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From Theory to Practice Issue #8, January 2012
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Happy New Year!
January is a fantastic time to reflect on how the school year has begun and to plan how to foster student success during the rest of the year.
In this month's edition, we're looking ahead to 2012. Lisa Blackwell, our co-founder and mindset expert, has seven great tips on grading for a growth mindset. In addition, 6th grade teacher Karen Green shares her classroom experiences and activity ideas for encouraging students to enjoy the process of learning. Check out some techniques to encourage your students to persist through difficulties and challenges, provided by educators who won December’s contest.
We want to thank you for taking the time to read the growth mindset newsletter, and for sharing feedback during the past year. Your input has made this a better newsletter! If you have any questions, comments, or would like to write a guest post, please contact us at: newsletter@brainology.us.
We hope to continue providing you with great resources throughout 2012.
The Mindset Works Team
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Growth Mindset News and Tips
Grading for Growth in a High-Stakes World
By Dr. Lisa Blackwell
 Last month, I wrote about creating a risk-tolerant classroom environment as a way to empower students to seek challenge and risk mistakes—core principles of a growth mindset. But how can a classroom be risk-tolerant when there are tests and grades at every turn?
Recently, I gave a workshop in an elementary school full of creative and dedicated educators. These teachers thought their kids were wonderful, and they wanted nothing more than to simply nurture their enthusiasm, creativity, and growth. But the students (and their parents) were full of anxiety about grades and state tests.
It’s no easier for the teachers. Assessment and grading are among the most complex and controversial areas of teaching, because they’re expected to do so many different things: motivate students to do their work; measure progress towards learning goals; identify and promote talent and merit; and hold schools and, increasingly, individual teachers, accountable. Many educators are struggling with these competing priorities, and wonder how they can foster a growth mindset at the same time.
I certainly don’t have all the answers! But my colleagues and I have learned some valuable lessons from our research and work with students and teachers.
Read more...
The Power of Mindset: Charles Patterson Middle School Earns Recognition as a Role Model School in Texas
How did a public school increase their number of honor roll students by 15% in one year? In our August newsletter, Charles Patterson Middle School Principal Jill Balzer shared how her students had achieved significant improvements in test scores and academic abilities following the school-wide adoption of mindset practices and the implementation of the Brainology program.
Last month, Jill and her school were recognized by the Texas School Business Bragging Rights publication for the improvements they’ve made, which Jill attributes to their creation of a Growth Mindset school culture. Each year, this publication, which has over 25,000 readers, receives nominations from hundreds of schools so this is a great achievement. Please join us as we congratulate Jill Balzer and her teachers, staff and students for their hard work!
Read more...
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Mindset in Action
Enjoying the process of Learning
Karen Green, from Lyons Hall Primary School in Essex, England, shares her experience, tips and classroom activities to teach the growth mindset
 I’m a primary school teacher at Lyons Hall Primary School, where I teach sixth grade students. We had introduced the growth mindset in school, so students were already familiar with the language of it. For instance, they already understood the importance of resilience, determination and perseverance, which, in their own words sounded like: “keep trying,” “do your best,” and “never give up.” Prior shifting to a senior school, we wanted to make sure that the 6th graders had a deeper understanding of themselves as learners, so they could build their own autonomy to change and gain confidence in their academic abilities.
Read more...
The Growth Minded Educator Contest
The Growth Minded Educator Contest is our way of capturing and sharing collective learning experiences, and recognizing the efforts that educators have put into instilling and cultivating a Growth Mindset in their students.
December 2011 Contest Results
We had some terrific entries to Novembers’ contest, so we decided to honor the entries of three educators! The Growth Minded Educators of December are: Kelly O'Shea, Catie Morrison, and Derek Piper. 
Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to all who participated! We received many fantastic submissions, and will reach out to some of you to discuss potential methods of incorporating your ideas and experiences into other areas of the Growth Mindset community.
Below are the winning entries to the contest question, "What techniques are you using, or planning to use, to encourage your students to take on challenges and persist through difficulty?":
Read more...
Enter the next Growth Minded Educator Contest
All contest entries have a chance to win an autographed copy of Carol Dweck''s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
Contest Question:
How can parents and teachers make assessment and grading a tool for growth? Please share an assessment-related approach or activity that you use with your kids to keep them focused on growth. (Suggested length: 150 words or less)
Email your answers to newsletter@brainology.us by February 7th, 2012 We’ll review each answer and share the winning one(s) on a future newsletter.
If you have any questions regarding the contest, please post a comment or email us at newsletter@brainology.us
Do you have something to say?
Please post comments at the bottom of any of the articles, and if you have more to say, consider writing a guest blog or newsletter post! Email us at newsletter@brainology.us to share your guest post idea.
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