Where do I even start? As I looked back at the goals I made
a few week’s ago, I feel like I have already been immersed in a pool of knowledge
that will only continue to grow throughout this course and my educational
experience. As an educator, I want to stay up to date on the advancements that
are made, but it is often scary for me to take that step. The resources this
week have challenged me not to only be a better educator, but a better learner.
It is very easy for me to get discouraged and overwhelmed at the beginning of a
new course. I often worry about if I am understanding what is being asked of me
or if I am putting enough time into my assignments because of trying to work
and raise a family too. The resources that were available to us this week has
made me see that learning is what I put into it. If I want to grow as a
teacher, I need to put forth every effort to learn what I don’t know. This
includes taking things that I am not familiar with a learning everything I can
about it. In the article, Even Geniuses
Work Hard by Carol Dweck, I like the way the “Not Yet” phrase was used.
This is the type of learner and teacher that I want to be. To create a growth
mindset in myself as well as my students, I need to develop this mentality. One
of my goals is to stay abreast with the changes happening with technology to
help my students be successful. I truly believe that in this course I will learn
some valuable lessons for myself as well as my students. Blogs and the use of
twitter are two resources that I have begun to use that I would have never thought
I would. Developing a PLN will also continue to provide resources that I can refer
to, to find answers and ideas quickly. I chose using pearltress to develop my
PLN because I have never used it before. I wanted to learn something new. The
video, The power of belief, sets a
huge challenge before us. Through this video we are challenged to take that
step forward and learn new things because we can. Many of our students develop
a fixed mindset because they hit road blocks that tend to completely stop them
instead of them finding a way around them. One statement in the video that
stood out to me about being a growth mindset learner was the study of puzzles
where the students were told “You must have tried hard”. This statement challenged
the students in the study to do the much harder puzzles, while the others that
had accomplished the task chose to stay with the easy puzzles. This is a true
representation of what happens in the classroom. What we say and do has a
lasting effect on our students. Even though I feel overwhelmed with the tasks
set before me, I know that if I continue my search of resources and continue to
challenge myself, I will develop a growth mindset that I can then convey to my
students to help them become better learners and continue to look for challenges
inside and outside the classroom.
In the TED Talk we watched, Briceno briefly commented using the same terminology from the article you mention in your post. He says, “If you hear ‘I can’t do it,’ add ‘yet.’” I just love that mentality so much. So often, I forget how my language to myself (and even more so to my students) can be stunting. It is so important to reflect and praise the journey. I also agree that educators must put forth every effort to grow and learn for the betterment of our students, and this really applies to what we are learning about with information inquiry and fluency. How can I teach my students to be good digital citizens if I am not 100% sure what that even looks like in our world right now?
ReplyDeleteI thought the "not yet" idea was a great one! I also liked that Briceno said in his Ted Talk to make feedback to students process related to help foster a growth mindset. I do this, mainly in coaching, but some in the classroom. I'd like to become more intentional about giving process feedback.
ReplyDeleteDeveloping a PLN should have been added to my goal list as well as utilizing my twitter. This class has taught me an abundance already and it's only halfway through. Many of our students develop fixed mindsets and I admit that I take responsibility for it- next school year I am going to put somewhere in my room "Hey I'm Ms. McGilberry and I'm a human." meaning it is absolutely okay for me to make mistakes and it's okay for them to make them as well. That's apart of growing, how would u ride a bike if you never fell, everyone fell.
ReplyDelete