More assessment observations

I am still thinking and reading and writing and considering the ideas of assessment.

In her book Mindset: The new psychology of success, Carol Dweck writes, “…we found that the students with a growth mindset earned better grades in the course. Even when they did poorly on a test, they bounced back on the next ones. When students with the fixed mindset did poorly, they often didn’t make a comeback.”  (p. 61). Moving students forward is guided by the language we use and the example we set. The discourse we model will be internalized and replicated by students. Assessing them happens every day and is infused as a natural part of learning. Timely feedback paired with varied assessment tools supports students on the journey of learning.

When framed properly, hope and assessment are advocates, not adversaries. When assessing students as an open-ended progression, the word yet surfaces. Yet fuels hope, plain and simple. Hope is built upon the idea that setbacks and failure are an essential part of learning. When the journey is valued more than the destination, students build confidence in the process. They develop self-efficacy and believe that success is on the horizon. Once modelled, practiced, and honed, the act of assessing facilitates student learning. Success breeds success, and the result is hope.

Footnote:

Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success (p. 61). New York, New York: Random House.

Being a Growth-Mindset Leader

This week I made that mistake that is one of the worst. The greatest mistake you can make as a leader is believing that you are better than anyone else; better than you really are.

This week I found myself falling into this trap. I must fight against it, my ego wanting to be fed. Sometimes (ok it is rare) I think that because I am leader I have to be the font of all knowledge, the wisest person in the room, the judge, jury and executioner. I fall into the trap of believing in my own abilities rather than drawing on the collective wisdom and experience of those around me.

According to Carol Dweck, author of “Mindset”, fixed mindset leaders live in a world where some people are superior and some are inferior. They must repeatedly affirm that they are superior.

Leaders with a fixed mindset do not admit or correct their mistakes or deficiencies. They’re constantly trying to prove they’re better than others. Fixed mindset leaders don’t want teams. They want to be the only ‘big fish’ so that when they compare themselves with others they can feel a cut above the rest. They try to intimidate people with their brilliance.

In contrast, wise leaders with a growth mindset seek out the counsel of others, seeking to hear different points of view before making a decision. They have the humility to hand over decisions that really aren’t in their expertise or ability.

Growth mindset leaders don’t define themselves by their position or the organisation they work for. They don’t fall into the trap that so many of us do, of focusing on the institution itself rather than the very purpose for its existence, with the institution and our position within it becoming a reflection of our reputation, something to protect at all costs.

This not you? Then why do we only seek the counsel of those we know will agree with us? Why do we shift the blame and never say sorry? This is my work on next term.

 

Growth Mindset

I have been doing reading by Carol Dweck. I assume that you know what Dweck’s Growth Mindset is all about. If you don’t, have a peek at this video of her explaining its essence.

Dweck’s research falls into the category of most of the best of our research into education, in that it merely ends up confirming the eternal truths of the classroom: turn up, work hard, study, do well; work harder, do better; believe you can improve and you probably will, believe that you can’t and see what happens.