The Mind Lab: Teacher Inquiry

After spending this term break writing a literature review and teacher inquiry plan, as a part of my studies at The Mind Lab, I thought I'd share the research that will be inspiring my teaching this term as I open a new year 1/2 classroom. 

I chose the Spiral of Inquiry for the structural framework for my teaching inquiry. The intent of the Spiral of Inquiry is to develop innovative teaching practice that results in positive student outcomes. The Spiral of Inquiry responds to the needs of the students, rather than the interests of the teacher. The Spiral of Inquiry focuses on creating a positive community of learning through trust, respect, collaboration and shared responsibility. This is in tune with our New Zealand context and the Kaupapa Maori philosophy of education. 

The following paragraph is the "new learning" stage of the spiral of inquiry directly from my teaching inquiry assignment: 

Children from low socioeconomic families, like the learners I teach, are exposed to prolonged stress. Thompson writes, “the biological effects of stress undermine the ability of children to focus on their own thinking” (p. 44). When they are faced with challenges in their learning, they become disengaged, as they are unable to identify the strategies needed to continue learning. This adaptive response serves them poorly in school, where they much concentrate and cooperate to do well. However, the plasticity of child’s developing brain is an opportunity for these ways of thinking to be buffered or reversed when intervention happens early in a child’s development. Therein lies the core belief of Carol Dweck’s growth mindset, that a person who holds a growth mindset sees intelligence as changeable, that through hard work, dedication and time, new talents can be learnt and intellect can be expanded. Seagal Education shares that through play children are better able to understand abstract concepts, like growth mindset. The teacher plays a vital role in facilitating play that instills a growth mindset. 

We'll be beginning our learning journey as a class by reading "My Fantastic Elastic Brain" by JoAnne Deak. This picture book teaches children that they have the ability to stretch and grow their own brains. 

I am looking from hands on activities or picture books that promote a shared language of learning.

Any ideas? 

Kia Kaha! 

The Mind Lab: Research #1

Taking a very brief break, from my holiday in the Coromandel, to share an insight into my literature review, a.k.a RESEARCH #1 that I have completed as part of my learning at The Mind Lab.

I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below on how I could turn this literature review topic into my teacher inquiry topic for RESEARCH #2

I framed my literature review around the question; 

What impact does a growth mindset have on learners from low socio economic families?

The most interesting pieces of research that I discovered was a study by Claro, Dweck, and Paunesku (2016) that attributed holding a growth mindset to accelerated learning for low socio economic learners. An entire year level of Chilean public schools answered mindset questions as a part of their standardised national testing regime. The outcomes of this research showed that the lowest income students were twice as likely to hold a fixed mindset and that is fixed mindset is a strong predictor to success (in school) for low socio economic learners. The research does not suggest that structural factors like income inequality and disparities in school quality were less important than the psychological factor of a learners mindset. This piece of research showed what I had believed to be truth, that learners from low socioeconomic families are less likely to hold a growth mindset about their learning than learners from wealthier families. The results of the study suggested that a growth mindset can overcome economic disadvantage.

So what did I discover? 

The conclusion that I came of from my research were that, low socioeconomic status leaves a mark on the biological and neurological foundations of a person. But the window of a brains plasticity, or change is wide. A growth mindset intervention has the potential to complement other education or social initiatives. A growth mindset intervention alone will not change the educational outcomes of learners from low socioeconomic when. But a growth mindset intervention has the potential to work alongside other educational and social initiatives. 

I am wary that a growth mindset intervention is about fixing the child, and not the system. I am yet to discover how growth mindset thinking aligns with the Kapapa Maori principle of ‘taonga tuku iho’, that sees Maori achieving in school and in life, as Maori. 

On the other hand, growth mindset initiatives are an innovative way to add value and make a positive difference for our learners, without reinventing the the education system or our schools, which takes time and huge financial resources. A growth mindset intervention is possible within decile one schools, as it can be implemented with modest resources. 

I am pondering how this link between growth mindset and achievement could be explore further with my year 1/2 decile one learners… 

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Kia Kaha!! 

Claro, S. , Paunesku, D. , & Dweck, C. (2016). Growth Mindset temper the effects of poverty on academic achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113 (31), 8664 - 8668