Today we get to look at chapter 2 of the awesome book Mindsets in the Classroom and I will be linking up with the lovely ladies at Hello Sunshine for this.
In this chapter Mary Cay Ricci gives steps on how to build a growth mindset school culture. I focused a lot on the 5th step which was all about teaching students more about the brain. I think I focused in on this more than the others because I will be teaching science this year with a curriculum that doesn't teach my little firsties anything about the human body which is definitely an important piece.
If you read the study that Ricci mentions in this section that was conducted by Marshall and Comalli you can see how important it is to start introducing how our actions and senses are controlled by the brain. Students learning about the brain as early as preschool helps them understand how much their brain really does and really helps them as they develop a growth mindset. They need to understand that with effort your brain can make new connections and learn anything. I use a lot of Magic School Bus books and episodes in science lessons and their are some really good ones that can help teach students about five senses and brain connections. I like The Magic School Bus: Explores the Senses. Sqool Tube also has several kid friendly videos all about the nervous system that you could use in a mini lesson.
Teaching lessons on the brain to your students will also help us teachers become more familiar with the brain and how all these connections are made. It is just as important for us to learn as it is for our students. We need to make sure that we understand so that we can let go of our fixed mindset and embrace a growth mindset just like we are asking our students to do .
As you teach these lessons, send notes home to parents about what you are doing in class. This will help to educate them as well. They need to change their fixed mindsets and learn to encourage the growth mindset that you are building in their students. It is important to work as a team because students need to hear the encouragement on their efforts from everyone around them.
Well, that is all for now. I hope you all are enjoying this book as much as I am.