Do the numbers matter? Or is it the process?

My students took the Grit Survey (Growth Mindset Survey) as they usually due every Friday.  The survey asks them many questions about their weekly goals, how often they referred to these goals during the week, what areas these goals were created, and if they achieved their goals.  This week the number of students who achieved their goals dropped.

At first, I am disappointed. But should I be disappointed?

There is much to be read into this data from these weekly surveys.   But let's get back to the REAL meaning of teaching grit and growth mindset.  The point of teaching growth mindset is to have kids think about their goals, understand that if they failed, that they DO NOT allow obstacles to deter their progress.

So, when the number of kids say they did not achieve their goal, should this be interpreted as a negative?  Likewise, if the number of students who achieved their goal, should this be interpreted as a positive?  I am not so sure.

One of the questions I ask my students is how often they think about their goals outside of my class.  17.2 percent of my students do not think about their goals outside of my class.  What if this number decreases?  What if only 10 percent of my students do not think about their goals outside of my class?Would this translate into a higher number of students might achieve their goals?

Results from the latest Growth Mindset survey.  What if the number of students who did not think about their goals dropped to 10 percent?

Isn't it more important for students to think about their goals more outside of class than how many of the students achieved their goals?  To be fair, 29.9 percent of my kids think about their weekly goals outside of my class 5 or more times.  Is this a good number? Should this number be higher?

Now, should I focus on the number of time my kids think about their goals outside of my class?

Boy!  Who knew teaching growth mindset would be SO difficult. :)

Please join me in this process of teaching growth mindset. Leave a comment!