CORTNIE BELSER'S MSED PORTFOLIO
Instructional Introduction of Habits and Mindsets
The teacher facilitates an introduction to the 16 Habits of Mind to engage students in direct explicit instruction
Table of Contents
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Introduction to Instructional Introduction
Day 1: Lesson Plan, PowerPoint, and Student Work
Day 2: Habits of Mind Student Survey Selection & PowerPoint Animated Series
Introductory Reinforcement: Weekly Homework Sheet on "Mindset"
Introduction
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While Habits and Mindsets presents a model for student-driven character development, the role of the teacher is to present direct instruction to introduce the habits of mind to students. The habits of mind allow students to develop their own confidence as well as stimulate a growth mindset about their own efficacy. Each habit that students are exposed to is an opportunity for them to internalize a reflective process for challenging situations. It has developed their characteristics to build routines and strategies, that help them understand what it will take to achieve their short-term and long-term goals. As I introduced students to the 16 habits of mind as well as those tailored to individual class goals, I was also developing and deepening my sense of understanding. By presenting explicit instruction in the habits of mind, I must also know the content, key examples, and an analysis of them myself. When students are introduced to a new concept, the enthusiasm, interest, and engagement from the teacher can be a defining factor for students. As an ELA teacher, I utilized explicit content-based instruction to deepen students' understanding of the habits of mind so that when it is time to reinforce, students have a solid foundation for critical reflection.
Day 1: Lesson Plan and Student Work
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Since I did not want to spend an extensive time introducing students to all 16 Habits of Mind because I knew we would not be able to develop them all in my classroom, I crafted a half-day lesson to explicitly introduce the habits of mind. Through this lesson observations, student work, and in class discussion, I evaluated which 2-3 habits of mind I would continue to target throughout the year.
The lesson plan to the left and PowerPoint above are my planning documents for how I introduced students to the Habits of Mind. As shown on Page 1 of the lesson plan, I begin my intro to new material through a warm-up question that will spark student discussion about the topic. By asking students about characteristics of success, they were later able to connect the Habits of Mind to concrete examples. As the formative assessment of this lesson, students revisit their warm-up response to consider what habits of mind are connected to their vision of a successful person. The PowerPoint demonstrates how I provided visual anchors and guided notes for students to deepen their understanding of the purpose of habits of mind. As the red box indicates in the lesson plan, I opened the explicit instruction of habits of mind through a vocabulary web on "mindset" and independent practice of students writing a narrative on Habits of Mind they self-selected.
WE DO: Day 1 Class Discussion of Habits of Mind
To model explicit instruction for students, the video above is a snippet of the class discussion on using the descriptions of the Habits of Mind provided in the Day 1 PowerPoint to connect to personal or real-world experiences of demonstrating the Habit of Mind. For example, as the first student states, she connects with Persistence as it can be applied in a cross-disciplinary context. As student discuss which habits they are strong in, I am keep track of which ones they mention but could be strengthened. This evidence demonstrates how my explicit instruction promoted students' ability to self-select habits for self-reflection prior to selecting the class's Habit of Mind Targets.
In the 3 student samples above, each one provides an example of Habits of Mind they feel they excel in as noted in the PowerPoint and lesson plan. Each of the students' examples of Habits of Mind they feel they possess demonstrate how they are analyzing the definitions and considering the real-world examples. As the red box indicates on Page 2, this student feels he is effective at Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations, a habit most students to not use for self-selected response.
The annotations in the student handout above demonstrate my teacher reflections and next steps for Day 2's lesson on introducing the Habits of Mind. As a way to assess the habits that students are self-selecting, it is evident that students are interested in exploring Managing Impulsivity more.
Day 2: Habits of Mind Student Selection Survey and Animated Series
While I thought I would have to utilize an additional instructional day to deepen student investment in the Habits of Mind, Day 1's student work shows how they were able to build interest and being to apply the habits to their personal experiences and analysis. Thus, I allowed students to complete a survey to select their Top 3 Habits of Mind they feel they should work on individually and as a class.
The student samples above demonstrate how I provided students an opportunity to self-select Habits of Mind from their own analysis. As the student on Page 2 and 3 demonstrate, there is both an individual and class goal to strengthen Listening with Understanding and Empathy and Striving for Accuracy. The student responses convey to me that students are not hesitant to evaluate their peers and feel that they habits of mind could be strategies we institute whole-class to change some academic and social behaviors. As noted in the Day 2 PowerPoint slides below, the final 3 Habits of Mind Targets for my classes will be: Managing Impulsivity, Listening with Understanding and Empathy, and Striving for Accuracy.
Instead of creating a formal lesson plan, I utilized multimedia to play short animated videos describing the Habits of Mind. While Day 1's lesson was productive and filled with a rich student discussion, I wanted to present the cartoon series as a way to convey to students that Habits of Mind can be applied in various contexts and ages. Since the student survey highlight 3 key targeted habits to focus on, I wanted to utilize the animated series so that students can begin to build their informal vocabulary and associations with these habits. By utilizing the animated series we could have a critical dialogue and analysis with accessible content.
The document above highlights 3 student samples from two 8th grade classes. For Student A, she received full credit for Day 1's student narrative and had the choice to watch the animated series or move forward with the real-world examples. As the red box highlights, Student A can develop examples of each habit and relate them to a career field, nothing that doctors have to be empathetic and lawyers must strive for accuracy. However, the lower red rectangle demonstrates how she is engaged in the student work but is not practicing managing impulsivity or striving for accuracy here, as she does not answer the Pair response correctly, citing a non-targeted Habit of Mind. Additionally, Student B also provides very clear and effective real-world career field examples. His example that architects need to strive for accuracy demonstrates how he is trying to think outside of the norm responses to offer a unique example. Lastly, I chose to highlight Student C's reflection because she connects the habits of mind to personal experiences (going to Youthworks) and how practicing the habits strengthens her longterm goals of being a fashion designer. Overall, the evidence in the student work demonstrates by Day 2's instruction students had internalized, reflected, self-selected, and analyzed the habits as individuals and a class.
Introductory Reinforcement: Weekly HW Sheet ​
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As an instructional strategy to not only introduce students to the 16 Habits of Mind but also the underlying vocabulary of the habits, I created my weekly homework to focus on defining "mindset." For students that completed their homework throughout the week, their understanding of the habits of mind had a deeper analysis because they were reinforcing the concept and analytical thinking outside the classroom. As a way to reinforce direct instruction, my homework sheet facilitates a multi-textual analysis of mindset.
The document above illustrates 3 types of student responses from the weekly homework sheet. While all students have a clear analysis of the comic and how it relates to the negative impact of a fixed mindset, what is more critical is how their responses demonstrate their own fixed or growth mindset. The annotations found on each document convey my teacher analysis of each student and the potential next steps needed to support students' character development. As a form of formative assessment, the weekly homework sheet offers me insight on how my students connect real-world voices to personal reflection and analysis. This introductory homework sheet allows me to better plan reinforcement instruction of the 3 Habits of Mind Targets: Managing Impulsivity, Listening with Understanding and Empathy, and Striving for Accuracy.