The aim of our project was to raise attainment and engagement in learning, by exposing the pupils to the principles and practices of growth mindset. We focused on a primary 6 class where there was a lot of intolerance and conflict. Some children in the class actively ‘opted out’ of learning and were disruptive, aggressive, and disrespectful. We hoped to encourage these children to engage in learning, as well as being part of the class. Some children in the class also had poor self-esteem and by supporting them to have a more positive outlook, we hoped this would support their learning and attainment.
To achieve this, we planned to engage adults and children in learning a new skill together, so that we could see the principles of growth mindset in action. We chose juggling, as we were all beginners, and it is a non-academic subject that we could all access equally. We learned the new skill together as a team and supported each other by modelling the principles of growth mindset. Juggling is a skill where failure must be accepted to progress, with close links to the principles of growth mindset (Miller, 2020).
In terms of attainment, we were interested in making improvements to the learning and teaching of writing. Writing was an area with the biggest deficit post-covid, and one of the lessons where we were experiencing the most disruption in class. We were keen to improve the children's engagement and attainment in writing, and this fitted well with the priorities for our school and local authority.
The project was designed to introduce the children to growth mindset in a fun and interactive way. We had a weekly lesson, where the children would look at a specific aspect of growth mindset (famous failures, brain development, fixed versus growth mindset language), in addition to some juggling time where they were coached on technique. Some children were excited to learn to juggle, others felt it was too difficult a skill to master and some felt it was an unusual skill to learn at school. Despite the challenges faced in the class, the children were all engaged in the weekly lessons and had fun. We witnessed unlikely pairings working well together, and children were encouraging each other and offering/asking for tips. There was also a lot of self-talk and perseverance during the sessions.
Post-covid assessments had highlighted the biggest negative impact was upon writing skills. There were also individuals in our class for whom writing was a trigger for negative behaviour, disengagement, and loss of emotional regulation. Over the course of the project, 67% of the children improved their writing assessment scores. It is difficult to ascertain whether this was due to growth mindset alone, or other factors.
We began the first lesson with a pre-assessment on an A4 piece of paper. This immediately turned some children off. One child was quite vocal about it being ‘too personal’ and walked out of the class. We had to persuade him to come back in and re-join. In hindsight, we did not need to make the assessment part of the lesson. This could have been completed beforehand and with a fuller explanation. After discussions, we developed a Google form version of the assessment which we believe the children would have been more engaged with.
A longer time frame to further embed growth mindset would also have benefitted the children and the project. Our planned lessons went well, and were well received by the children, but we could have used growth mindset language more often during the rest of the week. Whilst we did meet our aims overall, more time would have allowed us to weave growth mindset into the classroom ethos more effectively.
Our project felt a bit rushed as we approached the end, which limited our ability to reach parents. We had added weekly videos to the Google classroom, but only one family responded to these, commenting how much their child was enjoying the lessons. If the project were to run again, we would invite parents in to join the lessons given the relaxation of covid restrictions.
We did not stay within the timelines outlined on our project plan. Due to the illness of a team member, we were delayed by two weeks. In terms of planning the actual activities and input with the learners, this went very well and was well received by the children. We probably underestimated the time needed to pull our evaluations and observations together. We were also relying on attainment data from existing school assessments, however, the completion of these were delayed.
After we had started the project, the decision was taken to divide the class in half for the remainder of the year. This was an unsettling time for both teachers and children and impacted on the time we had to deliver the lessons. We changed delivery of the lessons, with one teacher leading on the juggling activity for 30 minutes and the other on growth mindset for the other 30 minutes, before switching groups. Despite the last minute changes, we found that the smaller groups were more beneficial for the children. It allowed us time for quality discussion about growth mindset, and their responses to it. The children seemed to feel safer discussing their thoughts about their learning in smaller groups and were perhaps more honest and reflective than they might have been in a whole class setting.
One of our aims was to strengthen relationships by learning a new skill together. The teacher who was not present for the juggling activity, missed out on those lessons. However, as we progressed, the children were keen to become ‘the teacher’ here and this proved a great way to strengthen relationships. Through this, the children were able to see that teachers need time to learn new skills too and make mistakes along the way. They enjoyed watching the teacher make mistakes and keep trying.
Our observations and reflections were largely positive throughout the project. The children responded well to the lessons, and most were enthusiastic about learning to juggle. At the beginning, it was apparent that some children were approaching the lessons from a fixed mindset, with comments like ‘this is too hard’. However, as their juggling improved, these children showed more evidence of a growth mindset as the weeks progressed. After the growth mindset input, these children were more likely to try an activity that challenged them, rather than shy away and give up.
Our aim was to raise attainment and engagement in school, through improving the children’s attitudes and enjoyment of learning. We noticed that the children were more tolerant of each other, and there were fewer instances of aggression in the playground and disruptive behaviour in class. We observed during juggling practise, children interacting positively, offering praise and encouragement to each other. They looked to each other for technique input and were keen to pass their learning on. Collaboration had always been an issue for this class. At the beginning of the year, we had to seat the children in pairs because they found it difficult to work together productively. By the end of the project, they were sitting in groups of up to six successfully.
We videoed the weekly juggling lessons. Initially, some children were reluctant and shy to watch them. As the weeks progressed, they looked forward to seeing the clips from the previous week and asked to see them repeatedly. This showed that the children were engaged and invested in their learning. There was also an improvement in the children’s general wellbeing. Using the Edinburgh Warwick Scale Questionnaire, showed that 50% of the measures showed a positive change in the post-assessment analysis, with little change for 35% and a negative change for 14%.
We believe that the project was run over too short a period, to prove that there has been a related impact upon attainment. Some 67% of children did improve their writing assessment results over the same time, but we cannot be sure this was solely down to growth mindset. The class had been divided into two groups with different teachers, and there had been some focussed writing input to accelerate writing performance. We are confident that given a longer time frame, we would observe positive results that we could attribute to growth mindset.
The project has also given rise to some changes in teaching practice, with greater attention paid to how praise is given and what praise. We are careful about the way the class celebrates successes, praising creativity, perseverance, and not just children who get the ‘correct’ answer. We also plan to focus more on metacognition - talking to the children about their learning and what goes on in their brains as they learn.
Evidence from the Edinburgh Warwick Scale Questionnaire, that was used pre and post the project, shows positive improvements on most measures:
The children fill in the daily emotions check-in each morning and choose from 4 emotions, happy, calm, sad, and angry. The following graphs show the pattern of emotions chosen by the children over the course of the project. The main points to note are:
We also looked at attainment information from writing assessments, and this found:
Finally, teachers observed children to evaluate the impact of the project. They witnessed the children interacting positively with each other, particularly unexpected pairings of children. They were observed coaching each other and their teachers, and demonstrated perseverance, frustration, and fun, sometimes all within seconds. The quotes below illustrate some of this:
Answers to the question ‘How do I know if I have been successful?’
‘I will feel good about myself’
‘I keep trying’
‘I’ve tried my best’
The children were able to recognise a variety of measures of success, other than just focusing upon mastering a skill or getting the answers correct. They also showed that they were having fun and feeling better about themselves:
‘growth mindset teaches you never to give up. It keeps you positive and confident.’
‘I didn’t know I could be this dedicated to something (juggling)... It frustrates you but calms you down at the same time’
‘once I remember it’s a Monday I can’t wait until the afternoon (growth mindset lesson time)’
The results of the Edinburgh Warwick Scale Questionnaire are shown in the attached link, which sets out responses before and after the project for a range of questions.
Some of the feedback from the children is also captured below:
The Head Teacher has been very positive about the project and understands the need for this intervention. She added it to our School Improvement Plan for the next session. Our Depute was encouraged by the juggling videos taken and really enjoyed seeing the children interacting positively and collaborating with each other. Some colleagues were sceptical about assigning learning time over to ‘learning to juggle’. Other colleagues felt that intelligence is largely fixed. We hope that when we show the team our evidence, and videos of the children’s journey, they will be inspired to reconsider their viewpoint.
We will introduce growth mindset into class from the outset next session, including it in teaching across all areas of the curriculum. We hope to regularly discuss and evaluate our practise and its impact on the children. The target class involved in the project will continue to receive growth mindset input next year in primary 7. And we hope to continue to teach children the skill of juggling, alongside some growth mindset input. The project will be shared with the staff to highlight the value in establishing awareness of growth mindset in our classrooms. We also aim to change the way we celebrate success across the school to reflect a growth mindset approach.