| Professional Development Resources
How can interested educators learn about these big ideas and be equipped to engage in constructive dialogue about them?
Here are selected publications and accompanying questions that will foster engaging conversation and enable educators to reflect on their experiences with students and on their own practices.
These resources are designed for use by educators working in groups and can be used in professional development settings such as in-service sessions, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), team meetings, or content meetings. The resources are activity-based, building educators’ knowledge through guided discussion of key questions. For each of the linked publications below, you can view the ‘Questions for educators’ by clicking on the [+] to the right.
|
National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (2010). Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics by Promoting Positive Self-Beliefs. The National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Improving Student Achievement Series. No. 7. Click here to access the resource
| Questions for educators |
[−] |
- In what ways, if any, did this paper change your understanding of student intelligence and motivation?
- This paper refers to something called, “effective effort” and highlights its importance in the classroom. What is your understanding of effective effort? How can it be developed in students? In educators?
- What opportunities and challenges do you foresee in implementing a positive self-belief classroom environment? What kind of support from administrators or parents would contribute to its success?
- Reflect on your current practices as an educator. How can you incorporate some of the paper’s recommendations?
Click here to access these questions on a printable worksheet.
|
|
Dweck, C. S. (2007). The perils and promises of praise. Educational Leadership, 65, 34–39.
Click here to access the resource
| Questions for educators |
[−] |
- How do you typically praise your students? Does your praise reinforce a fixed-intelligence mindset or a growth mindset?
- Did you consider the intervention described in the article to be effective? Why or why not? What would you do differently to create a growth mindset in your students?
- How can you help students with a fixed mindset see effort as something positive instead of negative?
- How does your school culture support students’ understanding of the malleability of their intelligence? How would you change it?
- How can parents help support a growth mindset for their children?
Click here to access these questions on a printable worksheet.
|
|
Yeung, Bernice. (2007). Kids Master Mathematics When They’re Challenged But Supported. Edutopia. Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/math-underachieving-mathnext-rutgers-newark. Click here to access the resource
| Questions for educators |
[−] |
- One teacher reported that, after the Rutgers training, she saw her role as a teacher as more that of a "guide." Do you see this as the teacher’s role? Why or why not?
- How do you think students and parents might react to the instructional approach of a teacher serving as a guide to learning?
- What kinds of experiences lead to productive struggle in the classroom?
- How can students help each other experience productive struggle and remain engaged?
- What role does assessment play in promoting or supporting productive struggle?
Click here to access these questions on a printable worksheet.
|
|
