1. Is failure a real and regular option and experience for kids at your school?
Growth mindset is one of the key elements of teaching at our school. Present in that is the idea that students should be open to the idea of learning new things, and pushing themselves toward mastery of new topics. Failure comes hand in hand with this approach to education. If we are pushing students to try new things, and to think differently, we need to expect them to struggle. Using failure as a building block is definitely a part of the experience at e3.
2. If so, what impact do you believe that is creating?
The impact of this environment is still developing. Our push toward a growth mindset just started this year, so it is still new for students. Some teachers push it more than others. The impact will be great, an we are headed in the right direction.
3. What conditions exist that make it to late to learn and reach competency in your school? Can you give an example?
Our mission and focus as a school is very blurry. We are a small charter school, and were founded as a project based learning environment. It is now the 4th year of operation, and we are not really a PBL site anymore. We have moved away from that philosophy, are incorporating more online classes and curriculum, design thinking, Part of what is making it too late for students to reach competency is that they are nt sure what the school wants from them. Students talk all the time about how they came to this school for the projects, but almost never learn that way. As a teacher, it is confusing to know what type of curriculum to develop when there is no clear focus.
Another part of the problem is that some teachers are simply not buying into the growth mindset idea. As a school, we focus on students being able to make up for mistakes, and yet some teachers do not let students turn in late work or make up poorly done assignments. Some give tests, and offer no way for a student to improve their score or retake the test after they fail it the first time. Embracing failure, and encouraging responsibility can sometimes be a hard thing to balance, but there needs to be an opportunity for students to show their growth.
4. What would you do, if anything, to introduce/enhance “never too late to learn” structures in you school if you were the school leader?
I would introduce and implement mastery based learning. In this type of grading system, the grade book is not based on assignments that students complete, but on the standards and skills that they are developing. This would give students a more honest assessment of where they are at in building their skills, and not just on how well they do at completing work. If a student is great at writing informational text, but struggles with creating an argument, they would be able to see that difference in the grade book and spend more time on their weaker skills. In this way, the grade book is set up to encourage students to build skills and show growth.
5. What can you do in your present position to create “never too late to learn” structures into your current practice and those of your peers? Are those things in your sphere of influence?
This is definitely inside of my sphere of influence. One of the great things about my school is the freedom to try new things as a teacher. We are talking about how it is never too late to learn for students, but it is also something that we need to remember for teachers as well. If teachers are asked to try new approaches and grow, then we can expect failure from them as well.
To help create the "never too late to learn" structures into my practice, I can push some of the mastery based grading policies, and encourage students to see that finding something they do not do well is a great opportunity to grow.
6. Commit to 5 things you are willing to do this semester that will make your school a increase learning opportunities:
Growth mindset is one of the key elements of teaching at our school. Present in that is the idea that students should be open to the idea of learning new things, and pushing themselves toward mastery of new topics. Failure comes hand in hand with this approach to education. If we are pushing students to try new things, and to think differently, we need to expect them to struggle. Using failure as a building block is definitely a part of the experience at e3.
2. If so, what impact do you believe that is creating?
The impact of this environment is still developing. Our push toward a growth mindset just started this year, so it is still new for students. Some teachers push it more than others. The impact will be great, an we are headed in the right direction.
3. What conditions exist that make it to late to learn and reach competency in your school? Can you give an example?
Our mission and focus as a school is very blurry. We are a small charter school, and were founded as a project based learning environment. It is now the 4th year of operation, and we are not really a PBL site anymore. We have moved away from that philosophy, are incorporating more online classes and curriculum, design thinking, Part of what is making it too late for students to reach competency is that they are nt sure what the school wants from them. Students talk all the time about how they came to this school for the projects, but almost never learn that way. As a teacher, it is confusing to know what type of curriculum to develop when there is no clear focus.
Another part of the problem is that some teachers are simply not buying into the growth mindset idea. As a school, we focus on students being able to make up for mistakes, and yet some teachers do not let students turn in late work or make up poorly done assignments. Some give tests, and offer no way for a student to improve their score or retake the test after they fail it the first time. Embracing failure, and encouraging responsibility can sometimes be a hard thing to balance, but there needs to be an opportunity for students to show their growth.
4. What would you do, if anything, to introduce/enhance “never too late to learn” structures in you school if you were the school leader?
I would introduce and implement mastery based learning. In this type of grading system, the grade book is not based on assignments that students complete, but on the standards and skills that they are developing. This would give students a more honest assessment of where they are at in building their skills, and not just on how well they do at completing work. If a student is great at writing informational text, but struggles with creating an argument, they would be able to see that difference in the grade book and spend more time on their weaker skills. In this way, the grade book is set up to encourage students to build skills and show growth.
5. What can you do in your present position to create “never too late to learn” structures into your current practice and those of your peers? Are those things in your sphere of influence?
This is definitely inside of my sphere of influence. One of the great things about my school is the freedom to try new things as a teacher. We are talking about how it is never too late to learn for students, but it is also something that we need to remember for teachers as well. If teachers are asked to try new approaches and grow, then we can expect failure from them as well.
To help create the "never too late to learn" structures into my practice, I can push some of the mastery based grading policies, and encourage students to see that finding something they do not do well is a great opportunity to grow.
6. Commit to 5 things you are willing to do this semester that will make your school a increase learning opportunities:
- Always give opportunities for students to display growth
- Recognize and reward students who push through struggles
- Teach "grit" and perseverance
- Think twice about the purpose of homework before I assign it.
- Use the word "yet", to show students that even if they do not get something on the first try, they can still develop a skill.