Shaping the Academic Mindset

     The first chapter of the book, Rigor by Design Not Chance, is called Laying the Foundation for Deeper Learning. This chapter discusses the six competencies needed for deeper learning. The competencies are mastering core academic content, thinking critically and solving complex problems, working collaboratively on complex tasks, communicating effectively, learning how to learn, and developing an academic mindset. These six competencies create deeper learning for students to become “actively immersed in challenging tasks that require them to seek out and acquire new knowledge, apply what they have learned, and build on that learning to construct new knowledge” (Hess, 2023. Pg. 8).  

    There are three essential College- and Career-readiness (CCR) skill sets to help students become engaged learners, independent learners, and self-directed learners. These help students make connections. During the learning process, the student must actively make connections so they stay with them longer and more robustly. 

    The academic article I found related to the book is called Academic Mindsets as a Critical Component of Deeper Learning. This article discusses the same competencies as our book and relates them to the academic mindsets of learners more specifically. Academic mindsets of learners play a significant role in developing competencies, skills, and knowledge.  Students who embody these competencies in their learning engage in their work and civic life after school more productively. On page three of the academic journal, it states that “Academic mindsets are ‘the psycho-social attitudes or beliefs one has about oneself in relation to academic work,’ and these attitudes and beliefs are often what compel students to engage in learning – or not” (Farrington, 2013). Ultimately, it is up to the student whether they take on the competencies to become a deeper learner or not. Teachers must create an environment where the students want to be engaged and think differently. Providing problem-solving tasks that require critical thinking needs to be a priority for teachers. The students should want to engage in the learning experience. Students can be successful if they think of themselves as someone who wants to learn, especially in the school setting. 

    The article also discusses the importance of academic behaviors (ex: going to class, engaging in class, doing homework, etc.). Through research, they found that for students to improve their academic performance, they need first to improve their academic behavior, as it has a high correlation. The best way to improve academic behaviors is by supporting the development of academic mindsets (Farrington, 2013). With a positive academic mindset, students are engaged in their learning environment and have more vital academic perseverance. Students with a negative academic mindset are the opposite. They are withdrawn from their learning environment and give up quickly when school is challenging. Teachers need to motivate student engagement to promote deeper learning for the students. They can do this by giving students different ways to think about their academic careers and providing opportunities to reflect on their academic attitudes. This can make them more aware of their contributions to the class and allow them to shift toward a positive academic mindset. Developing a positive academic mindset would create good habits for their future, whether it be in college future or their future career. 


References


Farrington, Camille A. (April 2013). Academic Mindsets as a Critical Component of Deeper Learning. White_Paper_Academic_Mindsets_as_a_Critical_Component_of_Deeper_Learning_Camille_Farrington_April_20_2013


Hess, Karin. (2023).  Rigor by Design, Not Chance: Deeper Thinking Through Actionable   Instruction and Assessment. ASCD ASSN SUPERV CURR DEV, 2023.

Comments

  1. Dr. Beth Walsh-MoormanOctober 23, 2023 at 2:08 PM

    I really appreciate this connection, but I wonder what teacher moves you could pull from either reading that might develop such mindsets?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lucy PattisonOctober 24, 2023 at 10:37 AM

    As a future educator, I must understand how to engage my students. I wonder how the teacher can impact the students' engagement outside the classroom. I would like to know if teachers who attend after-school events engage students more. I also wonder how big of an impact the classroom environment makes on student engagement. Additionally, it would be interesting to see how teachers can use trauma-informed training to help students' academic behavior. Overall, I am excited to understand more about engaging students.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mr. ForsytheOctober 27, 2023 at 8:22 PM


    Hi Megan,
    As future educators, we must know how to engage students in the classroom through deeper learning strategies that offer to build upon their skill sets and knowledge. I love that you found an article about how their mindsets can affect learners in different ways, such as developing competencies, skills, and knowledge, as you mentioned. The teacher must play a specific role in the classroom to guide students to open up their learning habits. I also like how you researched the academic behaviors that are needed to be able to improve their performance. Just by providing students with the opportunity to prove themselves in and outside of the classroom. Encouraging students to have a growth mindset will benefit them! Great work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kenneth MillerNovember 3, 2023 at 7:40 PM

      Hey Megan,
      As a future teacher and current coach, your second paragraph spoke to me. It's so important to find out what interests your students and what gets them excited about learning. If we can act as facilitators in guiding our students in the right direction, students will become driven and motivated to expand knowledge on their own. This will benefit them at the college level since they will be taking classes that are curated toward their degree and personal interests.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Creating a Fishbowl

               The book's fifth chapter, Rigor By Design Not Chance, focuses mainly on designing complex tasks and that performance-based assessments should vary. In performance-based assessments, students should apply multiple concepts and skills to the project. The students, therefore, create complex solutions. These complex performance assessments develop opportunities for students to think critically and creatively. The best way to complete these complex tasks is to work with others. On page 93, “...we can tackle much more complex, performance-based tasks when we work on them with others than if we work on them alone, especially when we’re first learning how to do those tasks” (Hess, 2023). There are many different ways to approach a complex assessment. Collaboration is an excellent way for students to understand what is being asked of them.  The chapter also discusses the importance of progression when building complex performance t...
Read more

Student-Led Metacognition and Reflection

Image
  Chapter six of the book Rigor By Design Not Chance focuses mainly on engaging students in metacognition and reflection. Metacognition and self-reflection are vital skills students need to become independent learners. Metacognition helps monitor learning progress, while self-reflection must occur after learning. They allow students to be aware of their learning path, and students can recognize their contributions to it (Hess, 2023). The book also provides discourse and collaboration strategies that help students learn how to self-assess. One of the strategies is called the GPS-I Rule to structure productive group work. It involves group processing, positive independence, simultaneous engagement, and individual accountability (Hess, 2023). This strategy enhances students’ understanding of how to work constructively with peers. It allows students to be engaged in their learning and reflect on their understanding as it develops positive independence and individual accountabili...
Read more