Tag:

growth mindset

Increasing Student Productivity With One Good Question

by Kathy Dyer May 23, 2023

written by Kathy Dyer 3 minutes read

In a recent Harvard Business Review, the article “Ask This Question at Your Next Meeting” caught my attention. The author was focused on making meetings more useful and increasing productivity. What struck me was how asking this one question could boost self-reflection, engagement, and growth in the classroom. The question is: What are you stuck on?

Teachers work hard to establish a trusting and safe learning environment. Time has been purposefully spent in class discussing a growth mindset, that the brain is a muscle to be exercised so it can grow. Teachers also discuss that risk-taking is a safe thing to do; that we learn from our mistakes. By publicly (even with a partner) sharing what is getting in the way of their learning, students become open to:

Peers acting as instructional resources
Getting creative with ways to problem solve
Being able to move beyond perceived barriers. Learners can get unstuck.

Using Self-Reflection to Increase Productivity

Think about your classroom or your faculty meeting even. If learners knew in advance that they would be asked to respond to this question on a specific day/time, how would they prepare? Knowing the question prompts them to self-reflect. If you are using methods for learners to track their learning progress, they would have tools and resources, previous work, to pull out and review. They can figure out and articulate where or on what they are stuck.

Their perceived barrier (or challenge) may be one that a peer experienced and worked through. Every learner has strengths. Sharing what one person is stuck with may allow another person’s strength the opportunity to surface, which can foster more open dialogue. Sharing in a risk-free community setting can prompt action. First, for all this sharing to happen, some prompts to start the conversation may be necessary.

Helping Students Get Unstuck

Helping classmates get unstuck may be a new activity for your learners. Once students learn, sharing should be more fluid. Second, you may find that learners need help identifying their strengths. This is a useful activity, so they know when to jump in and offer ideas and support. And third, how to offer ideas and support may benefit from some prompts as well. After all, this idea of publicly sharing where one is stuck may take some getting used to.

When we teach our students that getting stuck is part of the learning process, the stigma of not knowing or not getting things right all the time diminishes. Being stuck and not talking about it draws time, energy, focus, and self-esteem. It keeps learners in a stagnant place. Surfacing where learners get stuck can empower them as resources for each other, help them draw closer as a community of learners and actually accelerate their growth.

Students can begin to see that getting stuck is 1) a natural part of the learning process, 2) something that everyone experiences, and 3) when they can’t get themselves unstuck, they have a community to call on for help. It supports them in thinking that each of them can be a resource for another.

Agile For Learning – Part 1: Wide Open Questions

by Jessica Cavallaro February 17, 2023

written by Jessica Cavallaro 3 minutes read

With the recent eruption of technology and, specifically, AI challenging traditional means of assessment, the world of education needs a dramatic shift in mindset and focus. The jobs and industries held constant during our formative years are no longer guaranteed. Using Agile for Learning, we can bridge the gap between future careers and student learning.

When the industry shifts, higher education adapts. K-12 education is sadly behind. As educators, we must best prepare our students for an increasingly complex world that relies heavily on technology. Instead of continuing down the same path, we must adapt and change our mindsets toward the skills that will transcend technology. This allows our students to succeed no matter what changes and shifts in their lives.

Developing Agile for Learning

The shift we must focus on is the development of an agile mindset. This is distinctly different from growth or fixed mindset, which dominates our lexicon.

A fixed mindset values expertise but discourages risk in learning or development. A growth mindset opens up the possibilities of change and helps us acknowledge that character, skills, and knowledge can shift over time. The agile mindset goes beyond the growth mindset by acknowledging change opportunities. The agile mindset openly searches for process and outcome changes.

One way to cultivate an agile mindset in the classroom is to explore Wide-Open Questions.

Using Wide Open Questions for Agile Classrooms

Wide Open Questions are based on real-world application of knowledge. Unlike Essential questions that usually have one answer or are directly tied to content, WOQs allow students to build connections between the new content being taught and their schema and interests.

For example, a WOQ may ask students studying earth science to explore how our gadgets can be recycled. In a social studies course, students may be asked if one government can meet the needs of a diverse population. These questions are real and complex, and they require students to find ways unique solutions.

WOQs guide students to apply the information they are learning in class to the issue. They encourage students to think outside of the box for new information.

Creating Agile Thinkers

Wide Open Questions offer no easy solutions. This pushes students to grapple with possible solutions. Students must learn new knowledge from the unit, explore connections of the WOQ, propose possible solutions, and prove why their solution answers the question. This process involves problem-solving, collaboration, creative thinking, and reflection.

The complexity of Wide-Open Questions means there are no easy solutions, and students must grapple with impediments that arise through their research and testing. WOQs help students develop an agile mindset by ensuring that students explore multiple possibilities. It deepens learning by not just applying new knowledge to the problem but integrating it with background knowledge and outside interests and applying it all to a real-world problem.

Through this pursuit, students learn to learn from mistakes, reflect on their assumptions, and persevere when working with complex issues.

Creative Problem Solving

Wide Open Questions work well in the classroom because they are not “googleable.” WOQs require deep thought, analysis, and critical thinking. They are the questions our students will be working to solve as they become adults. Technology will aid in gathering information, sorting data, and building projections. Still, creative problem-solving must come from students, which is why they must have the opportunity to practice in the classroom.

Implementing Wide Open Questions in the classroom is an incremental step to developing an agile mindset. Students will be engaged in learning because they see the purpose of their work. Most importantly, students will be developing a skill set they will need as AI replaces the common recall tasks.

February 17, 2023 0 comments

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3 Agile Principles for Students

by Jessica Cavallaro November 23, 2022

written by Jessica Cavallaro 5 minutes read

The Agile Principles were created by software developers to streamline communication, collaboration, and efficiency when building new solutions.

Using Agile Principles In The Classroom

The principles and values that make agile unique bring the human experience back to systems saturated with bureaucracy and inefficiency. The driving force behind agile, the mindset and philosophy, brings teams together, builds AI- Proof “soft” skills, and makes work transparent. When employed in the classroom, it engages students, deepens learning experiences, and helps students develop the independence and confidence they need in all aspects of their lives.

All 12 Agile Principles can be applied to education for instant changes in learning outcomes. The principles below stand out for their ability to change the student experience. Software developers created agile to streamline communication, collaboration, and efficiency when building new solutions. The principles and values that make agile unique bring the human experience back to systems saturated with bureaucracy and inefficiency. The driving force behind agile, the mindset and philosophy, brings teams together, builds AI- Proof “soft” skills, and makes work transparent. When employed in the classroom, it engages students, deepens learning experiences, and helps students develop the independence and confidence they need in all aspects of their lives.

Agile Principle #2- Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.

Building an agile mindset is essential for students graduating into a fluctuating job market. Issues with straightforward solutions can now be automated, leaving our students working with complex problems daily. The ability to analyze, test, collect data, reflect and change course are fundamental to their success in all areas of life.

Unfortunately, students do not get enough access to this thinking in education. Outside a science lab, students are given exact instructions and graded based on compliance. In an agile classroom, students must work through the content, develop skills along the way, and create authentic assessments.

Students and teachers must be flexible throughout this journey regarding their final product. The “competitive advantage” is a personalized approach to education. When we value learning instead of products, students can build on their schema, making unique connections, and building deeper understanding. The product can change as long as students learn, create connections, and build skills.

This model reinforces that new information can change our ideas and outcomes. It provides positive feedback changing our minds based on new data and information is good for us and allows us to find the best solutions. It ultimately removes the stigma of “being wrong” and helps students develop the agile mindset that will serve them best in the world.

Agile Principle #7- Working software is the primary measure of progress.

Learning is messy when done right. It’s always nice to tie up a lesson in a beautiful bow and hang it on the classroom walls. Often that kind of learning shows superficial knowledge and no deep understanding. The goal is real learning, not beautiful decorations. In Agile, when software is successful, it works; the same is true for learning. Learning is successful when it drives further learning.

Sunken cost syndrome affects all of us, regardless of age or context. We have all worked with students that have put time and effort into a project that is clearly not solving the issue, but they push on, believing that starting over would be a failure. In agile classrooms, students are constantly tasked with evaluating their work and ensuring that it “functions.” This means assessing whether the new data is helping to solve the problem, keeping students focused on the task, and encouraging conversations that hold each team member accountable.

With so much information around us, it is easy to get lost in the problem-solving process, but ensuring that all increments and people are “working” allows student teams to work more efficiently and effectively.

Agile Principle #12- At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

Reflection is the heart of learning. As students learn, they need to be explicitly taught how and why to reflect. This is often left off the table for other skills or more content, but this is a mistake. How do we know if we are learning if we never reflect?

The team must communicate what they are doing, what works or doesn’t, and what the future may hold. The Kanban board aids students in reflection because it makes communication transparent. The students know who is doing what, when, and how. They see movement through their project, and as they communicate on the board, it forces them to think of the “HOW’ and “WHY” together and by themselves. When reflection becomes part of the culture of learning, students automatically use it as a tool to adjust their behavior and eliminate the excess. No one that takes time to reflect on their progress keeps the inefficient parts.

Continuing Learning Success With The Agile Principles

For students, this builds reflective practices and executive functioning skills. Once students learn to break down large tasks into smaller incremental steps, the natural tendency to procrastinate is diminished. Visually viewing work also helps students manage their time, build accurate schedules and plan ahead. All skills need refinement, no matter the age.

Agile classrooms build the AI-Proof skills that are essential for all pursuits. These principles scaffold and build an agile mindset that allows students better understand concepts, dig deeper into new knowledge and develop “soft” skills. To see more agile resources learn more here.

November 23, 2022 16 comments

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Using The 12 Agile Principles In Education

by Jessica Cavallaro October 24, 2022

written by Jessica Cavallaro 4 minutes read

The Agile software development method was created in the early 2000s when software developers combined their intelligence, creativity, and knack for simplicity to create a lean framework that would allow project managers and developers to create usable software quickly and efficiently while producing the best product. At that beginning meeting, 12 Agile Principles were made with three core values.

These principles and values are the backbones of how many in the tech industry now function. In fact, agile is so successful at opening transparency, easing communication, and getting work done that several other enterprises outside of tech have adopted the framework.

4 Agile Principles that can be used in Education for Supporting Students

Agile was my solution when I struggled with teacher burnout during the endless virtual learning days of early 2020. Teachers without experience with virtual learning were given a weekend to figure it out.

Students sat lonely and disconnected as their teacher’s face filled the screen with endless lectures, and work did not get done because no one in education knew how to work in teams, never mind virtually. When the 12 Principles of Agile found their way into my life, it was clear that this was the future of education.

In education, Agile is based on students creating their teams based on their personal strengths.To

Learning is navigated through these teams operating a Kanban Board. This is a visual system in which large projects are broken into smaller stand-alone tasks that can be physically moved across to board to show what stage of work they are in.

A significant part of Agile is a team’s ability to work together. Many of the direct benefits to students involve the scaffolding and practice of “soft skills,” or as I like to call them, AI-Proof skills that are essential in navigating a more complex world.

Below are the principles that most align with education and how to integrate them immediately to engage students better and reignite the teacher’s passion in the classroom.

Agile Principle # 10

Simplicity – the art of maximizing the work not done – is essential.

When teachers get their first job, they are handed a scope and sequence and told to teach it all. Not long into the education journey, reasonable teachers realize you cannot teach all the material, and kids will not LEARN. This is the full realization of the 10th principle. Simplify content. Simplify skills.

What is necessary that students must understand? What connections must be made? Pick one of two big ideas that students must know and plan from there. Make these big ideas the center of your wide-open question, an open-ended question not tied to content but to the real world. Students then launch off on their learning journey by pulling the essential information provided by the teacher.

As they learn the basics, they cannot solve the problem with the bare minimum knowledge and will begin to pull more ability as needed. You can’t teach everything, but real learning can happen when students are set in the right direction and determine what they must know to answer the questions.

Agile Principle #8

Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.

The days are long, but the years are short. That’s how most teachers and students will describe a regular school year. Content and skills must be taught and evaluated consistently, not breakneck racing through content.

The teacher must model time management to students so they can break content and skill development at a consistent pace. This can be done by modeling, asking probing questions, or working on the Kanban board.

The teacher’s role switches from “sage on a stage” to a true facilitator, allowing students to work at their pace and teachers to enjoy the time spent with each student group. Both groups win, and intrinsic learning returns.

Agile Principle # 4

Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.

I am a non-tradition teacher who does not push information on my students, and people assume I am not teaching. After implementing Agile in my classroom, each team works independently using their Kanban board to organize their work and communicate their needs.

I meet with each team and do more small-group instruction than my entire career. I work daily with all students in person and virtually to help guide, explain complex concepts, brainstorm, and coach. I have built stronger relationships with all my students and ensure every student gets my undivided attention daily. That quality education cannot be replicated any other way.

Agile Principle # 7

Working software is the primary measure of progress.

Learning is messy when done right. The goal is real learning, not decorations. In Agile, when software is successful, if it is working, it is for learning. Learning is successful when it drives further inquiry.

Authentic learning is when students can build connections and apply their knowledge. When 40 groups work on a problem, 40 individual solutions are given, all solving the proposed trial. That shows real innovation, creativity, and deep learning has occurred.

October 24, 2022 34 comments