January Growth Mindset Mantra
Feedback is a Gift...Accept It! :)
In 2007, New York Magazine posted an article recounting an experiment of Carol Dweck's, one of the founders of the Growth Mindset. In this experiment, she presented 500 fifth graders with a test consisting of easy to solve puzzles. Afterward, half of the students were told, "You must be smart at this." The other half were told, "You must have worked really hard." When the students were presented with another test, those who had been told they were smart were afraid to take on more difficult work because they did not want to jeopardize the "smart" label. Those who were praised for their effort did not feel the insecurities and were able to exist comfortably in the realm of making mistakes as a consequence of hard work and trying new things.
With that in mind, this month's focus is on better methods of praise and critique that will help our students foster their growth mindset so that they are able to confidently take risks in learning. This will include how to accept feedback as a way to work toward self-improvement. We invite you, as their primary teacher and our partner, to join us in thinking about how you use praise and critique your child.
Person Praise versus Process Praise
Person praise focuses on a student's traits and qualities, like intelligence. "You're so smart" is an example of this. It sends the message that this is an inborn quality that they possess. Process praise, on the other hand, acknowledges the effort that contributed to the student's success. An example of this would be to say, "You worked really hard at that."
Person Critique versus Process Critique
This is also true when critiquing a student. Person critique blames the failure on a personal quality. "You're just not smart at math" is an example. Process critique would involve a focus on the effort level that was put into the task like, "That strategy didn't work for you. What else could you try?"
Vague versus Specific Feedback
Another important consideration is whether or not you are being vague. An example of vague praise is, "You're awesome." Instead of being vague, explain what it is they have done right. Feedback can help a person grow when they know what specifically it is that they have done correctly.
As you can see, the idea is to be mindful about how we offer and accept feedback.