STEP 4: 7 Strategies for Metacognition - Discussion Forum

The biggest thing for older students is to create an atmosphere of taking risks and pushing the envelope of knowledge.  Staying in the comfort zone of "good enough" does little to promote growth and can become the biggest obstacle of true growth.  Modeling a passion for exploration is the single most influential thing I can think of to answer question #1 and the benefits I see as a teacher for #2 would be the increasing level of conversations and challenges among peers while conducting class "lecture".  I put lecture in quotations because that phrase typically brings to mind the single voice, enlightening the masses; the intent behind the phrase is more of a guided discussion at a Socratic method style.  To address question #3, I think the thing I can emphasize more of the positive "not there yet, but we are steadily getting closer and closer to ready" attitude.  Formative assessments should be individualized feedback mechanisms for students, but some of them are more receptive than others - I think of the one parent who had issues with this mindset and only focused on the fact that her daughter was frustrated because she always "felt stupid" in my class.  When I asked her to tell me more about that, the mom said it was mostly because I always replied to students' questions with "what do you think?"  I can try to implement more of the growth mindset vernacular in and see if that fixed mindset thinking/perspective can be adjusted.

During our session we had a teacher who actually taught the fixed mindset versus the growth mindset. She taught strategies of how to work through the "brickwall" students run into whether it be practice, meditation, or breathing techniques. She had preconceived notions that students wouldn't improve, learn from, or use these techniques, but she found students came back and told her where they were able to use what they were learning later. 

I often wonder if I were more deliberate and consistent in doing my own assignments along with my students and took every opportunity to model the difficulties I ran into as I completed the assignments and what I did to solve them if students would be more willing to stick with issues that show up as the do the messy work of learning. 

Many students have a mental block (I am not good/I can't....).  Once this is overcome, the fun starts.  Experiencing success and growth have always been the keys to this in PE.  I am searching for ways to better mentally prepare them to drive their brain with this earlier in the year.

Pre and post tests aren't always my favorite use of time, but I should innovate ways for students to figure out how they, indeed, have grown. I think it's important to norm the class with some neuroplasticity research at the beginning of the school year so they realize that our classroom is a place for making mistakes and growth. 

When students are more willing to make mistakes, they are more resilient to work harder and produce better work. When students can self-assess and self-motivate, that's less work for me! Plus the class as a whole can move forward faster and can create a more positive culture of learning.

I would like to share with them what I have learned in this summer academy in a way that they would understand and promote a growth mindset.  I think this will be more effective with the establishment of positive relationships with students.

As I read through this strategy I thought about my Algebra I Yr 1 students who walk into my classroom on the first day of school already defeated telling me, "I suck at math.  That is why I'm in this class."  My first goal with them is to create the "growth mindset" in my classroom.  I slowly watch my students' feelings about math change.

I am often asked the question, "When am I going to use this in life?"  I have to always give the response explaining how I am exercising their brain and help it grow.  

We took the information collected to today and worked on our tiered curriculum map for Algebra I.

I think we, as teachers, can help our students understand how to "grow their own brains?"  We can try teach them and tell them, but making them understand and believe it is the challenge. We must be PERSISTENT and CREATIVE. 

I think taking the time for students to reflect, can help them to understand where they are at in their learning, and what they might need to do to move forward, and thus "grow their brains".  It does not have to involve a lot of time to do this.  Simply pausing  between activities in the classroom, and maybe posing questions to them to help them reflect, or having them do some sharing with a partner or small group gives them a chance to think about their own learning.  Establishing relationships with them, and having them establish relationships with each other creates a comfortable atmosphere for learning, where they are not afraid to take risks and be challenged.

In math there are two types of people: those who get it and those who don't.  Well according to my students anyway.  I always tell them my story.  I was going to be an English teacher for the longest time.  I loved English classes, I always got A and B's, I loved reading and thought this is what I want to do.  Around this time I was in high school Geometry and it was NOT my best class.  I had the most amazing teacher who pushed me to do better.  The following year in Algebra II, I went from being a B/C/D student in math to an A/B.  I had never done this well in math and it was clicking in my brain.  This is when I decided I would rather be a math teacher than an English teacher.  Now I love the challenge of trying to get the right answer OR seeing how many different ways I can get the answer.  I love all the creative ways my students come up with for solving problems.  My new slogan this year was "write something down, if it is wrong that's OK we did it in pencil & we can erase it!"

For the past 11 years I have taught the Read Right program.  Before we began, and throughout, I always did a lesson on the brain, neural networks, and how are brain reads.  Even though we aren't using Read Right anymore, this lesson is too valuable to throw to the way side.  I will incorporate it into the new reading workshop.

As a counselor, we explicitly teach many of these concepts for extension into the classroom (learning style, study skills, etc).  I believe high school students (particularly in 9th/10th grade - early on) could benefit from learning about a fixed versus growth mindset and how that can affect the results they achieve throughout high school and life.  This is something that I will brainstorm with colleagues to see how we can tie a lesson to this or develop a completely stand alone lesson.

Helping students understand brain development and growth is so important in so many ways. Students need to understand how the brain works and how learning is impacted by brain growth and development. I have implemented small units in this area and it has been a useful area.

Students need to know that making mistakes is not failing, it is just a step to getting to the product. I believe that the process and struggle is more valuable in learning than just immediately getting the product. If a student can get a product with no issue, they did not learn anything, they just demonstrated what they ALREADY know. We want students to grow in their learning not stand still.

Challenging them to dig deeper and expand on their thought process rather than "good enough" will help students in their growth mindset process and letting them know that it is ok to fail and learn from it and then keep going. 

I feel as an ED teacher my students need the confidence from all school members to see that they can learn more. With that the students need the working relationship with their teachers to give them that confidence. Giving them multiple and an option of strategies to get that done is important too. 

Teaching English, it's fairly easy for me to "sneak" this strategy in. I like to find articles about this and similar growth concepts and use them as Reading for Information practice. It serves a double purpose, allowing for practice of vital skills as well as a discussion of how we can use this new information to grow as students. 

you can give them multiple opportunities to reflect on their learning, give them time and opportunity to explore multiple solutions to a problem and walk them through the problem solving process, have students keep a journal. The more students get used to metacognitive reflection, the easier it will become. As a teacher, it offers me the opportunity to better understand how my student is thinking and allow me to direct them if they are off course. Being aware of the different metacognitive strategies allows me to think about using technology to create journals, etc. 

This is going to be a key component to my Reading Strategies class right from the beginning. My teen readers likely have this story in their head that 1) they're not a good reader and 2) they never will be. What I learned from Mraz and Hertz's book, A Mindset for Learning, is that to cultivate flexibility, empathy, persistence, resilience, and optimism it needs to be an on-going awareness of it in the classroom, a daily discussion. This might fit well in that goals section of their reading journal maybe connected to their perception of themselves as readers and learners.

This article is right on supporting and pointing out the strengths of understanding how you learn and the effects of environment on your learning.

I have found that students learn more when they are able to recognize how they learn as well as their strengths and weaknesses. They also tend to appreciate an educational approach that is focused on them as individuals.

I love what Dweck says about schools helping disadvantaged students understand that their intelligence is something that can and will develop and that they (students) have a purpose.  These are two very empowering statements for students. Helping students understand their own learning abilities and encouraging them to embrace their strengths actually makes the job of a teacher easier. Understanding the strengths of students can help a teacher implement formative assessments that will align with student learning styles.

Some things I will do in my own classroom to help students and grow brains is provide relevant and meaningful work and by developing strong, positive, and productive relationships.  To help with formative assessments  I will set high standards and assure them that I will provide what they need to succeed. This will benefit me as a teacher since a person's intelligence is something that can and will develop with effort, good strategies, and support from school.  My students can be reached by the right mindset by adults at my school.  Disengaged students need the positive experiences to see school differently and overcome doubts about their own success.

Our team has been working on bringing awareness to growth mindset and teaching/modeling growth mindset.  We've used many different resources and activities to help us teach growth mindset. 

What things might you do in your classroom to help your students understand how to "grow their own brains?"  Teach children how to use checklists to keep track of the progress they are making and to help stay organized with their thinking, learning journals will help students reflect and think about what they can do better the next time and what is going well already-implement lessons that will teach them what growth mindset looks like and model behavior for the students

How might this benefit you as a teacher?  The students will hopefully take more ownership of their learning and work habits

How might this help you to innovate formative assessment?  The learning journals will help the teacher better understand how the students are feeling as they learn different concepts and where they are as a learner

I think it is important to find out what motivates students especially the students that are disengaged. It is my job to help the students feel successful and to give positive feedback that will highlight their strengths. It is also important to show the students different strategies so their intelligence can develop. 

I must emphasize the incredible potential of mankind to change the world, and enthusiastically share stories of change. In a history class, a student should learn about people from all different walks of life and the impact of decisions.

I would connect Mind Up, Growth Mindset, and Metacognition explicit teaching.  Use these three things to "grow students' brains".