November 24, 2024 • 13 mins
Ever wondered how a simple shift in mindset could transform your classroom into a hub of resilience and enthusiasm for learning? Join us on the Teachers Ed podcast as we uncover the secret sauce to cultivating a growth mindset in education. We explore how facing challenges head-on can unlock potential in students, teachers, and school leaders alike. By sharing personal stories, like boosting a hesitant reader's confidence through small victories, we provide actionable strategies to foster an environment of optimism and growth. Discover how educators can set the cultural tone in schools, acting as proactive thermostats rather than reactive thermometers, to reframe challenges as opportunities.
In the second half of our conversation, we shine a spotlight on the power of a connected school community. We delve into the vital role of self-care and mutual support in nurturing resilience and connection. Find out how prioritizing personal well-being can ripple out to strengthen the educational community as a whole. We encourage you to keep believing in the potential of your students, colleagues, and yourself, building a foundation for growth and inspiration. Stay inspired and committed to continuous development as we thank you for being part of this transformative journey.
www.EdwardDeShazer.org
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome back to the Teachers Ed podcast, a place
where the best and brightest ineducation come to be inspired,
to connect, to learn and to grow.
I'm your host, edward Shazer,and today we are tackling the
concept of a growth mindset, notonly as a teacher, as a school
(00:25):
leader, but really, how do weget our students to also grow
and have that growth mindset?
And for those that are notreally familiar with the growth
mindset, what it is is it isabout believing that any
(00:46):
abilities can really bedeveloped through dedication,
through hard work.
For a lot of people, a growthmindset is really the foundation
for resilience and just for alove of learning, for both
students and educators.
And in today's episode we'regoing to explore ways that we
(01:08):
can foster growth mindset inyour school, in your classroom,
and then again, as always in themiddle, we will share our
self-care tip that can reallyhelp you maintain your growth
mindset along the way.
So, number one, one of the mostimportant aspects of a growth
mindset is seeing challenges notas roadblocks but as
(01:34):
opportunities for growth.
And, as teachers, how we framechallenges can greatly influence
how our students perceive them.
So imagine I always like to usemath analogies because math was
my one of my stronger subjects.
But imagine you're goingthrough a difficult concept in
(01:56):
math and you notice thatstudents are frustrated with
what's going on, and one of thethings that teachers may do at
times is be like you know, Iknow this is really hard and now
we're just telling students forus to build new skills so that
subtle shift in language can seta tone of optimism and
resilience for our students inour classrooms.
Really encouraging our studentsto reframe challenges by asking
(02:40):
reflective questions like howcan we learn from this mistake?
Or how will you approach thisproblem differently next time,
because what ends up happeningis over time.
Then students begin to seemistakes as a normal and
valuable part of learning, andthis isn't just for our students
(03:05):
, this is for school leaders.
You know, reframing thechallenges that we discuss in
our staff meetings andprofessional development
sessions.
You know, if there's a newpolicy that you're rolling out
and it's causing frustration,you know we can acknowledge the
difficulty of it.
But focus and encourage ourstaff to focus on the
(03:28):
opportunities that these policychanges may present for
innovation and for collaboration.
And really modeling thismindset as a school leader will
help empower our team toapproach challenges with more
confidence.
And I always think back to atime when I was teaching seventh
(03:48):
grade and a student who reallystruggled to read aloud in class
and instead of focusing on thatstudent's anxiety with reading
aloud, we set small andachievable goals, like, hey, if
you can just do one sentencethis day and then I'll move on
(04:10):
to the next person.
What ended up happening wasthat student's confidence grew
and eventually increased closertowards the end of the year, but
that student really pushed towant to finish the whole
paragraph.
So instead of just lowering thebar, we set small and
achievable goals and we reframedand really looked at and I
(04:31):
didn't even realize I was doingthis at the time.
We really reframed it as it's astruggle to read, but this is
an opportunity for us to growrather than reading aloud as
something that we would have tobe fearful of, and the next
thing you know, they were actingout in class because they
didn't want to be embarrassed infront of their peers.
So that's one of the thingsthat we can do, and I just want
(04:51):
to take a second.
As we drop these tips, I alwayslike to give you a chance to
pause for reflection and I wantyou just to take a second, to
think about a recent challengethat may have happened in your
classroom, may have happened inyour school, and I want you to
think about how you responded toit.
(05:13):
You know what is one way.
The next time a challenge likethis happens, what's something
that you could say, or how canyou next time frame it as an
opportunity for growth in yourclassroom, in your school,
wherever you are in yourbuilding?
Because I want us to really,really remember that how you
frame the challenges that aregoing on can really dictate and
determine how everyone else isaround you.
(05:35):
And as school leaders, asclassroom teachers, we are the
ones that are going to set thetone.
We don't want to be reactive toeverything.
We want to be pro-activized.
We are the ones that are goingto set the tone.
We don't want to be reactive toeverything.
We want to be proactive.
I always talk about thethermometer versus a thermostat
and, as an educator, you don'twant to be a thermometer.
Thermometers can only tell thetemperature of the classroom
(05:57):
where the thermostat sets thetemperature of the classroom.
So I want us to really thinkabout that as we look for
opportunities for growth in ourschool.
How can we set the tone forthose around us.
And now, before we move into ourself-care tip, I want to remind
all of the viewers out thereabout the Be Well Teacher
(06:18):
Academy.
The Be Well Teacher Academy isa space that is created just for
educators like you that arebalancing the demands of a
classroom, that are balancingthe demands of their students,
balancing their demands of beinga mother, a father, whatever
all the other titles is that youare, and you have the need to
(06:41):
be, intentional with yourself-care and growth.
In the Be Well Teacher Academy,we have monthly workshops that
are going to help you stayenergized and surround you with
like-minded individuals, with asupportive community.
We're really trying to buildout a community of
intentionality where educatorscan be the best themselves,
because, ultimately, when youare the best yourself, you are
(07:03):
the best educator.
And don't forget the first 250members who join and register
now get lifetime free access.
This will not be free forever,I promise you.
So head over towwwbewellteachercom to secure
your spot today and rememberthat taking care of yourself is
the first step in helping youtake care of others.
(07:26):
So our self-care tip today ispracticing self-compassion.
As educators, we oftentimeshold ourselves to impossibly
high standards.
We are striving to beeverything for everyone.
But here's the truth you don'thave to be perfect to be
(07:47):
impactful.
Self-compassion is really abouttreating yourself with the same
kindness and understanding thatyou offer to your students when
things don't go as planned.
Instead of beating yourself up,I want you to say to yourself
(08:08):
it's okay, I'm doing the bestthat I can and that's enough in
this moment.
I'm doing the best that I canand that's enough in this moment
.
Some ways that you can practiceself-compassion is number one
acknowledging your feelings.
If you are feeling overwhelmed,if you're feeling frustrated
and adequate, I want you torecognize that's a normal part
(08:31):
of being a human being.
Number two I want you torecognize that's a normal part
of being a human being.
I want number two I want you totalk kindly to yourself.
I want you to start replacingthat self-criticism with
encouragement, instead of beinglike I can't believe I messed
that up again.
I want you to say you know whatI learned something new and the
(08:52):
next time I'm going to improve.
I want you to say you know whatI learned something new and the
next time I'm going to improve.
So it's the way we're talkingabout reframing things for our
students.
We got to start reframing somethings for ourselves, and the
last is taking a break withoutguilt.
Teacher.
Guilt is something that peopledon't talk about often, and I'm
giving you permission today torest.
It's not lazy to rest Sometimes.
(09:14):
It's necessary for us to besustainable in education.
Self-compassion is treatingyourself the way you would treat
a friend.
It's saying I'm doing the bestI can and that's enough.
You don't have to be perfect tobe impactful, and I want us to
(09:34):
remember that self-compassionisn't about making excuses.
It's about recognizing yourhumanity and allowing yourself
the grace to grow.
I hope that tip allows you tofeel a little lighter.
We've talked aboutself-compassion and now I want
us to explore another powerfulway to foster a growth mindset
(10:01):
in your classroom and in yourschool.
Excuse me the second tip I havefor us today?
I want us to, I want toencourage reflection and talk
about goal setting.
Reflection and goal setting arekey components to a growth
(10:24):
mindset.
They help students and staffrecognize progress and they help
us stay motivated to keepgrowing.
And in your classroom, there's acouple ways, after ending a
unit, that you can encourageyour students to set these goals
and to reflect, and one is askthem these three questions and
ask them to write down theanswers what is one thing that
(10:46):
you learned that surprised you?
The second, what is a mistakethat they made and how they
learned from it.
And the third is a goal thatthey want to work on.
Next, for staff yes, as schoolleaders, we can model this
practice by setting aside timefor reflection during meetings
(11:09):
and professional development,asking our team what's working,
what challenges they face, whatgoals they want to set for the
next quarter.
This creates a really a culturefrom top to bottom of
continuous improvement andmutual support, which I think is
critical.
Yeah, it really is aboutmodeling, as a school leader,
(11:31):
what we would like to see ourstaff do, because then they can
model what the same energy forour students.
And our reflective question thatI would ask you on this is how
can you incorporate reflectionand goal setting into your
routine this week?
And I want us to think of likea moment where we can do this,
(11:52):
and I want us to think of like amoment where we can do this,
and I want us to put action tothat, because growth starts with
awareness and growth startswith intention.
And, as I wrap up, what I wantto just take a second A is to
just thank you for tuning intothis episode.
I try to keep them short andpalatable.
You know 15 minutes at the most.
You can listen to it on yourride.
(12:13):
I don't want to overwhelm peoplewhen they tune in and give you
all these different things.
My biggest thing is giving youthings that you can take and you
can apply every single week.
So I want to just thank youagain for tuning in and I want
you to remember that when youtake care of yourself and those
around you, you are building astronger and more connected
(12:36):
school community.
I want to encourage you to keepbelieving in your students,
keep believing in yourcolleagues and, most importantly
, I want you to keep believingin yourself.
Until next time, stay inspired,stay connected and keep growing
.
Thank you, bye.
Welcome back to the Teachers Ed podcast, a place
where the best and brightest ineducation come to be inspired,
to connect, to learn and to grow.
I'm your host, edward Shazer,and today we are tackling the
concept of a growth mindset, notonly as a teacher, as a school
(00:25):
leader, but really, how do weget our students to also grow
and have that growth mindset?
And for those that are notreally familiar with the growth
mindset, what it is is it isabout believing that any
(00:46):
abilities can really bedeveloped through dedication,
through hard work.
For a lot of people, a growthmindset is really the foundation
for resilience and just for alove of learning, for both
students and educators.
And in today's episode we'regoing to explore ways that we
(01:08):
can foster growth mindset inyour school, in your classroom,
and then again, as always in themiddle, we will share our
self-care tip that can reallyhelp you maintain your growth
mindset along the way.
So, number one, one of the mostimportant aspects of a growth
mindset is seeing challenges notas roadblocks but as
(01:34):
opportunities for growth.
And, as teachers, how we framechallenges can greatly influence
how our students perceive them.
So imagine I always like to usemath analogies because math was
my one of my stronger subjects.
But imagine you're goingthrough a difficult concept in
(01:56):
math and you notice thatstudents are frustrated with
what's going on, and one of thethings that teachers may do at
times is be like you know, Iknow this is really hard and now
we're just telling students forus to build new skills so that
subtle shift in language can seta tone of optimism and
resilience for our students inour classrooms.
Really encouraging our studentsto reframe challenges by asking
(02:40):
reflective questions like howcan we learn from this mistake?
Or how will you approach thisproblem differently next time,
because what ends up happeningis over time.
Then students begin to seemistakes as a normal and
valuable part of learning, andthis isn't just for our students
(03:05):
, this is for school leaders.
You know, reframing thechallenges that we discuss in
our staff meetings andprofessional development
sessions.
You know, if there's a newpolicy that you're rolling out
and it's causing frustration,you know we can acknowledge the
difficulty of it.
But focus and encourage ourstaff to focus on the
(03:28):
opportunities that these policychanges may present for
innovation and for collaboration.
And really modeling thismindset as a school leader will
help empower our team toapproach challenges with more
confidence.
And I always think back to atime when I was teaching seventh
(03:48):
grade and a student who reallystruggled to read aloud in class
and instead of focusing on thatstudent's anxiety with reading
aloud, we set small andachievable goals, like, hey, if
you can just do one sentencethis day and then I'll move on
(04:10):
to the next person.
What ended up happening wasthat student's confidence grew
and eventually increased closertowards the end of the year, but
that student really pushed towant to finish the whole
paragraph.
So instead of just lowering thebar, we set small and
achievable goals and we reframedand really looked at and I
(04:31):
didn't even realize I was doingthis at the time.
We really reframed it as it's astruggle to read, but this is
an opportunity for us to growrather than reading aloud as
something that we would have tobe fearful of, and the next
thing you know, they were actingout in class because they
didn't want to be embarrassed infront of their peers.
So that's one of the thingsthat we can do, and I just want
(04:51):
to take a second.
As we drop these tips, I alwayslike to give you a chance to
pause for reflection and I wantyou just to take a second, to
think about a recent challengethat may have happened in your
classroom, may have happened inyour school, and I want you to
think about how you responded toit.
(05:13):
You know what is one way.
The next time a challenge likethis happens, what's something
that you could say, or how canyou next time frame it as an
opportunity for growth in yourclassroom, in your school,
wherever you are in yourbuilding?
Because I want us to really,really remember that how you
frame the challenges that aregoing on can really dictate and
determine how everyone else isaround you.
(05:35):
And as school leaders, asclassroom teachers, we are the
ones that are going to set thetone.
We don't want to be reactive toeverything.
We want to be pro-activized.
We are the ones that are goingto set the tone.
We don't want to be reactive toeverything.
We want to be proactive.
I always talk about thethermometer versus a thermostat
and, as an educator, you don'twant to be a thermometer.
Thermometers can only tell thetemperature of the classroom
(05:57):
where the thermostat sets thetemperature of the classroom.
So I want us to really thinkabout that as we look for
opportunities for growth in ourschool.
How can we set the tone forthose around us.
And now, before we move into ourself-care tip, I want to remind
all of the viewers out thereabout the Be Well Teacher
(06:18):
Academy.
The Be Well Teacher Academy isa space that is created just for
educators like you that arebalancing the demands of a
classroom, that are balancingthe demands of their students,
balancing their demands of beinga mother, a father, whatever
all the other titles is that youare, and you have the need to
(06:41):
be, intentional with yourself-care and growth.
In the Be Well Teacher Academy,we have monthly workshops that
are going to help you stayenergized and surround you with
like-minded individuals, with asupportive community.
We're really trying to buildout a community of
intentionality where educatorscan be the best themselves,
because, ultimately, when youare the best yourself, you are
(07:03):
the best educator.
And don't forget the first 250members who join and register
now get lifetime free access.
This will not be free forever,I promise you.
So head over towwwbewellteachercom to secure
your spot today and rememberthat taking care of yourself is
the first step in helping youtake care of others.
(07:26):
So our self-care tip today ispracticing self-compassion.
As educators, we oftentimeshold ourselves to impossibly
high standards.
We are striving to beeverything for everyone.
But here's the truth you don'thave to be perfect to be
(07:47):
impactful.
Self-compassion is really abouttreating yourself with the same
kindness and understanding thatyou offer to your students when
things don't go as planned.
Instead of beating yourself up,I want you to say to yourself
(08:08):
it's okay, I'm doing the bestthat I can and that's enough in
this moment.
I'm doing the best that I canand that's enough in this moment
.
Some ways that you can practiceself-compassion is number one
acknowledging your feelings.
If you are feeling overwhelmed,if you're feeling frustrated
and adequate, I want you torecognize that's a normal part
(08:31):
of being a human being.
Number two I want you torecognize that's a normal part
of being a human being.
I want number two I want you totalk kindly to yourself.
I want you to start replacingthat self-criticism with
encouragement, instead of beinglike I can't believe I messed
that up again.
I want you to say you know whatI learned something new and the
(08:52):
next time I'm going to improve.
I want you to say you know whatI learned something new and the
next time I'm going to improve.
So it's the way we're talkingabout reframing things for our
students.
We got to start reframing somethings for ourselves, and the
last is taking a break withoutguilt.
Teacher.
Guilt is something that peopledon't talk about often, and I'm
giving you permission today torest.
It's not lazy to rest Sometimes.
(09:14):
It's necessary for us to besustainable in education.
Self-compassion is treatingyourself the way you would treat
a friend.
It's saying I'm doing the bestI can and that's enough.
You don't have to be perfect tobe impactful, and I want us to
(09:34):
remember that self-compassionisn't about making excuses.
It's about recognizing yourhumanity and allowing yourself
the grace to grow.
I hope that tip allows you tofeel a little lighter.
We've talked aboutself-compassion and now I want
us to explore another powerfulway to foster a growth mindset
(10:01):
in your classroom and in yourschool.
Excuse me the second tip I havefor us today?
I want us to, I want toencourage reflection and talk
about goal setting.
Reflection and goal setting arekey components to a growth
(10:24):
mindset.
They help students and staffrecognize progress and they help
us stay motivated to keepgrowing.
And in your classroom, there's acouple ways, after ending a
unit, that you can encourageyour students to set these goals
and to reflect, and one is askthem these three questions and
ask them to write down theanswers what is one thing that
(10:46):
you learned that surprised you?
The second, what is a mistakethat they made and how they
learned from it.
And the third is a goal thatthey want to work on.
Next, for staff yes, as schoolleaders, we can model this
practice by setting aside timefor reflection during meetings
(11:09):
and professional development,asking our team what's working,
what challenges they face, whatgoals they want to set for the
next quarter.
This creates a really a culturefrom top to bottom of
continuous improvement andmutual support, which I think is
critical.
Yeah, it really is aboutmodeling, as a school leader,
(11:31):
what we would like to see ourstaff do, because then they can
model what the same energy forour students.
And our reflective question thatI would ask you on this is how
can you incorporate reflectionand goal setting into your
routine this week?
And I want us to think of likea moment where we can do this,
(11:52):
and I want us to think of like amoment where we can do this,
and I want us to put action tothat, because growth starts with
awareness and growth startswith intention.
And, as I wrap up, what I wantto just take a second A is to
just thank you for tuning intothis episode.
I try to keep them short andpalatable.
You know 15 minutes at the most.
You can listen to it on yourride.
(12:13):
I don't want to overwhelm peoplewhen they tune in and give you
all these different things.
My biggest thing is giving youthings that you can take and you
can apply every single week.
So I want to just thank youagain for tuning in and I want
you to remember that when youtake care of yourself and those
around you, you are building astronger and more connected
(12:36):
school community.
I want to encourage you to keepbelieving in your students,
keep believing in yourcolleagues and, most importantly
, I want you to keep believingin yourself.
Until next time, stay inspired,stay connected and keep growing
.
Thank you, bye.
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