Helping Students to Know Themselves

Many of us have enjoyed getting to know our students throughout this first trimester. We recognize that deeper and more lasting learning happens when they feel understood, valued and respected in their learning environment. In addition to learning more about our students, we can also play a role in helping learners to know themselves! Most teachers, rather than focusing solely on the product of student learning, value the learning process as well. In order for students to take greater ownership of this learning process, they need the metacognitive ability to know themselves as learners. The following two educational theories have emerged as significant to student learning and present a great place to start when helping students to “think about their thinking”. Mindset Carol Dweck’s research regarding fixed and growth mindset has had substantial impact in the worlds of business, athletics, education and the arts. People with a fixed mindset believe that academic, athletic and artistic abilities are something one is “born with” and cannot be changed in any significant way. Those with a growth mindset believe that regardless of one’s current abilities, they can be significantly developed through instruction and hard work. Fixed mindset students shy from challenge, reject constructive criticism and generally under achieve. Our interactions and communications with students can help to cultivate a growth mindset. Students with a fixed mindset, however, need to “own” the difficult task of shifting. The following resources can help your students to get the process going! Power point with Questionnaire (slide 10) to help determine which mindset you have One minute video outlining the attributes of each Mindset Article by Carol Dweck on How to Change your Mindset Multiple Intelligences In 1983, Howard Gardner published Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. This work caused a fundamental shift in the way educators approached teaching. The measure of one’s intelligence was no longer limited to verbal and mathematical abilities, but included a variety of other aptitudes. Personal inventories can help a student to determine where their “lights shine brightest” when it comes to the Multiple Intelligences. This can help them to use effective learning strategies and give them the confidence to embrace their strengths as valuable and necessary to our learning community. The following inventories are a great place to start! [ http://tools4sucessnotes.wikispaces.com/file/view/primary%2Bmi%2Bsurvey.pdf ]MI inventory for Primary Students [ fcp://@mail.gfs.org,%236000402/Mailbox/_blank/www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html ]MI inventory for Upper Elementary, Middle and Upper [ http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-learning-styles-quiz ]General MI inventory through adulthood