Description
Feedback is one of the most powerful factors that influence students’ learning and achievements. Its impact, however, can be either positive or negative. Constructive feedback helps your students believe their skills and knowledge can be developed through dedication, hence increasing their motivation and capacity to overcome their initial difficulties.
On the contrary, negative feedback can demotivate and hinder future progress. Thus, knowing how to provide constructive feedback is an essential acquisition for any teacher.
In this course, you will learn the power of a growth mindset in providing purposeful feedback to your students. A growth mindset refers to the belief that intelligence and talents can be developed over time by those who have the courage to embrace failure, and apply themselves again to make progress.
On the contrary, a fixed mindset identifies the belief that intelligence depends on innate capacities – so if a student is not good at something, she or he will never be good at it. Research has shown that students with a growth mindset work harder, therefore are more willing to embrace challenges, and able to learn from mistakes.
In the course, you will discover what impact mindsets have on student motivation and achievement, besides learning to recognize growth and fixed mindsets in yourself and your students. Such a novel awareness will make you prone to switching to a growth mindset when considering yourself or your students.
Providing constructive feedback has also to do with following effective strategies and routines. Accordingly, the course will also introduce you to the three types of growth-oriented feedback (appreciation, coaching, and evaluation) and the three dimensions of effective feedback (feed-up, feedback, and feed-forward). You will thus learn some key strategies, helpful tips, and useful phrases to assist students in the transition of their thoughts and actions into the growth mindset zone.
The course uses role-play as an educational technique to help you practice impactful ways to give feedback. By interacting with other participants, you will experiment with different strategies to give purposeful feedback, and put yourself in your students’ shoes to understand what it feels like to receive feedback.
By the end of the course, you will gain a thorough understanding of the power of a growth mindset and growth-oriented feedback. You will develop a clear vision and confidence to refresh your feedback habits and cultivate growth-oriented feedback culture in your classrooms.
By instilling a growth mindset in your students, you will also become able to empower your students to strive in challenges and change how they interpret and work with failure.
Learning outcomes
The course will help the participants to:
- Understand the impact of mindsets on student motivation and achievement;
- Recognize growth and a fixed mindset in themselves and their students;
- Switch their mentality from a fixed to a growth mindset;
- Provide growth-oriented, purposeful, impactful feedback;
- Help students to transit their thoughts and actions into the growth mindset zone;
- Build a growth-oriented feedback culture in their classrooms.
Tentative Schedule
Day 1 – Introduction to the course and to the growth mindset
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of the participants’ schools.
Discovering growth mindset
- Growth mindset VS. fixed mindset: how mindsets change the meaning of failure and effort?
- How does the way we talk affect students’ mindsets?
- The mindset continuum self-assessment.
Day 2 – The power of feedback
- Feedback VS. Grading: Are they the same?
- The main purpose of feedback;
- The 3 types of growth-oriented feedback: appreciation, coaching, and evaluation;
- The 4 types of feedback content: the task, the process, self-regulation, and the self as a person;
- Reflection and discussion on feedback habits and culture in your context.
Day 3 – Growth-oriented praise and appreciation
- Why some praise undermines students’ motivation and performance?
- How does praising the effort and process cultivate a growth mindset?
- Helpful tips and useful phrases to show growth-oriented praise and appreciation;
- Roleplay activities to practice growth-oriented praise and appreciation.
Day 4 – Growth-oriented coaching and evaluation
- The 3 dimensions of effective feedback: feed-up, feedback, and feed-forward;
- The magic word “yet”;
- Helpful tips and useful phrases to give growth-oriented coaching and evaluation;
- Roleplay activities to practice growth-oriented coaching and evaluation.
Day 5 – Building a growth-oriented feedback culture
- What are the benefits of having a feedback culture in the learning environment?
- Practical tips and tools to cultivate the feedback culture in your class;
- Potential opportunities and struggles of building a feedback culture in your context.
Day 6 – Course closure & cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.