Growth mindset goal
setting and reflection
The New Year is an ideal time to reflect on goals that were set
in September and the progress that has been made against implementation plans,
both for staff and pupils. It’s a good
time to refresh a commitment to a growth mindset and consider what needs to be
achieved in the coming terms. Keeping a
positive, aspirational outlook is challenging.
Having recharged the batteries over the Christmas break, it is a great
time to engage in some motivational self-talk.
Banish those negative thoughts and look to the future.
On occasion we are too focused on the mindsets of the
pupils, rather than on the mindsets of all adults in the school. We forget how much our mindset influences our
everyday actions, our classroom ethos, the way we design learning opportunities,
the way we structure our curriculum, how we reward and praise, etc. Our values permeate through the school, both
those we intended to promote and those we didn’t. Some growth mindset programmes in schools
have limited impact because staff don’t really address their own mindsets and
fail to change the way they teach. Their
words to pupils say one thing, but their actions tell a different story. It is sometimes hard for us to see the real
truths in our own classrooms and spot when a fixed mindset has invaded our
classroom. This is especially true in
the current climate of immense change.
Why not take some time in January to reflect on the
following statements.
Consider with pupils:
·
Why do we need goals?
·
What is good practice in setting goals?
·
Why is a goal without a plan simply a dream?
·
How do you make a great plan to achieve a goal?
·
Why is monitoring against a plan essential?
·
Why do you think you sometimes have to adjust
your plan as you progress towards the goal?
·
What are your goals? Short term?
Medium term? Long term?
·
Reaffirming your commitment to a goal.
Why not try some of these activities that have been gathered
from classrooms around the globe via Pinterest.
Download PDF file of goal setting activities
Goals setting sheet available on:
January is also a good time to reflect on the
characteristics of good learners. How
have pupils developed as learners over the autumn term? What do they need to work on to become more
effective and successful learners? Maybe
it is their team work, listening skills, resilience, homework commitment, or accepting
help from others? Why not create a recipe
for a successful learner or consider how to build a recipe for a specific
skills, such as listening.
Alison and Lynsey, two teachers working in the Midlothian,
have created an excellent blog sharing some of their work on growth mindset
which includes creating recipes. https://makinglearningsuper.wordpress.com/
