So I don't quite have a thesis yet, but I'm working that direction. I'm looking at some new research in the larger K-12 education field, and wondering about its implications for me in a composition classroom.
First, some background: Before I moved to Ohio, I was certified with the state of Texas as a 4-8 generalist, and I taught upper elementary special ed. After I had children, I found myself in Ohio (which did not have a reciprocal agreement with Texas for teaching certificates) and reading quite a bit on best practices in early childhood education. One of the most striking things I read was from a book titled Nurtureshock, and the short version of the shocking thing is that it's actually not so great an idea to tell children that they're smart, as it decreases their agency and correlates with struggling when something gets too difficult. It's much better, it turns out, to tell children that they are hard workers.
Approximately two years ago, I took a Stanford MOOC about best practices in math education, and a similar message was heard. Carol Dweck, a behavioral psychologist from Stanford, wrote a book called Mindset, which details the difference between a fixed educational mindset (wherein one believes that intelligence is innate, that a person is either good or bad at math, for example) and a growth mindset (that the student has power over his or her education based on the amount of work put in, that intelligence can actually be influenced by the actions we take). Long story short: it's when a student makes mistakes that the most synaptic pathways are formed in the brain, thus, in effect, growing the brain. Also, it's incredibly unproductive as a teacher to label students as good or bad at a subject, or to do things that lead students to believe that they're good or bad at a subject. It's much more helpful to embrace mistakes, and to embrace process.
It's this word process that intrigues me here, as we've talked about process for 13 weeks now, and the composition definition of process is only slightly different. I also can't help but compare this message with the difference in approach between the composition and the creative writing classroom. In a creative writing classroom, we assume that we're all beginners to some extent, early on the path, there to learn. In a composition classroom, we ask students to demonstrate what they've already learned, and there is a much greater emphasis on this performance. I wonder if there's something here that composition can't take from creative writing, and that sort of goes with this growth and fixed mindset idea.
Anyway, I'm looking at Dweck, at Nurtureshock, at Elbow and Shaughnessy and Hairston, and I hope to get closer to a thesis soon.
Nancy,
ReplyDeleteYour paper topic is very interesting to me. I haven't talked much about this in class, but I am a strong believer in "failure" as part of the learning process. I didn't know about the research K-12 education on how to speak to children about their learning styles, and I wonder what the implications are for adult learners. My article is on participation in the composition classroom, and there is plenty of research out there about the effect that gender has on classroom participation at the college level, but for factors, such as race and socioeconomic class, the research is on mostly middle school aged students. Since your paper also uses research for K-12, I am wondering how you are navigated that issue of transporting that research for your purposes in writing about the college composition classroom.
I really like this topic and where you are taking it, Nancy! I cannot wait to see the final result and thesis. On a personal note: As a millennial, I remember when I was younger being told that I was "smart" and as I progressed through High School the trend continued whereas my brother was told how he was a hardworker as he went through primary school. In hindsight now, I think I would be a more effective worker and a less anxious student in Grad School if I had been given a different term for my efforts in my early academic career.
ReplyDeleteNancy - I also find this fascinating. I've always assumed that praise for intelligence was a powerful motivator, particularly for students who maybe have not heard it before. I very much want to read Nurtureshock, now, as well as your paper. Have you utilized this is your own classroom? Have you seen an effect? And how often is it beneficial to tell our students they are hard workers in order to motivate them to become one if they are not?
ReplyDeleteNancy,
ReplyDeleteYou might also consider looking at this book: Journey to the Emerald City: Achieve a Competitive Edge by Creating a Culture of Accountability by Roger Conners and Tom Smith.
Also, I have a poster of the Growth vs fixed mindset on my wall in my office. My HS principal gave it to me to hang in my classroom, and I loved it so much, I brought it with me to LBK and now stare at it every day as it hangs on the wall right behind my office desk, so the first thing I look at when i look away from my computer screen is the poster.
Another book recommendation: Hard Optimism: Developing Deep Strengths for Managing Uncertainty, Opportunity, Adversity, and Change by Price Prichett. I have this book if you would like to borrow it. I do not own Journey to Emerald City, but I've read it and highly recommend it.
What does our book on keywords have to say about process?
ReplyDelete