The aim of this project was to ascertain the impact of a growth mindset approach in raising attainment, achievement and enjoyment in Numeracy within an additional support needs provision.
Education in Scotland is underpinned by fundamental policy and legislation, within which wellbeing lies at the heart, reflecting the need to practice in a child-centred way and provide tailored support for the learners. Growth Mindset is a key driver in delivering ‘excellence and equity’ for young people; when children believe that their ability is fixed, they lack resilience, which is paramount to learning and achieving (Dweck, 2015). Growth mindset empowers children to reach their full potential by developing perseverance, thus leading to increased academic success (Dweck, 2015).
It has been recognised that children’s wellbeing is significantly impacted by their learning experiences and environment; therefore the focus of this project was on improving attitudes and confidence around maths, promoting the value of key maths skills, and delivering learning in a creative and transferable way (Scottish Government, 2016).
Through this project, the intention was to dispel the perception of maths as a ‘formulaic’ subject, and present it as a creative and enjoyable subject, based more on the learning process than ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers.
The comprehensive analysis and evaluation after three months of this project indicates that there has been success across a number of areas relating to the original aim. Tracking of academic skills has evidenced that all of the learners have progressed in all of the numeracy based targets. In certain areas, all of the learners have reached the ‘secure’ stage for skills that were completely new to them. This is a significant achievement for these pupils, as they would normally spend longer than three months working on these core skills, and it is unusual for this group with additional support needs to become ‘secure’ in a skill so quickly. Based on this method of assessment, there is evidence that the project has led to an increase in attainment and achievement in numeracy.
Pupil voice, in the form of a focus group questionnaire, has been instrumental in highlighting the other benefits which have arisen from the project so far. On comparison of the results before the project and following 3 months of the project, there was a much more positive response from the learners in relation to their engagement and enjoyment in numeracy after participating in the group activities. This could be attributed to the Growth Mindset approaches, which enabled them to consider their learning in a broader sense and explore Numeracy themes through a variety of media.
The data indicates that the learners’ attitudes around numeracy have improved, as well as their confidence. For example; after the project, none of the learners stated that they found maths difficult, compared to three learners who felt they struggled with maths at the beginning of the project. Although the learners are unable to articulate their thoughts and feelings around these particular changes, it could be concluded that they have understood and responded to the Growth Mindset videos and stories which have re-framed the notion of challenge for them. Through professional judgement, it is clear that the pupils are now less daunted by (or reluctant to participate in) new tasks which they might previously have perceived as ‘too hard’.
Furthermore, two of the participants who initially chose ‘creative’ subjects as their favourites, selected numeracy as their favorite subject after 3 months of the project. This would suggest that the specific Growth Mindset approaches, in addition to the creative and engaging delivery of the focus group lessons, have resonated with these learners, thus helping them to view maths in a different way.
For all of these reasons, the project has perhaps exceeded expectations, as this level of success was not expected so early on. This project will be continuing for at least 3-6 months in 2020, therefore it is anticipated that an even greater impact will be measured at the end point. If this project were to start again, it would certainly be beneficial to have a larger number of participants, split into small groups, as this small group setting worked well for the delivery of the activities. More participants would increase the rigour of the data and enable more learners to benefit from this opportunity to develop in numeracy. It may be the case that other teachers could adopt the same group work approach to meet the needs of the learners across the school.
Moreover, it would be extremely beneficial for the learners to engage in some practical activities based solely around the concept of a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. Due to the needs of the pupils, visual activities- such as sorting key traits for example- may be instrumental in helping to cement the learning and enable the learners to relate the concepts to their own thoughts and experiences. Such practical activities could be introduced early on, and paired with stories and other resources to provide richer learning experiences around Growth Mindset itself.
The intention has always been for this project to run throughout the course of one full academic year, with the timescale divided into two blocks; terms 1-2, then terms 3-4. There is also the potential to extend into a further academic year depending on a variety of factors within the school, such as staffing and the classifications of the learners.
As this project commenced in September 2019, the initial duration was set for three months to provide a key opportunity for evaluation and review in December 2019. It is proposed that progress will be analysed at this point, and any changes to the running of the project should be undertaken before re-commencing with the focused activities in January 2020.
Despite an initial delay in obtaining the chosen resources for the activities, the project has run smoothly and kept well to time. The early stages of the project were spent gathering information on the learners' perceptions of the subject, and their existing abilities, before the structured lessons began towards the middle of September. The success of this aspect of the project may be attributed to the flexible timetable within the establishment, enabling activities to be scheduled accordingly and adapted as required.
In the initial project plan, it was stated that good practice would be shared with colleagues, thus providing ideas and learning opportunities across the school. Although the new numeracy resources (which were obtained through designated funding) have been made available for use, there has been no opportunity to formally share feedback with colleagues. This is due to significant and prolonged staffing shortages, and an extremely busy calendar of events within the school. Throughout the next stage of the project, collegiate opportunities will be sought in order to promote professional dialogue around Growth Mindset and Numeracy. If a forum for sharing good practice is successfully established, colleagues will be presented with the findings and evaluation so far, highlighting the success of the approaches used with this group of learners. Furthermore, it is also anticipated that the pupil focus group questionnaire will be adapted, and used to gauge the educators’ perceptions of Numeracy and Mathematics.
A pupil focus group questionnaire was undertaken just before the project commenced in September 2019, and repeated in December 2019 following 3 months of the project. The questionnaire was identical both times, and the learners participated in discussions before completing their own questionnaires. Due to the nature of the learners’ needs, adult support was provided in order to promote pupil voice and inclusion. The results of these questionnaires were compared in December 2019, and the findings would suggest that the project has had a positive impact overall.
Learner number two, who displays challenging behaviour, chose not to complete the second questionnaire in December, therefore the second set of data contains four results which have been collated and evaluated. This situation was not predicted or planned for, however if the project was repeated, it would be beneficial to consider such factors in advance and devise a strategy for overcoming these hurdles.
In September, none of the five learners ranked numeracy as their favourite subject at school; however, it was ranked second last (out of six options) by four of the learners, and ranked third by learner number five. In December, two of the learners chose numeracy as their favourite subject, and numeracy also moved up one place for two of the other learners. This shows that all four learners who provided both sets of data now enjoy numeracy more than they did prior to the project. It could be concluded that the aim of increasing enjoyment in numeracy has been met through the project so far, and this may be attributed to the creative activities and resources which the learners found more exciting.
Before the project, two learners did not like numeracy at all, two learners liked numeracy a little, and one learner liked numeracy a lot. Three months later, three learners answered that they like numeracy a lot, and one learner answered that they like numeracy a little. Although two of the learners’ opinions stayed the same, it is fair to say that the overall perception of numeracy within the group is positive, as nobody stated that they disliked the subject.
Initially, three learners felt that numeracy was difficult for them, however in December 2019 none of the learners chose numeracy as one of the subjects they struggle with at school. One of the learners also provided verbal feedback in relation to this question, stating that he enjoys numeracy more now because it is not as difficult for him as it used to be. This feedback highlights how child-centred and needs-led the lessons and activities were, as all of the learners were supported and challenged appropriately throughout the project. Moreover, this data supports the idea that the learners now have a different outlook in relation to ‘difficulty’, which is in line with the Growth Mindset attitude that challenge is to be welcomed and embraced.
Furthermore, amongst the positive responses when asked how maths makes them feel, two learners answered that numeracy made them feel sad. After three months of the project, all of the four learners who provided data answered either happy or excited, with none of the participants expressing any negative feelings towards numeracy and mathematics.
There was some significant variation in the ways in which the participants like to learn (see Appendix 3), however on the whole, it was evident that the pupils preferred working in a group after 3 months of focus group activities. This was an extremely positive response that has also had an impact on Health and Wellbeing within the classroom. The group have formed stronger relationships, and are now demonstrating a lot more respect and kindness for one another. Through exploring the key Growth Mindset concepts together, alongside relevant picture books and focused discussions, the learners have also grasped the importance of supporting one another in their learning. They will now frequently encourage each other and celebrate success together, and they also show more of an interest in their learning processes as a peer group.
Despite all of the positive results that have arisen from the project so far, there still remains some more work to be done around the teaching and assessment of Growth Mindset outwith the Numeracy lessons. Upon reflection, it has been difficult to ascertain the extent of the learners’ understanding of specific Growth Mindset aspects; professional judgement has been used in conjunction with the questionnaire results to draw conclusions as accurately as possible. Although it was evident that the learners enjoyed both the Numeracy and Growth Mindset activities, and displayed high levels of engagement, the project would benefit from a clear assessment tool to track the learners’ progress in this area.
Based on consistent and measurable assessment, alongside professional judgement, it is evident that this project has had a positive impact on the learners who took part. As described in the project plan, the measurement tools for assessing the impact of this project were taken from the existing curricular tracking framework within the establishment. For the purposes of this project, the Early Level Numeracy and Mathematics skills planners were used, both before and after the focused teaching and learning. Key mathematical skills are monitored using a traffic light system, which pertains to the headings ‘developing, consolidating, secure’. If the skill is highlighted red, the learner is developing skills in this area of the curriculum; yellow represents consolidating, and green represents secure. If the skill has not been highlighted on the planner, this means there has been no direct teaching in that area (see Appendix 2).
Initially, three of the learners (learners 1-3) had not begun learning about addition, and two of the learners (learners 4-5) were at the developing stage. Furthermore, the learners had significant gaps in their basic number processing skills. Overall, the following aspects had not been covered:
identifying the number ‘before’ and ‘after’
counting on from a number other than zero
identifying missing numbers from a sequence
understanding the meaning of ‘more than’ and ‘less than’
The plans for the focused lessons and activities were derived from these key skills, with a particular focus on number sequencing, before progressing towards number manipulation through practical and written addition activities.
The learners all engaged extremely well with the tasks and resources that were presented to them. As a result, they were able to benefit from active learning using number balance scales, Numicon and Ten Frame materials. As the learners grew in confidence and began to enjoy the lessons, their grasp of number sequencing developed significantly, and all five learners are now able to state what comes before or after a given number. Learner 5 has been assessed as ‘secure’ (green) for this skill, as he can independently say and write numbers before and after (within 50). Learners 1-4 have been assessed as ‘consolidating’ (yellow), as they require low levels of support for this skill (within 20-30). All learners can now also count from various starting points with confidence.
Learner 1 has been assessed as ‘developing’ for identifying missing numbers from a sequence, however learners 2-5 are currently progressing towards the ‘secure’ stage, as they are able to complete increasingly complex sequences with decreasing support. All learners have been assessed as ‘consolidating’ in regards to ‘less than’ and ‘more than’, as they still require support to apply this concept to various contexts.
All five learners have made good progress in relation to the addition skills, however this has been a secondary focus of the 3 initial month phase, therefore the remainder of the project in 2020 will be more directed towards addition.
Impact evidence, as found in the appendices in the supporting documents, is as follows:
Pupil focus group questionnaire, showing what the learners were asked in September and December (Appendix 1)
Example of Early Level Numeracy and Mathematics tracking from September, for one learner who was picked at random (Appendix 2)
Pupil focus group questionnaire results from September and December, highlighting any changes to the learners' responses (Appendix 3)
Example of Early Level Numeracy and Mathematics tracking from December, for the same learner, highlighting progress made as documented in this assessment method (Appendix 4)
A table of evidence showing the development of skills, which summarises the tracking document for all learners involved (Appendix 5)
Some photographic evidence of the learners engaging in activities and developing their skills, with annotations (Appendix 6)
According to colleagues who have observed the delivery of the project, the most noticeable change has been the learners’ attitudes towards Numeracy. These colleagues have recognised that the learners seem to be far more enthusiastic about Numeracy than they were at the start of the project, and are much more keen to participate in lessons. This has been attributed to the new resources which make maths more accessible, and it is also acknowledged that the delivery of the learning experiences has made a difference. Colleagues feel that the lessons within the project have been particularly engaging and participatory, with increased opportunities for the pupils to learn from one another.
The colleagues who support the learners on a daily basis have commented that they would benefit from some further insight into the growth mindset approach, and it was agreed that this should be a focus for the rest of the 2019/20 academic year. This can be resolved by designating some of the fortnightly class team meetings (including the Class Teacher and Pupil Support Assistants) for professional dialogue around growth mindset.
The next stage of this project will take place in January 2020, and will involve the same group of learners. Based on the reflection and analysis of the project so far, group lessons will be planned responsively, following the 3 month evaluation. The learning experiences will be targeted towards the key areas for development, which are predominantly addition skills and number bonds. Lessons around sequencing, ‘more than’ and ‘less than’, and ‘before and ‘after’, will also continue with the aim that the learners will reach the secure level for these targets. It is expected that multiple skills may be covered in one lesson, now that the learners are more familiar with the key concepts, and they will be supported to make links and apply their learning in a broader sense. Furthermore, a range of ongoing assessment methods will be used to ascertain the learners’ progress in each of these areas.
It is also important to continue the Growth Mindset specific aspects, therefore in addition to Health and Wellbeing lessons and learning experiences which cover these themes implicitly, the focus group will participate in some key activities which are explicitly based on Growth Mindset itself. These will include practical and visual activities which should support the learners' development in this area, and enable the project leader to garner a more comprehensive assessment of their understanding of Growth Mindset.
In 2020, opportunities for collegiate professional development will also be explored, with the aim of reporting to colleagues about this project, sharing the findings and good practice.