Assessing attitudes on a larger scale.

After writing my last post, I felt a bit unsatisfied with simply assessing the mathematical mindsets within grade 3. I felt happy that the students in grade 3 had a healthy mindset, but I wondered if there was an age or a stage when this healthy mindset started to decline. It made sense to me that perhaps it was the older grades because as the math gets more challenging, it may become more acceptable to say, “I just don’t get it.”

I decided that I would administer the questionnaires in grades 4 and 5 as well. Then it dawned on me that it would also be interesting to assess the mindsets’ of the teachers in the primary school. I was curious to know if there was a link between how the teachers felt and how the students felt. Finally, I mused – why not just assess the students in the Middle and Senior Schools as well. Thankfully my colleagues in the MS and SS were very open and encouraging about this prospect and they have also begun administering the questionnaire.

I would like to look at the trends that may exist from year to year. Do they start strong and decline? Is there a year when they make a drastic decline? If we assess the data and see where there is a decline, we can focus our attention on education about the brain and its power to grow, especially when we make mistakes. We can also help teachers to learn more about current brain research and what that means in the educational arena. I am so excited to see what the trends show!