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Habits & Mindsets

Students reference their teacher’s guidance in organization, study habits, character traits and values (like persistence, striving for accuracy, etc.). They have internalized these traits beyond just talking about them which has led to personal growth on the part of the student.

Introduction 

As you learn and grow as an educator, you realize that teaching our students reaches far beyond academic content. Preparation for the real world requires that we teach our students the habits of mind that help them navigate through their daily lives. I found it important to focus on two habits of mind, listening with understanding and empathy and managing impulsivity. For the past few years, I have taught 9th grade English and Reading. With that, I have saw that my students struggle to listen to their peers, and lack empathy in activities and discussion that require it. Managing impusivity is a habit of mind that I developed in the past few years, so I thought it would be important to get my students to focus and think clearly. Together, these habits of mind foster a positive classroom culture, where authentic discussion and learning can occur. 

 

For my set of students, these habits of mind would truly develop my students’ ability to effectively communicate with their peers and help them to focus. Explicitly teaching these habits of mind gives the students the ability to take their growth mindset and apply it to real life situations. With practice and reinforcement of these habits of mind, student engagement and self-awareness increases, while growing a positive mindset.

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In this section, I have included lesson plans, student activities, and reflections that encourage students to develop of these habits of mind. These artifacts demonstrate application of the habits of mind, and what happens when they are reinforced, with hope of the students continuing to use them on their own. 

Table of Contents

Conclusion

Listening with Understanding and Empathy is a habit that I think is important to the development of our students. In a class of almost 30 students, it was almost impossible to get students to pay attention and to not dismiss the thoughts and feelings of other students. I started with activities like the Empathy Quotient which served a survey to get students to immediately self reflect and figure out what they need to work on. To further that, the activity that followed gave practice. The partnered listening activity gave the students the space to listen with the intent to understand, and gave them the opportunity to reflect on their feelings, something that rarely happens. My students have so much to say in class, and developing this habit helped the students to give each-other respectful opportunities to be heard. 

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Alongside that, Managing Impulsivity is another habit of mind that I found helpful for my students. In my effort to develop this habit after teaching students about listening with empathy, it was important to get them to be more self aware of their impulsive actions. Identifying impulsive behaviors through the survey, showed students that impulsivity can hinder student development. The series of  activities demonstrate the students ability to manage impusivity through reinforcing strategies. At the end of each lesson, I always provide my students with the opportunity to self reflect on their use of these habits. Teaching the habits of mind is essential for student growth not just in the classroom, but to use in their daily lives. 

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