Growth Mindset

Today we focused a lot on having a growth mindset when it comes to math. Math can be very frustrating for students because it takes a lot of hard work to master a new skill. Enjoying math is half of the battle when it comes to mastering a new skill. I began by reading a story to the students. As I read, they closed their eyes and pictured themselves in the story. 

We talked about how that would make them feel if their teacher told them they couldn't play on the monkey bars just because they didn't make it the first time. We also talked about how they could make it all the way across with practice and hard work. This lead to a discussion how both students AND teachers should have a growth mindset. We also connected this with learning math. We also discussed the power of the word "yet." We discussed how if math is hard, we don't say "I can't do it!" Instead, we can say "I can't do it YET." If they work hard and have the right mindset it will help them reach success. 

Next, we watched a video on withmathican.org. It is extremely powerful and made many of the students share how they have felt at some point like they weren't good at math or scared to share ideas in class. It was a great open discussion that really built our bond as a class and contributed to creating the positive and safe environment I strive to maintain. Here is the link to the video:

http://youtu.be/sLPFaOvhlKw

Next, we went to the website (withmathican.org) and talked about our class pledge. I created a poster with the pledge and the students personalized their signature to hang around the pledge. After they posted their signature the students held their right hand and we said the pledge together. 

Www.withmathican.org is a great website for resources to build a growth mindset within students. There are tons of resources for not only teachers, but parents as well! I encourage you to take a look and possibly even sign the pledge online with your child. Growth mindset is something I will try to build all year long within my students. It helps the students realize it's okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them, that all students can be successful with hard work, and to never give up. It helps keep a positive relationship with math. As a teacher that is one of my biggest goals for my students! I want them to LOVE (or at least like) math!

I hope you all have a great week. It was a successful first week of school!! :)