Growth Mindset in the Catholic Context
Carol S. Dweck asserts that "Students perform better in school when they and their teachers believe that intelligence is not fixed, but can be developed," in Mind-Sets and Equitable Education. Dweck's article reminds teachers to be more conscious of the ways in which they praise students. I do not want to contribute to a student’s fragile sense of intelligence. Instead, I want to help students realize their potential to increase their intelligence. I want my students to know that their efforts are just as important as their answers. I will make sure students know there is not shame in “trying”. Just because something requires effort or is initially difficult, doesn’t mean that the student is incapable of improving. Teaching students about adopting a Growth Mindset ensures that they will see their own intelligent potential.
Using charts (like the one pictured above) in the classroom helps students to visualize the ways in which Learning Goals, Success Criteria, Descriptive Feedback, Peer and Self-Assessment and Individual Goal Setting come together to help students reach their full potential. When these key aspects, discussed in Growing Success are utilized, a student can better understand where their learning is, and where it should go next. This focus on furthering one's learning contributes to an active Growth Mindset.
In my teaching placement, students are taught about a Growth Mindset with special regards to its context within the Catholic faith. As illustrated in the handout (pictured left), students are invited to view the Growth Mindset as a gift from God. God's light can reveal new knowledge and understanding to open minds and hearts.
Anchor Charts
Anchor charts are found in multiple areas of the classroom at my placement. They foster an element of transparency in the classroom. Anchor charts let students know why teachers are teaching what they teach. The Learning Goals are made explicitly clear to students, and Success Criteria is determined by the teacher, with the help of her students. This creates open communication between the teacher and students, which illustrates the teacher's respect for her students. It also demonstrates that care the teacher must put into her lessons, and her commitment to students and student learning. The art of backwards design is present, as these lessons are built around Curriculum Expectations and Learning Goals, and then assessed through student-informed Success Criteria.
These charts are tied into the Growth Mindset through accompanying mini-charts that demonstrate to students how to further their work. For example, in the "Better Answers"chart (displayed right), students are shown how to take their answers to the next level.
Bucket Filling
Every segment of the morning announcements at my placement school ends with a reminder to "fill someone's bucket today!". Initially, I had no idea what bucket students and staff were talking about, but I quickly caught on to this heart-warming mindset.
Buckets represent a person's mental and emotional self. When you "fill" a person's bucket, you are pouring feelings of goodness and positivity into another person. In a Catholic school setting, this is a great way of enacting the Golden Rule of "treating others as you would like to be treated". Actions and words can fill another person's proverbial bucket. Smiling at a fellow student or lending a helping hand can allow children to act as Bucket Fillers.
Respect is also a key method of Bucket Filling at my placement school. In the classroom, images, such as the ones displayed to the right, are displayed to remind students to contribute to Bucket Filling by being respectful members of the Catholic community. This means accepting others, valuing diversity, attentively listening and refraining from bullying of any sort. During my teaching block, I want to convey to students that Bucket Filling is a natural result of living Jesus' Golden Rule through our actions. In order to enact leadership in learning communities, I will need to act as a Bucket Filling role model myself, and also create rules or guidelines for a community that actively contributes to the Bucket Filling mentality.
Diversity in Instruction
One of my favourite instances of accommodation found at my placement comes in the form of the Sensory Room. This room is a spaced dedicated to students with exceptionalities, and in particular, students who may require different types of sensory stimulation throughout their day.
This is especially helpful to students with Autism, as they can visit the Sensory Room to darker lighting, rocking chairs, heavy blankets and other sensory triggers that can provide unique comfort or enjoyment.
I think every school should aim to include a Sensory Room on campus. In my own teaching, I would want to guarantee that my students, especially those with exceptionalities, could have access to such a room that supports their diverse needs. If no Sensory Room could be established on campus, I'd like to incorporate elements of the room directly into my classroom. I could dedicate a corner of the room to a work table with exercise balls rather than chairs and visually calming lights. In order to display a commitment to students and student learning, I want to be able to provide necessary accommodations and modifications that are equitable to all of my students.
Diversity in Resources
Although my placement is in a Catholic school, Catholicism is not the only lens in which resources are viewed. Just as Jesus calls his followers to "love thy neighbour as thyself", the students of this Catholic Community are called to love and value a diverse range of multiculturalism. A great example of this is demonstrated in the books made available throughout the school. In both the school's Learning Commons and in my placement classroom's own little library, plenty of books featuring mirrors and windows are present. In the school's Scholastic program, I was pleased to see that an entire section of the catalogue was devoted to promoting books with diverse themes. Books that feature religions other than Catholicism are made available to students, so that they can understand faith from multiple monotheistic perspectives. Many books feature fictitious heroic women, but others provide students with real life examples of female role models, such as Malala Yousafzai. A diverse range of authors are introduced to students through Scholastic's catalogue which often features women of colour and other minority writers. This month, G. Willow Wilson is Scholastic's Spotlight author. Wilson's credits include Ms. Marvel, one of the first Marvel Comics featuring a Muslim American superhero.
United in God's Love
The Catholic Faith calls all teachers to be ethical leaders, exhibiting care, respect, trust and integrity in the classroom. As a member of a Catholic School Board, I will need to demonstrate Catholic values to students. In my placement, I have witnessed several means of including God's message in pedagogical practice. One simple way to do this is to include a Prayer Corner in the classroom. The Prayer Corner in my placement school's Learning Commons, as pictured left, provides students with an area designated for spiritual reflection. A bible and crucifix, along with other Catholic imagery, can be included to provide focus during students' individual prayers. As a leader in learning communities, teachers must also lead students in unified prayers during the course of the school day. Posters can be placed throughout the school to remind students of Catholic values, and the behaviours that reflect these values.
Additional Resources
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