Developing Self-Awareness, Metacognition and Growth Mindset

Nancy Weinstein, Founder, Mindprint Learning

https://mindprintlearing.com

nancy@mindprintlearning.com

@MindprintLearn

Today’s Discussion

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1. Understanding why current approaches to

growth mindset are good but insufficient

2. How to effectively develop growth mindset by

first developing metacognition & self-regulation

3. Q & A (5 minutes)

4. Appendix: Tools (if time)

Please take a moment to review us #ZX-77

We MUST identify students’ invisible

struggles if we want to help them

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Incorporating Habits of Mind

helps but is still insufficient

Academic

Skills

Growth

Mindset +

?

’ .

…but Adding More Data Can

Make a World of Difference

Academic

Skills

Growth

Mindset +

.

+ Cognitive

Skills*

* Cognitive skills = Complex reasoning,

executive functions, memory,

processing , flexible thinking

Current Reality: We often don’t know

why students aren’t succeeding

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We review academic performance and listen, but we often don’t really know the underlying causes

…and students often lack the self-

awareness to tell us why

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“Studies show that

people are terrible at

understanding their

abilities.” Carol Dweck

(Kruger & Dunning, 1999)

Encouraging students with generalized

mindset strategies often doesn’t work

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Insanity: doing the

same thing over

and over again

and expecting

different results.

You just

can’t do

it…YET

Don’t

worry, we

all make

mistakes

I’m proud

of how

hard

you’re

trying

You did

your best,

that’s what

matters

most

You’ll do

better next

time

We know that metacognition and self-

regulation do work

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Knowledge of

one’s cognitive

skills* is the

foundation for

metacognition (n.

thinking about your

thinking and learning

how to learn)

* Cognitive skills = Complex

reasoning, executive

functions, memory,

processing , flexible thinking

Combining metacognition & growth

mindset is the ideal

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Apply It: Use Cognitive Skills to Build

Self-Regulation/Metacognition

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Discuss Student’s Unique Strengths & Weaknesses • Must be data-driven, not subjective and not necessarily achievement-based

• Always start with strengths to build self-confidence

Plan/Set Goals • Goals need to be specific to the student and achievable—use goals based on

the student’s cognitive skills, academic achievement & social-emotional factors

• Don’t expect consistently strong performance, even from your strongest

achievers (no one has all cognitive strengths and everyone can improve)

Apply Strategies/Monitor • Help students identify which strategies are most valuable to them (it’s student-

specific!)

• Teach how they can use stronger skills to support weaker skills

Evaluate/Adapt/Beliefs About Learning • Access plenty of additional strategies as needed from Toolbox

• Understand that skills can be practiced and improved (growth mindset)

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1. You’re a great problem

solver. Can you think

of a different way to

approach the

problem?

2. We know your spatial

skills are excellent.

Have you tried

drawing a picture to

help you understand?

3. Since your verbal

memory is much

stronger, let’s try using

descriptive language

to help you remember

that diagram.

Example 1: Applying cognitive data to

develop metacognition

Source: Mindprint Unique Learning Profile

1. Let’s move you to a

seat with fewer

distractions.

2. Your visual memory is

excellent. Let’s use

visual note cards to

study those

vocabulary words.

3. Rote memorization is

not always best. Your

reasoning skills are

very good. Let’s think

about what this

reminds us of and

build on that to

remember.

Example 2: Applying cognitive data to

identify best-fit strategies

Source: Mindprint Unique Learning Profile

Example 3: Applying cognitive data is

important even for top students

1. Your visual memory is

strong. Let’s draw

pictures to help you

remember all that text.

2. You’re very capable but

you still need to study

to remember what you

read.

3. Let’s brainstorm how

we can do this

differently. You have

excellent abilities, but

the first approach isn’t

always best.

Source: Mindprint Unique Learning Profile

Summing it Up

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1. We know we can’t just teach academic skills. But adding on

growth mindset alone isn’t sufficient

2. Cognitive skills help us identify how each student learns best

and what we can do differently to support them

3. Metacognition starts with a student’s self-awareness of his/her

own cognitive skills. Metacognition is the foundation for

effectively developing growth mindset

4. Proof is in the research. Objective feedback, self-regulation &

metacognition are the most effective learning strategies

5. Metacognition can be developed and should be taught. But it

requires objective data on cognitive skills

Session Evaluation Let us know what you thought of this session. Complete an

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Reliable Tools to

Identify Cognitive Strengths & Needs

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Reliable Tools

• Psycho-educational evaluation

• Observation by psychologist/clinician

• Valid cognitive screener*

• Valid skill questionnaires (e.g. BRIEF for executive functions)*

Not Reliable Alone

• Observation by adults who are not specialists

• Student self-reports/self-perceptions

• Unvalidated instruments • Myers-Briggs • Learning Styles Inventories • Other questionnaires

without research-backing

* New affordable, scalable school options available