Jo Boaler's Online Stanford Course
You may be starting to check out here and thinking "I'm not a math teacher." or "I've already read all about Growth Mindset." I encourage you to take this course, and explore growth mindset even if either of those are the case. Truth is, mindset is not just math related, and much of this learning applies to all content areas. Also, mindset impacts all areas of our lives and although Jo Boaler focuses on the impact on mathematics learning, this work was started by Carol Dweck, a leading researching in the field of motivation, who wrote "Mindset - The New Psychology Of Success" which discusses success in business, relationships, teaching, and more. [Find out more about Carol Dweck at her website HERE. (Test your mindset too!)] Lastly, if you are an in an educational setting and have ever heard, or even accidentally perpetuated the statement or belief "I'm not good at math either." then this is also for you!
Back to the online course...I like it, but it does cost $99. However, totally worth it! There is a good balance of listening/watching videos, responding and reflecting, and even peer review and feedback throughout the course. The only thing I need is a reminder to do it! So far I've been reminded about what the science tells us about mindset, and have begun to look at the impact on students. I'm excited to continue the course and learn more about the following topics listed on the course website and hope to share out some great ideas soon:
- Methods to start math class off right
- Messages and praise we give students
- Teaching visual mathematics
- Approaches to designing and choosing good tasks
- Techniques to encourage productive class and group discussions
- Ways to encourage a mistakes-friendly environment
- Methods of inspiring mathematical problem solving and investigation.
If you are new to mindset research, or looking for a resource for your own child, or parents. Check out the FREE course "How to Learn Math: For Students" organized into two parts:
- Part 1: The Brian and Math Learning
- Part 2: Strategies for Success
Maybe you're just wanting to watch some slightly more interesting videos... I've got those too! Check out these videos from Youcubed for teachers and students, and a whole slew of other resources.
Question: How will you use this new knowledge of mindset? Or how do you help others explore mindset? It's very common to hear about it among teachers, but how might we spread the word to more adults and parents in the community?