The mindset theories of Carole Dweck are presented in addition to the collaborative problem solving model promoted by Ross Greene. Both honour the idea that 'kids are doing the best with what they've got'. These are translated to the classroom and how feedback and assessment and help frame behaviours and help kids want to learn.

1. Building Skills with Problem
Solving and Mindset
K. Wilson
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Karen.wilson@hwdsb.on.ca
Twitter: @kawilson68

2. A frame of reference:
•A presentation by Dr. Bruce Ferguson of Sick Kids
Hospital in Toronto
•A presentation by Garfield Gini-Newman on
building critical thinking into curriculum
•A presentation by Will Richardon, author of Blogs,
Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for
the Classroom and advocate for social technology
•Reading and course “Parenting your Explosive
Child” by Ross Green
•It is being used as a program GLS students in our
school to build skills and confidence

3. Some Questions:
• What challenges do many
students have within the
classroom?
• What kinds of attitudes and
behaviours hinder a student’s
learning?

4. Some Questions:
• Why do some kids refuse to do
ANY work?
• Why do some kids refuse ANY
help?

5. Does this sound
familiar?

7. MINDSET
How can we help
students WANT to
learn?

8. Carol Dweck
(Professor of Pyschology at Stanford)
• She says to ‘start where they are’.
• They are doing what they can with
what they have.
• …with what they believe determines
their performance.
• There are 2 kinds of personality
mindsets: fixed and growth

9. Fixed Mindset
• Believe they are just the way they are
• Avoid challenges
• Get blocked by obstacles
• Avoid effort and hard work
• Ignore criticism – valid or not
• Feel threatened by the success of others
• If they have to WORK at something, that
is evidence that they aren’t smart

10. Growth Mindset
• Believe they can learn and improve
• Embrace Challenges
• Persist even with setbacks
• See effort as useful for growth
• Accept and learn from criticism
• Inspired by successes of others

11. Warnings and Cautions:
• Fixed mindset is not limited to
students who do well in school.
Students with high grades can also
be fixed.
• Adults (parents, teachers,
administrators, etc.) can also be
either growth or fixed mindset.

12. Consider:
• Consider some of your lowest and highest
achieving students. G or F?
• Consider some of your colleagues? G or
F?
• Consider yourself? G or F?

13. In school, FIXED MINDSETS:
• are concerned with how smart they are (whether
they have been told they are smart or not)
•prefer tasks they can already do well or take the
easy way out
•avoid tasks where they may make mistakes and not
look smart
•avoid efforts because they think it is connected to
failure
•Want neat and clean answers

14. In school, GROWTH MINDSETS:
•believe in an "expandable" or "growth" theory of
intelligence
•want to challenge themselves
•want to increase their abilities, even if they fail at
first
•will try because they believe effort is a positive
thing
•don’t mind working through confusions or muddy
areas

16. Dweck’s Study:
• She created a 8-week intervention program
• Control group learned study skills
• Another group had study skills + how to ‘build
the brain’ – how it’s a muscle to grow and use
• In just two months…students from the 2nd
group, compared to the control group,
showed marked improvement in grades and
study habits.

17. The “Brainology Curriculum” includes:
•Showing the basics of the structure and
function of the brain
•How to be ready to learn
•How attention and concentration are
supported
•How learning and emotions influence
the brain
•

19. •Strategies for managing emotions
•HOW LEARNING CHANGES THE BRAIN
•Mental exercises
•Activities to promote learning
•Memory and how it works
•Study strategies to maximize how the brain
works, learns an remembers

20. Growth can be taught/learned?
• “Study skills and learning
skills are inert until they’re
powered by an active
ingredient. Students may
know how to study, but
won’t want to if they believe
their efforts are futile .”

22. So, how can we encouarge a
growth mindset?
• In the same way you wouldn’t call a
student ‘stupid’ or ‘dumb’, telling a
student s/he is ‘smart’ or ‘intelligent’
promotes a fixed mindset.
• Help students connect efforts to their
achievement (AFL) which promotes a
growth mindset.
• Focus on success criteria in giving
feedback…concrete to content.
• Continually praise efforts.

23. Ross Greene
(Associate Clinical Professor at Harvard)
• He says «KIDS DO WELL IF
THEY CAN»
• Kids would do better if they had
more chances to refine their
l a g g i n g skills
• Adults need to work with kids to
help them work through
problems (collaborative problem
solving model)

24. Lagging Skills (Unsolved Problems):
Have difficulty…
• handling transitions
• balancing multiple thoughts
• considering a range of solutions
to a problem
• considering outcomes of actions
• expressing needs or concerns
• Managing emotions/frustrations
• Irritable and anxious

25. Problem Solving Plans

27. More Resources
• Ross Greene - http://www.ccps.info/
• Carol Dweck - http://www.brainology.us/