Fixed Mindset or Growth Mindset?

The past three days, I have had the privilege to listen to and interact with some experts in the field of literacy.  Tonight, as I sit down to write this long overdue blog post, my mind is buzzing with so many thoughts and questions!  Probably the most important question I'm asking myself as I reflect on my learning from the past three days is "What am I going to do differently because of this new learning?"

The teachers in my district, myself included, are BLESSED to be able to extend our learning by participating in professional learning communities in our schools and by attending various workshops, conferences, and edcamps.  We are encouraged to be life-long learners and we are encouraged to share our learning with those around us. I am thankful that our district provides the resources that allow us to grow and learn!

This week, I attended a conference hosted by the Missouri Association of Reading Recovery Educators (MARRE).  There are many things that I learned that I could share about in this post, but perhaps the most fascinating information, and the information that had the most impact on my thinking, was what I heard in the sessions led by Dr. Peter Johnston.  I have not read Opening Minds or Choice Words, two of Dr. Johnston's books, but I am going to read them soon! (http://www.stenhouse.com/html/authorbios_34.htm/)  Dr. Johnston shared many thoughts and ideas with his listeners, but his talk on the theories of intelligence was especially fascinating to me.  It caused me to stop and think about my own educational journey and the educational journeys of the children I come in contact with on a daily basis.  It caused me to think about whether I, as an educator, have a "fixed mindset" or a "growth mindset".  It also caused me to think about what I say to children and how my words can have an impact on whether a child develops a "fixed mindset" or a "growth mindset".

So...as an educator, do you have a "fixed mindset"? 
Do you hold to the idea that you know what you know, that intelligence is static? 
Do you desire to look smart, which in turn causes you to avoid challenges (like a child with a behavior issue) or give up easily when there are obstacles in your path (like the not-so-great attitudes of colleagues)? 
Do you see effort as fruitless (like trying to help a child who is having trouble progressing) or feel threatened by the success of others (like that "rock star" teacher down the hall)?

Or maybe--hopefully--you have a "growth mindset" instead. 
Do you feel like intelligence can grow and do you have a desire to learn? 
Do you embrace challenges (like finding a way to reach that child who has a behavior issue) and do you persist despite obstacles (like trying to be positive in response to the not-so-great attitudes of colleagues)? 
Do you see effort as the path to mastery (like continuing to try to help a student who is having trouble progressing) and do you feel inspired by the success of others (like learning from that "rock star" teacher down the hall)?

I don't know about you, but I want to be an educator with a "growth mindset" who can, by my choice of words, impact the lives of children and help them develop a "growth mindset" as well!

My first #edcamp

Yesterday, I did something that I only recently learned about--I attended my first ever edcamp.  If you aren't familiar with this term, you should become familiar with it because, in my opinion, this edcamp was one of the most valuable experiences I have had in my 20+ years of teaching.  I know that seems like a powerful statement, but let me explain.

I first starting seeing information about edcamps on Twitter, but I didn't really know what it meant.  I had an idea that it was some kind of conference for educators, but beyond that I didn't really have an understanding of the meaning of the term "edcamp".  Then, a few weeks ago, the principal at our Primary school tweeted about the Springfield, Missouri area having an edcamp (@edcampSGF), and my interest was heightened when I heard that it was free professional development.  As the time for the edcamp grew closer, Mrs. Bass (@ToniDBass) sent out emails to the staff and encouraged their participation in this free event.  I decided--at the last minute--to sign up and see what it was all about. Was it easy to "give up" my Saturday and get up early to spend the day learning?  No--but it was SO worth it! 

To begin with, if you want to gain an understanding of edcamps, here is some basic information.  According to wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EdCamp, an edcamp is "a user-generated conference - commonly referred to as an 'unconference'".  Another blog, http://davidwees.com/content/what-edcamp, explains that an edcamp is "a (relatively) new form of professional development which is highly flexible, and based on the needs of the participants."  In addition, the Edutopia site has a blog about the history of edcamps that can be found at http://www.edutopia.org/blog/about-edcamp-unconference-history.

The information about the history of edcamps and what to expect is all great, but on a more personal note, here is what I experienced at edcampSGF.  We arrived at Willard High School, got checked in, and put our door prize tickets into drawings.  One of the organizers of the edcamp was encouraging people to sign up to facilitate a session about a topic in which they were interested. My colleague, Sara (@kdgteach_123), jumped in with both feet and signed up to facilitate a discussion about using digital tools to help in monitoring the progress of primary students.  I admired her braveness in signing up for the very first session without having ever even previously attended an edcamp! After the sessions/facilitators were decided, we all chose what learning we wanted to participate in and the sessions began.  "Participate" is a key word because, unlike educational conferences that I've been to over the years, an edcamp encourages participation in the discussion around the topic on the part of attendees.  As I soon discovered, participation in the discussion was key to my learning and, over the course of the day, we had valuable conversations about relevant educational topics.  There was no watching a powerpoint and trying to "soak up" the learning.  It was all about educators listening to each other, problem-solving around various issues, and learning together.  There were edcamp "regulars" who had experienced an edcamp before and there were newbies like myself, all collaborating together.   What a powerful experience!  After we had learned together during the first two sessions, we ate lunch and participated in some fun activities in order to earn more tickets for the door prize drawings.  The activities were based on the theme "things you can't do at school" so we had rolling chair races, made paper airplanes, screamed in the library, had a food fight, and various other activities.  After lunch, we gathered in the auditorium for an app "shoot out".  During this time, attendees were encouraged to share out about various apps that they have found useful in the classroom.  We then attended another session before gathering in the auditorium for the final "Super Session".  During this time, we listened to an expert panel answer questions that had been submitted during the day.  After the "Super Session", door prizes were given out and edcampSGF came to a close.  A big "THANKS" to Melinda Miller (@mmiller7571) and everyone who had a part in making edcampSGF a great day of learning!

When you think about a typical educational conference, once the conference has ended you might go back to your school with some ideas to try--and that is great.  However, one of the beauties of edcamp is that the learning and collaboration don't have to stop when the edcamp is over.  Because of the conversations, connections, and collaboration that took place with other educators during edcamp, the learning will continue with the help of social media like Twitter or Facebook.

One reason I believe there has never been a better time to be an educator is because of our ability to connect with other educators and learn from each other.  I highly recommend "giving up" a Saturday to attend an edcamp that is near you.  I think you will find, like I did, that it is SO worth it!

FEAR vs. PASSION & KNOWLEDGE

Tomorrow is the big day!  The floors are polished and shiny.  The decorations are up.  The books are ready and the pencils are sharpened.  But are YOU ready?  The beginning of a new school year brings about many emotions.  As a teacher, you may be feeling a variety of emotions about the upcoming school year. You may be feeling sad because summer is over, or excited for a new school year.  You may be dealing with life changes and be feeling anxious about this year.  I’m sure there are some feelings of uncertainty because of changes that have been made in curriculum.  So—here is the advice I gave to the teachers in grades K-3 as our district heads back to class tomorrow.  Just take a deep breath, keep calm, and TEACH ON!  I also reminded them that the bottom line is—they know what kids need to learn in their grade levels.  As a team, they’ve looked at curriculum and the Common Core standards and mapped out what kids need to know.  I asked them to remember that now it's time for the FUN part—the reason they became a teacher.  Now it's time to start building relationships with the kids and show them OUR passion for learning and reading!  I encouraged them to give kids one thing they need in order to be a successful reader—a LOVE for reading.  

I also encouraged them with something I heard at a conference I attended over the summer.  Maybe it will resonate with you as well.  I am sure that I will not relay the story as eloquently, but hopefully you can see the point of the story nonetheless.  Lester Laminick, the keynote speaker and an author, told a story about his friend, his friend’s aunt, and a hive of bees.  This aunt had a beehive and had spent much time studying about bees and their behaviors and had been passing that knowledge along to Mr. Laminick’s friend, her nephew.  One summer afternoon when his friend was a young boy, he was taking a nap on the porch of his aunt’s house after they had been working with the bees.  His aunt was out in the garden and as she came back up onto the porch, she saw an amazing sight.  The bees, attracted to the pheromones that were on the boy, had covered his torso, but were not stinging him.  At this point in the story, Mr. Laminick pointed out that a person who had not studied the habits of bees might have let their fear of what could happen cloud their judgment and react irrationally.  However, because the boy’s aunt had the knowledge she needed, knowing that the bees would not sting unless they were provoked, a tragic event was avoided.  She spoke calmly to the boy and told him to just start waking up but that he didn’t need to open his eyes yet.  After going to the hive and making herself “attractive” to the bees by putting the pheromones on her arm, she went to the porch, laid her arm near the side of the boy, and allowed the bees to transfer from his torso to her arm.  When the bees were safely back in their hive, she returned to the boy and told him he could open his eyes.  Lester Laminick was using this story to encourage us, as educators, to not let our fear of the unknown—new curriculum, the CCSS, etc.—drive us to act irrationally.  He said, “If your fear trumps your PASSION and your KNOWLEDGE, your whole year is ruined.  Fear immobilizes something amazing.”  This story really made me stop and think about how often I let fear override my passion and my knowledge and cause me to not step out and try something new or different.  I shared with my team that my goal this year is to learn all I can about reading, writing, and the CCSS so that my passion and my knowledge are not overcome by my fear of the unknown.  Hopefully, teachers everywhere will join me in this endeavor.

Happy first day of school--whenever that may be for you!

Our school, like many others, is out for the summer.  But our teachers, like teachers everywhere, worry about the "summer slide".  No--I'm not talking about a waterslide or a slide at the park, although THOSE kinds of slides are fun during the summer.  No--I'm talking about a different kind of slide.  Now, if you're in education, you know the "summer slide" of which I am speaking.  It's the slide that begins somewhere around the first day of summer vacation and lasts until the first day of the new school year in August.  It's the slide that makes beginning readers forget reading strategies and revert back to sounding words out inefficiently, letter by letter.  So--what do we do about it?

Last spring, in a meeting about literacy, our team was brainstorming ways we could help slow down the "summer slide".  The usual things were mentioned--remind parents that kids need to read all summer long, remind kids to go to the library and check out books, send newsletters home that give information about various reading "events", etc.  We decided that, although these ideas were valuable, we needed something more.  After all, we knew that most at-risk kids would probably not visit the public library, and we realized that it is not always easy for parents to have access to leveled readers that beginning readers are used to reading.  So--even with very little time left in the school year to plan, we made the decision to open the library at our school for 1 hour each week, starting the first week after school was out and continuing until the week before school began in August.  The teachers were asked to commit to just one night during the summer to work at the library, listening to children read and talking to parents about good reading strategies to use at home.  I'm not sure how EXCITED everyone was about coming to school during their summer off, but I think after being there and investing in the lives of those kids for just one hour during the summer, everyone felt hopeful that maybe we could make a small impact on the effects of the "summer slide".  And, with all my heart, I believe it DID make a difference in the lives of those kids (and parents) who came every week, or nearly every week, during the summer.  If nothing else, hopefully it made them see how much we, as teachers, valued reading.  Hopefully, it made them see that we thought reading was so important that we were willing to give up some of our cherished summer vacation to come and read with them.  Hopefully, it made them want to read more and helped grow their love of reading, their love of books, and their love of learning!  Did we see every child from our school?  No.  Did we see every at-risk child come and embrace reading and grow by leaps and bounds? No.  But at least we were reaching out and making the library, and ourselves, available.

So--we decided to do it again this summer.  We did a little more planning this year and invited the students in second and third grades to also participate at the centrally located Primary School library.  We recruited more teachers to work.  We expanded the time open from one hour to two hours.  We came up with reading incentives and talked to the students about setting reading goals--to read for at least 15 minutes each day.  We added technology in the form of iPads and the computer lab.

We had the first library time of the summer tonight.  Over 50 kids and their families came to read with us tonight!  Every child was able to read at least one book on his or her level to a teacher, principal, or librarian. We checked out over 150 leveled readers and 150 library books.  It was a crazy, busy two hours, but at the end of the day, if it makes a difference in the life of just one child and his or her love of reading, then it was well worth any time and effort that we put into it! 

Wow!  It's hard to believe that it is the middle of April and school will soon be out for the summer.  Like most years, this has been a whirlwind year for me.  Unlike most years, it hasn't been spent in a classroom full of kindergarten students.  Although I can honestly say that I have learned a lot every year since I began my teaching career 21 years ago, this year has been an INTENSE learning experience for me!  Here are a few things, in a list of many, that I have learned this year.

• I work with the absolute BEST teachers and administrators in the universe!  Everyone has been so kind and understanding as I have tried to acclimate myself to the literacy coach position while also going through Reading Recovery training, Coaches Training, and various other trainings. 

• Reading Recovery training is intense and difficult, but INCREDIBLY valuable.  I learned so much! I wish I would've known what I know now, when I was in the classroom.  It was a great training year and I got to meet, and work closely with, some amazing ladies!

• I love helping kids learn to read!  I already knew this, but it became even more apparent this year as I worked one on one with struggling readers. 

• Stepping outside my comfort zone (the kindergarten classroom) wasn't easy, but it has been such a growth opportunity and a learning experience for me.  I love the feeling of growth!

I have learned so much this year, and I am looking forward to learning even more in the months and years ahead.  And that's really what it's all about......being a life-long learner! 

Happy Learning!