Attending this evening's ETFO Math Webinar on developing growth mindset I am reminded of the exit ticket I recently started having my Grade 7 and 8 students complete at the end of some math periods.
Someone asked me the other day how I choose which student(s) to conference with and about what, when I am teaching using a centers-based approach in math, and one of the ways I decide is through the use of this exit ticket. I read each and every one, and write back to each student with direction, either "great, sounds like you have a plan", or "let's meet on such and such a date to talk about such and such", or, sometimes I will encourage them to challenge themselves further with specific learning tasks.
While I do this, I keep a tally of who's working on what (usually on a sticky note), and then cluster similar needs, so that I can form some small groups in addition to planning for individual learning conferences. I then transfer the groups and individual names over to a ppt slide which I project, along with the unit learning goal, at the beginning of each class, so that students know who will be meeting with me that period.
Someone asked me the other day how I choose which student(s) to conference with and about what, when I am teaching using a centers-based approach in math, and one of the ways I decide is through the use of this exit ticket. I read each and every one, and write back to each student with direction, either "great, sounds like you have a plan", or "let's meet on such and such a date to talk about such and such", or, sometimes I will encourage them to challenge themselves further with specific learning tasks.
While I do this, I keep a tally of who's working on what (usually on a sticky note), and then cluster similar needs, so that I can form some small groups in addition to planning for individual learning conferences. I then transfer the groups and individual names over to a ppt slide which I project, along with the unit learning goal, at the beginning of each class, so that students know who will be meeting with me that period.
One thing I am still working on is getting students to be authentic in their self-reflections, and comment on something specific and relevant that they are mastering or still struggling with. I'm hopeful that my individual feedback (and then my follow up with as many as possible within the next week) will develop a sense of accountability.
Growth mindset is tricky to develop in students already so far down the path. Some have had conflicting schema in their previous school experiences, and it's certainly a work in progress to convince some of them that it's okay not to know everything... yet! :)
It's also a learning experience for me to retrain myself to notice and comment on effort rather than skill.
Growth mindset is tricky to develop in students already so far down the path. Some have had conflicting schema in their previous school experiences, and it's certainly a work in progress to convince some of them that it's okay not to know everything... yet! :)
It's also a learning experience for me to retrain myself to notice and comment on effort rather than skill.
| | A teacher in my workshop this evening developed a series of simple posters she puts up in her classroom. I share them here as a PDF, with her permission: 
(And hey, if anyone wants to print me a nice set in colour, I'll post them in my classroom, too!) | ||
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