to students and are integrated as part of social-emotional learning programs.

These trained canines can also change perceptions of dogs among children who have previously had fearful experiences with them. In most cases the dogs are always on a leash and with their owners. In one New York school, parents had to sign a letter allowing their children to interact with the dog.  [ click here to read more ]

My comments:

This article reminded me of an event that happened many years ago. It's interesting, because now that I think about it: the dog was the key to a successful change of plans. The dog helped children tolerate change and be resilient to it.

I had planned a bike ride with my 2nd graders to the local library. Everyone seemed excited to go on the bike ride.

Late the night before, I received a phone call from a parent. It turned out that there was a child in my class who was still struggling to learn to cycle. A class bike ride would be a horror for that child.

I reflected on this information. How would I turn the heads of all the happy little cyclists and get them to happily walk to the library instead of cycling?

Then I thought about the obvious. I had a Labrador Retriever at the time. I took my dog to school with me.

Immediately at recess, my students came up to me excitedly to pet the dog, and one even suggested exactly what I had hoped for: "Teacher, can we take the dog to the library?".  "Well, we can. But the dog can only come with us if we leave the bikes at the school and walk it there. Are you ready for that?"

"Sure. We can walk if we can bring the dog!" And so we went for a walk! Happily walking the teacher's dog. And no one was ashamed of their lack of cycling skills.

Soon that child learned to ride a bike. And only much later did I find out that my dog had eaten a student's lunch roll!

              

              

New social emotional learning guidelines released

That the California Department of Education (CDE) has released new guiding principles for teaching social and emotional skills, a tool to help educators ensure students have the skills they need for success in school, careers, and in the community.
 
“Educators know, and the science confirms that learning is not only cognitive, but also social and emotional,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom said Torlakson.

“These principles are a part of a concentrated effort to improve teaching and learning of social and emotional skills by recognizing that students’ connection to what they are learning is a critical component of a quality education.” [ click here to read more ]

 

 

 

Educator Self-Care Is Social Emotional Learning

Vicarious or secondary trauma invades our classrooms and leaks into the hearts of educators who carry the emotional burdens of their students.

If we can honor our educators and their work by giving them the skills and space for their own self-care, then we help them stay whole and enjoy long, healthy careers being present for students and their learning.

As a school counselor, I help teachers understand the most important thing they can do for children is to keep their own mood stable.

When I come into their classrooms to teach students about breathing strategies, mindfulness, yoga and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), it is not just for the students but also to offer time for teachers to connect with their own breath. [ click here to read more ]

 

 

 

Yale approach to social-emotional learning takes off in Lower Hudson schools

Nearly 20 districts in the Lower Hudson Valley have bought in to a new and growing approach to social-emotional learning.

A partnership between Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES and the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence has led to dozens of teachers, principals, superintendents and school board members attending training sessions and workshops to learn about strategies to monitor, inform and converse with children about their feelings. [ click here to read more ]

 

 

 

 

Mood meters, phone apps help Hinsdale District 86 students manage emotions

Social emotional learning has become as important a topic in education as science, technology, engineering and math. Unlike those subjects, social and emotional learning sounds warm and fuzzy.
 
But the staff at Hinsdale High School District 86 says social and emotional learning involves teaching concrete skills.
 
The skills are valuable because with some students, emotions and drama get in the way of concentration, and that affects learning, said Brad Verthein, director of student services. More than 100 students in District 86 receive services for emotional disturbances, he said.

All freshmen are learning social and emotional learning skills as part of physical education. [ click here to read more ]

 

 

 

Schools are teaching kids empathy and self-control. It helps at home, too.

My daughter attends public school in Boulder, Colo., where her teacher is one of a handful of educators integrating social and emotional learning (SEL) into the classroom.

But the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) board recently approved a grant to fund the investigation of SEL Competencies, with the goal of creating a systemwide approach to SEL.

That means more kids will be learning how to understand and manage their emotions, set goals, build healthy relationships, make good decisions and have empathy, according to the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning. [ click here to read more ]

 

 

 

Steve Head: Local districts strive to incorporate social/emotional learning into classrooms

Research shows focusing on character education leads to reduced aggression among our students, higher academic success and greater opportunity to succeed in the career they choose to pursue.

Often times in education, we hear only about the academic learning that takes place in our schools. More and more, schools are focusing on the whole child, and social and emotional learning is a critical piece of the puzzle.

Outside of the school setting, this is often referred to as the teaching of soft skills and character development with our students.

Schools are now beginning to focus on developing resiliency with our students and supporting our families and communities with this critical work. [ click here to read more ]

 

 

 

Social Emotional Learning Awareness Week

The State of Connecticut proclaimed February 7 to 14, 2018, Social Emotional Learning Awareness Week, a Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement initiative to celebrate and promote the benefits of SEL.

Quinnipiac’s School of Education, 370 Bassett Road, North Haven, will host a special event on Monday, February 12, from 10 am to noon, featuring speakers Scarlett Lewis and Senator Richard Blumenthal.
 
The Jesse Lewis Choose Love organization initiated a call to action urging students and educators to submit essays illustrating how the Jesse Lewis Choose Love movement impacts every day choices and lives.

The Choose Love Formula focuses on four pillars: Courage + Gratitude + Forgiveness + Compassion in Action = Choosing Love. Students will share their creative writing on February 12, and all entries will be published in a book about SEL.  [ click here to read more ]

Restorative Practices – Latest Interesting News Stories

These are the latest interesting stories about restorative practices with links and my comments.

Restorative justice in Catholic schools gets to root of student conflict

Previous punitive measures drained school resources, says St. Benedict Catholic Secondary principal.

Rather than immediate suspension or using detentions, some Catholic schools in Waterloo region are choosing to sit students down for a frank conversation instead.

St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School in Cambridge is one participating school in an approach they call "restorative justice," where a mediator is brought in to help get to the root of conflict.

"It's learning how to be in relationship with somebody," said Shelley Schanzenbacher, restorative justice practitioner at Community Justice Initiatives Waterloo Region. She works with students in the schools as a mediator. [ click here to read more ]

My comment:
I find this article interesting, as this school has been able to gain notable results in a relatively short time period. In the end of the article there is a hint why this is so: the school culture is shifting.

The school culture is not easy to change from a punitive one to a restorative one.

However, as the main part of the teachers and other staff members take part and are willing to work on the matters, good outcomes are possible.

Restorative practices originate from justice practices. The younger the pupils or students are when we teach them conflict resolution skills and empathy, the better they will become.  

Salt Lake lawmaker urges restorative justice to better manage school discipline

A House resolution that urges the state's school system to implement restorative justice programs to better address student discipline was endorsed Friday by the House Education Committee.
 
The bill moves to the full House for further consideration.
 
HR1, sponsored by Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, notes that restorative justice programs help students stay in school and deal with their challenges in healthy, constructive ways.

Hollins, who is a social worker, said she became interested in the approach while working with homeless clients who had been suspended or expelled from school as punishment for misbehavior that was often linked to trauma they were experiencing.

According to the resolution, restorative justice has been used extensively "to divert people from criminal justice systems and as a program for convicted offenders already in the adult or juvenile justice systems."

The approach shifts the emphasis from managing behavior by focusing on "the building, nurturing and repairing of relationships while retaining the ability to hold misbehaving students accountable," the resolution states. [ click here to read more ]

Homer Flex High School is adopting restorative justice

The approach to classroom management is shifting across the nation. Over the past decade, many educators and communities have grown frustrated with traditional punishment-focused discipline in the classroom. These schools are now trying something new: restorative justice.

This practice uses relationship building to both prevent and manage conflict in schools. Homer Flex High School is the first of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District to receive a training on it.

Math and science teacher Lindsay Martin talked with a Homer Flex high schooler at a training on Saturday about plans to create a circle where each student can talk without being interrupted.

“How many times do you think we should go around the circle?”  Martin asked the student.  [ click here to read more ]

Lake Oswego School District says it will use 'restorative practices' at all schools

Alternative to traditional punishment models aims to empower students to help resolve their own problems.

When a Post-it note containing racist language was passed to an African American student at Lake Oswego Junior High in late January, an outraged community reacted not only to the incident itself but also to the punishment given to the perpetrators.

One of the students was given a one-day suspension, several sources told The Review, while two others were assigned to in-school detentions. That sparked a demand for stiffer penalties from the victim's mother and from others in Lake Oswego, who took to social media to demand that the school district uphold a zero-tolerance policy.  [ click here to read more ]

Putting conflict resolution into kids’ hands

When asked if they felt at ease at their school, every hand went up in Kathleen Erickson’s restorative justice class at Valley View Middle School.

The 30 or so sixth- through eighth-graders in Erickson’s class practice a simple formula for defusing disputes and problems on campus that can in some instances escalate into worrisome situations.
 
They talk.

In restorative justice, students take some responsibility for disciplining peers who’ve broken school rules by ditching class or vaping, for example—offenses that usually get a kid in trouble or even suspended.

To be sure, students still go to the principal’s office when they’re caught doing something wrong. But now, instead of getting detention or a suspension, offending students can go before a panel of their peers to mediate a resolution and make amends.

Think of it as an intermediary step before suspension, said social studies teacher Traci Bowden, who together with Erickson created the class as an elective three years ago. [ click here to read more ]

 

How to become a restorative school – Part 1: The case for embracing it

In the first of a three-part series, Tom Procter-Legg sets out how the process is changing challenging behaviour for good at his school. Here, he offers the theory behind why restorative justice works, ahead of advice on how to put it into practice. [ click here to read more ]

My comment:
This is such an inspiring article! I think all schools should focus on restorative practices instead of punishments.

The core skill that all humans need is empathy.

The restorative approach makes one walk in other one’s shoes and learn different perspective - and empathy.

Further, the development of empathy leads into development of better emotional intelligence and happier children, adolescence and eventually adults!

About Teaching Emotional Competencies

As a global growth hacker for over nine years, I know that consistently achieving major new growth requires a holistic approach to the marketing, sales and business practices of a company – and constant learning.

Therefore, I’m always looking for new insights about learning, so I am very pleased when I encounter learning professionals like Marjo Sate, experienced Finnish teacher with a vision.

I have interviewed her for a several insightful articles about learning. Today we’re talking about more some ideas she has about the future of education.

— Christian Dillstrom
 

Learning is extremely important. I have heard that you’re interested in teaching social and emotional competencies. What does that have to do with learning?
Emotions are the most important aspect of learning. They can both boost and hinder the learning process. Negative feelings and thoughts block learning whereas positive feelings and thoughts enhance learning.

This should always be taken into account in any lesson.

In fact, dealing with emotions should be the number one issue in our schools. Healthy relationships between the pupils, teachers and parents establish grounds for peace and harmony for our communities to thrive.


That sounds interesting. But how did you come up with that approach?
My original idea was to tackle violence in schools. I soon realized that focusing on violence prevention was like concentrating on rubbing an aching tummy instead of considering what have I eaten to be in pain in the first place.

I don’t think measures taken to prevent violence are wrong. On the contrary. I just think that we need a more holistic and a sustainable approach.


There are no school subjects to that. Where do you find the time for teaching those skills since there are no special subjects in the curriculum, at least in your country?

Well, the new curricular guidelines introduced in 2016 actually cover social and emotional competencies as life skills.

They should be given a bigger role in everyday school life. We should be systematically teaching emotions and especially their language, the vocabulary of emotions.

For me, as a language teacher, one of the most fascinating aspects of learning a new language is that it opens up new ways of thinking. 

We can turn our unique ways of thinking into fascinating life paths. Just by connecting our logical thinking consciously with our emotional brain.

When we are able to name an emotion, express what we feel, those emotions and feelings exist in our realities. Hence, we need to teach children how to learn to perceive and express their emotions.

Oftentimes we mix emotions with thoughts.Therefore it is important to learn to differentiate between what we are feeling and what we are thinking. This way we can perceive and regulate emotions better.

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Well, that was interesting! Thank you Marjo and I hope I can soon interview you again about learning.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!

I am a Finnish teacher, assistant principal and education enthusiast who likes to share thoughts on education for better future. 

I am interested in positive pedagogy, mindset, language teaching, school development, leadership, educational research and especially social and emotional learning.