Developing Mindsets Through Norms, Procedures, and Environment

The organization of my classroom learning environment is the starting place of my efforts to teach and emphasize habits and mindsets in my classroom. The physical classroom space, the norms that direct student and teacher interaction, as well as the classroom grading policy exhibit mindsets that are most important to student academic success. 

Classroom Organization

One of the habits and mindsets I explicitly teach is "thinking interdependently." A powerful way to instill this norm into my instructional approach is to create collaborative activities that require students to authentically contribute to a group assignment or project. In order to facilitate this, I have organized my classroom into student groups named after different nations in Latin America: Uruguay, Peru, Bolivia, Honduras, Ecuador, and Mexico. Students sit at tables instead of desks to promote interaction and communication. The activities that students work on together are not independent activities that students complete together, but rather are activities that require collaborative thinking and interdependence. 

Classroom Norms

At the start of the school year, students work together to write and present the rules they think should be in our classroom norms. In the example image to the left, students in Spanish Two use the present tense to write norms for class: "I raise my hand," "I listen to Profe Pearson," "I walk with scissors facing downward," "I have fun in class," "I walk and I do not run," and "I help my friends." Among other mindsets that this activity promotes, the mindsets "managing impulsivity" and "applying past knowledge to new situations" are key factors. Not only do students use Spanish on day one of class, but they work on developing self-regulation by identifying the policies they need that will make our classroom safe. Further, students apply the rules and norms from previous classes to our class. 

Grading Policy

The following grading policy facilitates a sense of equity and a sense of growth mindset in the Spanish classroom. On all assessments, students elect a method by which their work is evaluated: either a rubric score based upon the World Language Department rubrics, or a growth score. The latter is calculated by subtracting students’ baseline rubric score from their current assessment rubric score. The baseline score is calculated as the average of a student's first assessment from each of the three modes of communication: interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational. This grading policy provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate their achievement as a result of their growth. By evaluating students based on growth, I emphasize the mindsets "persisting" and "taking responsible risks."  Students learn that their work on speaking and writing performance assessments should not focus on grammatical perfection, but rather on their willingness to attempt to say new and more challenging things in Spanish. Students focus more on creativity and critical thinking than on the "right" answer or grammar. 
During each unit, students take similar assessments that assess their performance in each mode of communication. While the topics and tasks range, the format of assessment is similar. Each assessment is an opportunity for students to analyze their performance. Students keep track of their growth using a "Tabla de Crecimiento" ("Growth Table") that they update after each assessment. After logging each assessment, students subtract their baseline score from their current score to assess their growth. Finally, students write a short reflection on their growth and plan for continued improvement. While some reflections may lack profound self-analysis, many demonstrate considerable self-evaluation of the work students have put into their learning. Students are developing metacognition and self-directed learning skills through their work in these growth charts. Below you will find three sample student growth charts ranging from no growth to a significant three-point jump.