Showing Empathy

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Why Student Agency?

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Adopting a Growth Mindset

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop." ~Confucius

Keep an open mind. Assume positive intent. Think optimistically. Are we doing our best to have a growth mindset? 

Recently, I was in a training, surrounded by several colleagues from other departments. As our presenter began the training, I and a handful of my technology colleagues began to take notes digitally. It was then suggested by one participant that we might adopt a "screens off or devices down" norm. This struck me and my tech colleagues harshly. What others perceive is us just typing on a keyboard or playing on our phones is us taking notes and capturing what needs to be remembered. The same as the person next to me writing in a notebook. So why the difference? 

It's all about mindset. What does that mean? Fixed mindset vs. Growth mindset. A fixed mindset perceives my colleagues and I are not paying attention, think we have poor attitudes, are being rude or a plethora of other assumptions simply because we have technology in our hands. A growth mindset sees us nodding with the presenter, switching between apps to follow the presentation slides, taking notes and writing reminders of things to look up later. They see that we are engaged, that we are understanding what is being said, that we are learning in a way in which we learn best. 

But I'm a professional surrounded by other professionals so I can easily say, "I am taking notes" and it's easily accepted. It got me thinking: what if I was a student, sitting in AP English wanting to take notes on a digital book instead of in the teacher required notebook? What if the student wanted to explain the water cycle using a series of digital images in a book creation app instead of a physical poster displaying the same images that were simply printed onto paper? Is the student learning less? Doing less than his/her peers simply by choosing to use technology as the mode? A growth mindset says No and recognizes that the student is learning in his/her best way. A fixed mindset says Yes and shuts down the engagement, the enthusiasm, the learning by forcing the student to use the stated manner of note-taking or product completion. 

So how does the student get to learn best and the teacher still know the student learned the material? Allow student agency. Students choose the best way to show their learning (within reason, of course). Students learn in different ways and show that learning in an even more vast manner. There is a large conversation to be had here, so more on student agency later.

So, what mindset do you have? Find out!