Mindsets and Motivation Online Course

The Mindset Works EducatorKit Mindsets and Motivation course is developed to provide teachers with the growth mindset knowledge and tools to help them support their students’ learning and success.  The core training is comprised of five online modules that each take 10-18 minutes to complete, and additional tools help staff teams and individual teachers implement mindset practice.

If you have an account with the the Mindset Works and purchased the EducatorKit,  go to http://community.mindsetworks.com to access the Mindsets and Motivation course and click on the tab “Educator Courses.” 

Watch the Mindsets and Motivation introduction video:

The course consists of 4 modules:

In Module 1, you'll learn about two mindsets that students can have about their ability, and how they impact behavior and achievement.  You'll learn how to assess your own students' mindsets and identify areas for focus in your classroom. The Mindset Assessment Profile is a useful tool which helps teachers to assess students’ mindsets—their beliefs about the malleability of intelligence, the relative importance of learning and perfect performance, and their attitudes toward effort and mistakes.  Teachers can interview the students using questions from the Mindset Interview Protocol.

In Module 2, you'll learn how the messages we give students through feedback impact their mindsets and performance, and how we can promote a growth mindset through framing and feedback in  classroom. Teachers can use the Growth Mindset Framing Tool or the Growth Mindset Feedback Tool to practice growth-mindset focused language during interaction with a particular student.

In Module 3, you'll learn how the brain changes through learning, and about the teaching and learning practices the support this development. Based on the motivational and mindset profile of students, teachers can use or adapt one of the Goal Setting Tracking Templates from the Resources links to help them to set a goal for mastery of a key skill or concept.

In Module 4, you'll learn about how teaching students about the malleable brain develops motivation and improves performance. Teachers will learn how to introduce the malleable mind to your students, and how to teach them effective learning strategies. Teachers can have your students review the Study Tips Planning Guide and identify “brain-wise” strategies that they already use and some that they would like to try, create a goal, and plan how they will achieve it.


Resources for Student Interest Inventories & Applications
Guidelines and process for building on students’ interests, including sample inventories.

Examples of unit & lesson plans connecting to students’ interests:
Social studies unit on world religions, including a student interest inventory.
Geography lesson using technology to map students’ communities. (Click on link to “Procedures for Teachers” and scroll down to Steps/Introductory Activity.)
Math lesson using key skills to calculate cost of living independently.

Teacher-created math rap videos:
HS Math Rap with teacher and students
Triangle Experts
Graphing Trig Functions 



 

Jog the Web

JOG THE WEB is a web-based tool that allows anyone to create a synchronous guide to a series of web sites. It provides a step-by-step approach of taking viewers through web sites and allows the author to annotate and ask guiding questions for each page.

You can add comments within your jog and also create original pages for your own content. 

For example, I've created a lesson about a book "Mindset" using different online resources.  To create a new jog, select "My Jogs" tab and  click on "Create New Jog" button.

 Insert title, write a brief description, and select a category.

Type a page title,  the URL, and page comments for each page.

Use this Jog the Web Tutorial to learn how to create your own jog.

The Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom is an online, free-to-use physics website developed primarily for high school physics students and teachers. The website features a variety of sections intended to support both teachers and students in the tasks of learning and teaching physics. This website is created by Tom Henderson, a physics and chemistry teacher at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Illinois since 1989.

The Physics Classroom Tutorial is among the most popular sections of the website. The Tutorial covers basic physics topics using informative graphics and an easy-to-understand language. Each unit is divided into lessons and sub-lessons. A lesson resembles the type and extent of coverage typically given to that topic in class.

The Shockwave Physics Studios consists of a collection of pages which feature interactive Shockwave files that simulate a physical situation. To view animations, you have to install Shockwave Player.

The Minds On Physics Internet Modules (affectionately known as Minds on Physics or MOP) consists of more than 1300 questions, 135 challenging assignments, and 15 modules that are designed to provide students with a learning opportunity, an exercise in thinking, and a chance to reflect and review.

Watch this video to get acquainted with the Minds On Physics Internet Module.

The Physics Classroom website is packed with information, animations, learning modules, and designed to improve student conceptions of common physics topics.

MIndset

 

Carol Dweck, a Stanford University psychologist, in her 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success shows how adopting either a fixed or growth attitude toward talent can profoundly affect all aspects of a person’s life, from parenting and romantic relationships to success at school and on the job.  Read more

In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort.

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.  Read more

Brainology is an online program that teaches brain science and study skills to middle school and high school students. In the program, students develop a growth mindset, the core belief that abilities, rather than being fixed, are developed over time. 

Students follow animated characters as they tackle issues in their most difficult subjects.

 

BRAINOLOGY STRUCTURE

• about 2.5 hours of online instruction divided into an introduction and 4 instructional units
• up to 10 hours worth of additional classroom activities
• content made relevant and placed in context of school and student challenges
• relevant content + interactivity + humor = high level of engagement
• summary handouts, assessments, teacher’s guide, teacher tools to view usage data.

Brainology Growth Process:

 

 UNIT 1: BRAIN BASICS

• Basics of brain structure, particularly what is required to maintain readiness to learn
–the brain needs certain things in order to function well (e.g. sleep, certain foods)
–the brain is the body’s control center: it gets information from all your senses, and is in charge of all of the body’s voluntary and involuntary movement
–different areas of the brain do different things
–your senses serve as different “pathways” to the brain: using more than one sense to learn about something lets you use more of your brain and aids learning and memory
–using different complementary modes of learning helps focus attention and increase learning
–in contrast, competing pathways can interfere with learning
–active learning approaches are best.

UNIT 2: BRAIN BEHAVIOR

• brain behavior, how it functions, effect of emotions and strategies to manage emotions
–the brain is made up of nerve cells, called neurons, in a network of many connections
–neurons communicate with each other through these connections
–the branching parts, called dendrites, receive messages, and the long part, called the axon,     transmits a signal through the neuron
–thinking is influenced by the emotions, especially anxiety
–when facing any type of threat, the brain sets off a fight-or-flight response that causes physical signs of anxiety and interferes with thinking
–many students have performance anxiety—stress related to taking tests, giving presentations, or other performance-oriented situations—that can interfere with performance even when they know the material
–you can lower your anxiety level by being prepared, thinking positively, and calming your breathing. 

UNIT 3: BRAIN BUILDING

        • How learning changes the brain and what sort of activities promote learning

        –the brain and intelligence are not fixed—they both change when you learn 
        –the brain grows more new cells and connections when you learn 
        –you get smarter by exercising your brain, much the same way that you get stronger by exercising your muscles–how can you exercise the brain?
        –by exploring new information, learning new concepts, and practicing skills. 
        –practice is the key to learning—only by practicing can you grow new connections in that area   of your brain responsible for learning that thing 
       –the more connections you make, the easier it gets to make new ones
       –different environments can influence brain growth
       –active learning is the key 
       –you are never too old to learn and develop your brain!

 

UNIT 4: BRAIN BOOSTER

        • How memory works and study strategies to apply the Brainology lessons in real life.  
         –memory is stored in the new connections your brain makes between neurons when you have a new experience 
         –there are different stages in memory, each lasting different amount of time: sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory
         –memory is a process, and if you skip one stage, the memory will not last
         –all information enters through sensory memory
         –things you pay attention to go on to working memory, which can only hold 5-7 separate pieces of information at once
         –information moves from working memory to long-term memory through a process called encoding.  In order for encoding to happen, you must pay attention, attach new information to existing information that supports it and repeat the information 
         –other mnemonics (memory strategies) include connecting information together by chunking –visual images and acronyms 
         –most good study strategies are those that reinforce this memory process, helping your brain to make many strong connections between neurons and build a strong network of knowledge.

BRAINOLOGY TOOLS
 
e-Journal: students are prompted for reflections throughout the program, and have access to the e-journal at any time
Brain Book: reference guide about the brain.  Summary of key lessons learned
Formative challenges at the end of each unit to review material
Map: navigate to any section of the program.

The Brainology map:

The Brain Lab examples:

The Challenges - the animated quizzes:

References

Mindset Works website

Scientific American: The Secret to Raising Smart Kids

Good Housekeeping: The Secret to Better Grades

New York Magazine cover story: How Not to Talk to your Kids

America Needs More Geeks: How to Make Science Cool(12/21/11, Time)

Willpower: It’s in Your Head (11/26/11, New York Times) 

Brainology® curriculum overview  

How the Brain Learns 

Resources from the Mindset Works Website 

Presentation: Making the case for Brainology (powerpoint format) 

Presentation: Making the case for Brainology (PDF format) 

Why Brainology^®? flyer 

Research Base 

Brainology^® Experiences 

Feedback from other experts 

Videos about the Growth Mindset 

Our Offerings, including professional development flyer, Brainology flyer and Brainology brochure 

Mindset Introduction for Parents

Resources from Florin High School Wiki
I. Introducing neuroscience
Pre-Unit one vocab.doc
Brainology.unit 1.ppt                  
Brainology.12.2.09.unit 1.ppt
Postlesson unit 1.doc
Brainology lesson one notes.doc
You Can Grow Your Intelligenc1.doc
Anticipatory Set for article.doc

II. Emotions and Learning
PreLesson unit 2.doc
Brainology.unit.2.ppt
Coaching.with.growth.mindset.doc

III. Learning strategies
PreLesson unit3.ppt
Brainology.Unit 3.ppt

IV. Mindset Quiz
Mindset Quiz scoring and lesson plan.doc
Mindset.Quiz.doc
Mindset quiz journal.doc

V. Test prep Strategies
Test.anxiety.grd.9.ppt
CST tst anxiety 10th grade.ppt
CST.EAP 11th grade tst anxiety.ppt

VI. Other Lessons
unit.4.post.sort.xls - Memory manipulative sort
Reframing activity.doc - Addresses the need to use positive self-talk
Neuron Building Lesson.doc - Hands-on! See Main Mindset Page for pictures!
Neuron writing prac.doc
growth feedback and questioning.doc - for educators
Possible PLC work or Classroom work.doc - Dr. Carol Dweck's questions she poses in Mindset
BRAINOLOGY REFLECTION session 4.doc - Rutter MS/L Blomquist lesson

VII. Study Tips
Study Tips 3 days Lessons.doc
Study.tips.house.graphic.ppt
How to focus the spotlight.doc
BrainologyTM Study Tips.ppt

How to Create Khan Academy Style Video Lessons?

• Salman Khan, a graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School. Khan quit his job in finance as a hedge fund analyst at Connective Capital Management in 2009 and created a not-for-profit organization the Khan Academy, now with significant backing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Google.
• The Khan Academy is a library of over 3200 videos covering mathematics, history, healthcare and medicine, finance, physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, economics, cosmology, organic chemistry, American civics, art history, microeconomics and computer science.
• Automated exercises with continuous assessment; there are 320 practice exercises, mainly in math.
• Peer-to-peer tutoring based on objective data collected by the system, a process that will be projected in the future.
• Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.
• A map of knowledge shows all of our challenges, skills, and concepts. You can zoom in and out and pan around all the different skills and challenges, just like on a normal map.
  
  

• Classroom data - teachers can get a summary of class performance as a whole or dive into a particular student's profile.

• Badges - students spending hour after hour watching physics videos and 5th graders relentlessly tackling college-level math to earn Khan Academy badges.

Salman Khan talk at TED 2011

SOFTWARE

Salman Khan is using the following software applications:

Camtasia Recorder($99) -
are screen video capture software, published by TechSmith.





SmoothDraw3(Free)
is a natural painting and digital free-hand drawing software that can produce high quality pictures.





Wacom Bamboo Tablet ($80)




When recorded (and edited), Salman Khan uploads his recordings to YouTube (YouTube Channel).

Then he links his lessons to The Khan Academy


OTHER SOFTWARE

Jing - captures anything on you see on your computer screen, as an image or short video, and lets you share it instantly.





Microsoft Paint for PC or MS Paint for Mac (Free)




Teachers could use Google Sites to develop websites.

iPad users can use ScreenChomp is a digital whiteboard that users can write and draw on with the touch of a finger or a stylus pen. You can draw using twelve different pen colors. All activity on ScreenChomp can be easily recorded and then if you want, edited through Camtasia for Mac or Camtasia Studio. The videos produced in ScreenChomp can be downloaded as MP4 files, making them easy to share on ScreenChomp.com, Facebook, YouTube, iTunes, and other video hosting platforms.




Teachers can record everything from the SMART board.

Record everything you do on the SmartBoard in .avi movie format no matter which application you’re using. You can even record audio in sync with screen video capture if you have a microphone. To use the Recorder, follow steps below:

1. Click the Recorder toolbar to open the SMART Recorder icon.



2. Click the red Record button to start to record.
3. Click Stop when finished.


Resources

Salman Khan Uses Microsoft Paint to Inspire Learning

Microsoft Excel and Google Spreadsheets

Microsoft Excel and Google Spreadsheets are powerful learning tools for K-12 students. According to Pamela Lewis, the author of Spreadsheet Magic:

• Spreadsheet assignments offer concrete ways to explore abstract concepts.
• A spreadsheet is a helpful tool for visual learners.
• Using spreadsheets promotes higher order thinking skills. The spreadsheet tool promotes the development of problem solving skills and supports "What if..." type questions.
• Students make charts and graphs from spreadsheet records, learning to organize their ideas and present information to an audience. Charts and graphs add meaning to information, helping students to analyze and interpret data.
• Students are motivated to complete tasks in a Risk Free Environment, where errors can be easily corrected or edited.

I have compiled useful ideas and links for integration of spreadsheets into science curriculum. 

1. Acid Rain in Our State

Students research a serious environmental problem—acid rain―which affects many communities. They use the Internet to research pH levels of rainwater for their state, collect data from their community, and investigate the causes of and solutions for acid rain. Then, they present data in a Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheet and draw conclusions.

School level: middle school, high school.

Software: Microsoft Word and Excel.

2. How Do Earthquakes Affect Buildings?

In this lesson, students get the opportunity to simulate earthquakes of different magnitudes online and see how they affect buildings. Students will first choose the location and then the earthquake. They'll examine the earthquake-proofing construction for their building. Then, they will chart their simulated data in Microsoft Office Excel so that they can develop conclusions based on their findings. This activity works well with students working in group.

School level: middle school, high school.
Software: Microsoft Word and Excel.

3. Weather Scope: An Investigative Study of Weather and Climate

Students read a climate report about their city to make distinctions and study the differences between weather and climate reports for their particular region. Using Real-Time images or data on the Internet instead of information out of a textbook not only engages students, but also brings a real world connection right into the classroom. Students create a comparison chart in Microsoft Excel that displays both the average monthly temperature over one year in the form of a Line graph and average monthly precipitation over one year in the form of a Bar graph.

School level: upper elementary, middle school and high school students.

Software: Microsoft Word and Excel.

4. Spinning CoinsStudents use Excel to analyze the data obtained by groups of pupils performing Activity 13 'Spinning Coins.' Each group of pupils spins a coin 50 times and they record their results in a table. This is the raw data that they will use for further analysis. The first stage of their analysis is to count the frequency of runs of heads which they record in a second table. The next stage is to add their results to the class results.

School level: upper elementary, middle school.
Software: Microsoft Excel.

5. Healthiest Fast FoodStudents determine number of calories and grams of fat in food items at four fast food restaurants, enter the information into a spreadsheet, create a graph to accurately represent the data, analyze the information to determine the healthiest restaurant, and create a word processing article with the chart detailing conclusions. 

School level: upper elementary, middle school.

Software: Microsoft Word and Excel.

***

I would appreciate any other ideas or useful links for integrating spreadsheets into science curriculum.

Online Simulations: America by Air

America by Air, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's website, has great simulations for upper elementary and middle school students.


Click on the Activities link and explore with your students artifacts, photographs, artwork and colorful interactive simulations.

Well-Dressed Pilot
Dress DE Havilland DH-4 1926 and Douglas DC-3 1936 pilots.


Contact Flying
Navigate airplane as an airmail pilot.


Pilot Personality
Explore different documents to learn about a pilot Bill Hopson's personality.


Travel AgentBecome a 1930s travel agent.


Around the World
Travel around the world in 18 days. Follow Herbert R. Ekins, a reporter for the New York World-Telegram, who travels around the world by air using regular airlines. Track his journey around the world or make a newsreel video of his journey by adding video clips, images, maps, and sound.


At Your Service Explore an airplane -- DC-7 model.


Stewardess
Learn about stewardess requirements in 1950.


Baggage Claim
Examine each item and give it to the right person.


Generation of Leaders
Learn about early leaders of the commercial airline industry.


Today's JetsRead about today's jets.


Air Routes
Explore air routes in the United States for five major airlines between 1930 and 2000.


Price Meter
Learn what factors affect the cost of airline tickets.


Fly the mail
Deliver mail from New York to Cleveland in 6 hours; fly over "Hell Stretch" where many pilots have lost their lives, and face several challenges along the way.

Learning Hub

Yokohama International School in Japan requires all teachers and students to have a blog on The Learning Hub, a WordPress platform,  to  share resources, display projects, and comment on posts and projects. I was surprised that blogs are not password protected and even administrators have their own blogs.

Resources:
Kim Kofino's blog.

Sims for Science

Since 2002, PhET (The *Ph*ysics *E*ducation *T*echnology Project) developed over 90 interactive simulations (sims) for teaching and learning science. The simulations animate what is invisible to the eye through the use of graphics and intuitive controls such as click-and-drag manipulation, sliders and radio buttons. The simulations create animated, interactive, game-like environments in which students learn through scientist-like exploration. The sims emphasize important connections between real-life phenomena and the underlying science.






Figure 1: Gas Properties Sim


With a highly intuitive interface and minimal text, PhET sims are designed to give teachers control over how they are used in the classroom, enabling teachers to customize their use of sims to match their environment and learning goals. This flexibility allows PhET sims to be used in class, in lab or as homework, and with groups or individual students. While PhET sims can be used in a variety of ways, they are specifically designed to make scientist-like, inquiry-based activities productive and fun learning experiences for students (Introduction to the PhET Project).
Please visit PhET website at http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new



Figure 2: Acid-Base Solutions Sim


Physics
Motion, Sound & Waves, Work, Energy & Power, Heat & Thermo, Quantum Phenomena, Light & Radiation, and Electricity, Magnets & Circuits.

Biology
Balloons and Static Electricity, Blackbody Spectrum, Color Vision, Curve Fitting, Density, Eating & Exercise, Gene Machine: The Lac Operon, Membrane Channels, Molecular Motors, Natural Selection, Neuron, Optical Tweezers and Applications, pH Scale, Plinko Probability, Reactions & Rates, Salts & Solubility, Simplified MRI, Sound, and Stretching DNA.

Chemistry
Acid-Base Solutions, Alpha Decay. Atomic Interactions, Balancing Chemical Equations, Balloons & Buoyancy, Balloons and Static Electricity, Beta Decay, Blackbody Spectrum, Build a Molecule, Build an Atom, Density, Gas Properties, The Greenhouse Effect, Isotopes and Atomic Mass, Microwaves, Models of the Hydrogen Atom, Molecules and Light, Neon Lights & Other Discharge Lamps, Nuclear Fission, Photoelectric Effect, etc.

Earth Science
Molecules and Light, Gravity and Orbits, Glaciers, Balloons & Buoyancy, Gas Properties, Balloons and Static Electricity, Sound, The Greenhouse Effect, Wave on a String, Blackbody Spectrum, My Solar System, and Radioactive Dating Game. 
 
Java and Flash should be installed on a computer to run the simulations.


Figure 3: Reactants, Products, and Leftovers Sim