I received the GREATEST text today that confirmed my belief in growth mind-set... Individuals with a growth mind-set depend on mentorship, experience, and practice over time to develop their intelligence, talents, and abilities. They are willing to step out of their comfort zone and take risks, realizing that mistakes are opportunities to learn and grow. According to Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford University and author of the book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”, those with a growth mind-set persist to accomplish the following:
AND THE RANDOMNESS OF BARBARA WALTERS IN THIS POST ;) Last night I was watching the final interview with top female news correspondent, Barbara Walters. In one piece of the segment, Barbara's "go-to-questions" were highlighted. "I ask questions that make you think…questions that you haven't heard before," Barbara stated. My thought was these questions would elicit, as Barbara expressed, "…thoughtful…and sometimes surprising answers" with our 4th and 5th grade writers. These questions can be used in the first unit where students are working on collecting some initial entries or seed ideas in their writer's notebooks:
This lesson can possibly begin with a short (appropriate) video clip of famous people being interviewed by Barbara with these questions. Students can then move to their notebook for a quick write and have a chance to answer 1 or more of these questions. This seed idea might lead to a longer piece immediately or sometime during the school year. Voila! Inspiration from Barbara Walters!
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This week I stopped in a 4th grade classroom where writer's workshop was underway. Students were intently scattering from the meeting area to continue work on their feature articles. As I scanned the room, each student had a calendar with their writing work. When I asked a student about the calendar, this author let me know that with only 3 weeks left in the school year, each student had created his/her own deadlines to complete the phases of writing and publishing for this unit of study. One young author was very excited to share his work with me as he planned out the lay-out for his piece on "TS". (He informed me that TS is Tourette's syndrome, which is a condition that he has.) His goal is to build awareness of TS by printing 100 copies of his feature article to distribute. This young man's calendar included weekend work that he had set for himself to meet the target date. This student and I celebrated his hard work and commitment to this project. I was invited back to check in on his progress and receive a final copy of his publication. I gladly accepted this invitation! Less than 20 minutes had passed when this author found me in my office as I gathered supplies for a PLT meeting. He was excited to report that because today's work had been so successful, he was ahead of schedule. We shared another small celebration. I mistakenly judged that he would be able to take the weekend off and pick up with this writing piece next week. With a smile, he informed that this work was important and a break would not be in his weekend plans. He received no arguments from me…in fact, as a co-learner I was reminded of a valuable life lesson...meaningful work keeps the student engaged and increases the motivation towards success. |
Dr. Rena Hawkins
I am the Principal of Maple Elementary School in Smithville, MO, and co-host of the #ShareMOEdu podcast. I am passionate about teaching and learning while supporting a school environment that promotes a positive climate. #ShareMOEdu airs every Thursday on iTunes and PodOmatic, highlighting an educator who has a positive message to share. Archives
January 2020
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