Brooke Morgan serves as Principal of Munford Elementary School in the Talladega County (AL) public schools. Dr. Morgan has over 11 years of experience in school administration and also serves as Key Leader for the district’s 21st Century Teaching and Learning Network. She earned her ED.D. degree in Educational Leadership at Samford University and is the the 2015 recipient of the Marbury Technology Innovation Administrator Award from the Alabama State Department of Education.
By Dr. Brooke Morgan
As a principal, it is not uncommon to be asked by teachers to assist with apathetic and/or disruptive students. Last fall, a conversation with one third grade student had a monumental impact on how I think about students who struggle academically.
Alexis has been a student at our school since the beginning of her school career. She lives with her mother, grandparents, aunts, and several cousins in a high poverty area of our community. Alexis has grown tremendously in reading over the years and was actually reading on a fourth grade level at the beginning of her third grade year. Math was a different story. She began third grade over two grade levels behind in math.
In the first month of school, Alexis’ teacher emailed me with concerns. She told me that during math, Alexis was very disruptive and gave very little effort. When redirected, Alexis would roll her eyes and refuse to complete her work. Her teacher asked if I could talk with her and help “get her on track.”
When I spoke with Alexis, I told her that I knew how capable she was based on how well she could read. I questioned why she refused to even try in math. I was not prepared for what Alexis told me. Her response? “I can’t do math. My mama can’t do math. Nobody in my family can do math. My mama said as long as I can read, that’s all that matters.”
I realized in that moment that Alexis has never even given herself a chance to succeed at math (and neither has her mother). We continued our conversation for over an hour. I told Alexis that I believed in her ability and that her teacher believed in her math potential. We made a deal. I said that if she would pay attention in class, put forth her best effort, and trust her teacher, I would meet with her each week to talk about her progress.
Alexis’ teacher was determined that she would succeed. Each week, she brought her math assessments to my office and we would discuss them. Initially, there were mostly D’s and sometimes C’s. Then, something amazing happened. Alexis started to get a taste of success. By the end of the year, Alexis had made over two years growth in math!
The research on Mindset
During the summer, I reflected on Alexis’ mindset at the beginning of the year and how it transformed throughout the school year. I began to read articles about the importance of having a growth mindset. Many of the articles referenced Carol Dweck, a researcher at Stanford University. I read her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success and another book, Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools by Mary Cay Ricci. I learned that our mindset can have a tremendous impact on our achievement and success.
I also learned that recent brain research negates the notion that intelligence is “fixed” at birth. This research emphasizes “neuroplasticity” – the ability of the brain to change, adapt, and “rewire” itself throughout our entire life. New connections are created and connections not used very often will be eliminated.
Studies have shown that a person’s IQ is not static like we once were told. A person’s intelligence is constantly changing based on effort, persistence, and motivation. After serious reflection, I realized that our society promotes a fixed mindset in many areas. How many times have we heard, “He is a natural athlete” or “Boys are better at math”? What does that communicate to that child and other children about their potential? How do our words as parents, educators, and coaches affect the mindsets of our children?
What about our own mindsets?
Research has shown that students who are told “You are so brilliant” actually fear failure more than students who are praised for their effort and determination. We have always told our students that we have high expectations for them, but have our actions always shown it? Do WE have a growth mindset for ourselves as well as for our students?
Ricci states, “An educator with a growth mindset believes that with effort and hard work from the learner, all students can demonstrate significant growth and therefore all students deserve opportunities for challenge.”
Introducing the Mindset research into our school
I felt led to share this important research and information with my staff before the first day of school. We spent an entire day learning about the differences in a fixed and growth mindset. We had open and honest conversations about our beliefs and expectations for all students.
Teachers discussed ideas to teach students about having a growth mindset and planned lessons collaboratively. Many planned to show videos about how the brain works, study famous Americans who exhibited a growth mindset by overcoming obstacles by persevering, and also by reading books with characters who learned the importance of trying new things and learning from mistakes. We also decided to fill our school and classrooms with growth mindset quotes and ideas.
After “Meet the Teacher Night,” teachers were surprised when parents would introduce their child by saying, “Bethany is horrible in math. Good luck!” or “We’ve done all we can do, but Chris just can’t read.”
These “labels” were spoken in front of the child. During our grade level professional development meetings during the first month of school, we discussed that in addition to our efforts to promote a growth mindset culture in our school, we also needed the support of our parents to truly impact the mindset of our students. We decided to dedicate our first PTA/Open House Meeting to educate parents about the importance of having a growth mindset and about the impact it was already having on their children.
We had over 300 parents in attendance. I spent the first 20 minutes of the evening sharing Carol Dweck’s research about fixed vs. growth mindset and how praising effort (instead of intelligence) can have an incredible impact on student success. Next, I asked parents to visit their child’s classroom to learn more about how the brain works and how they can help to support their children in being as successful as possible. Classroom activities included student skits, videos with discussion, student testimonials, and even students teaching growth mindset lessons and quizzing their parents!
One can find evidence of a growth mindset culture throughout Munford Elementary School. Students are setting goals based on things that they may not can do “yet.” We no longer say the words, “I can’t” or “This is too hard.” Instead, you may overhear a student say, “I haven’t met my reading goal YET” or “This problem looks hard, but I’m going to try my best because I know that my brain will grow bigger when I figure it out!” I see teachers and students supporting and encouraging one another more than ever.
It’s not just “the new self-esteem”
We are constantly learning new ways to support this growth mindset culture. In a recent article by Carol Dweck, she states:
“The thing that keeps me up at night is that some educators are turning mindset into the new self-esteem, which is to make kids feel good about any effort they put in, whether they learn or not. But for me the growth mindset is a tool for learning and improvement. It’s not just a vehicle for making children feel good.”
I agree that without fully understanding what constitutes a growth mindset as well as tying this practice to targeted goals, there will be little impact on student success. I also believe that there definitely has to be a culture change within a school, which means that sometimes uncomfortable conversations must take place among ourselves.
We can no longer make excuses for certain students. (“They don’t have support at home” or “He will be just like his brother.”) As educators, we must show through our words and actions that we have high expectations for all students. We have to make an effort to provide opportunities to challenge all students, not just the ones who we consider average or above average.
We must believe that all students can be successful if given quality instruction, guidance, and opportunities to practice. Through our conversations and staff development, we know that students who struggle, and may not have support at home, need us more. We can make a difference in their lives if we teach them to have a growth mindset and persist through challenges.
We are already seeing encouraging results in both student attitude toward learning and motivation towards reaching learning goals. We have just begun this journey. I can’t wait to see the impact our efforts will continue to have on our students and staff!
Here are some additional thoughts from Debra Smith, Munford Elementary School’s Instructional Partner:
One thing Dr. Morgan did not mention in the article that really stands out in my mind happened on the first day of school. She went to each classroom and presented a class copy of a book about having a growth mindset. She also talked to the students about the training the teachers had been through on the topic during the summer, and her goals for them (the students) to have a growth mindset. What an example to both teachers and students about her level of commitment to this work.
Dr. Morgan also presented a condensed version of the growth mindset training to parents and grandparents during our open house night and challenged them to foster growth mindsets in their own homes. We often talk about reaching out to all stakeholder groups, but how often do we truly seek meaningful ways to make that happen?
This work continues to become part of our daily interactions with students, and Dr. Morgan continues to be the model for us as we work with students and families at our school. Two weeks ago, a student who had overcome many struggles withdrew from our school, and Dr. Morgan personally called him into her office to talk to him about how proud she was of him and her hopes for him in the future.
She pulled a children’s book on growth mindset off of her shelf and wrote a personal message to him inside the cover. She explained what the message meant and gave him the book to take with him as he left our school. Who knows the impact that inscription could have on his life in the future?
A final thought: The idea of having a growth mindset will only make a difference in the lives of the students we serve when school leaders develop a plan of action to change the culture of their schools and communities. I have heard that changing a school culture is hard, but when the leadership is so motivated to change the culture that others can’t help but join in it doesn’t just become easy; it becomes inevitable.
