Tag Archives: Shawn Achor

Connecting Ideas, Questions, Reflection

High-purpose environment. Teacher clarity. Touchpoints of praise.

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I wait patiently for my turn.

Carrots. Beep. Doritos. Beep. Milk. Beep.

Donned in her green Publix smock, she makes eye contact and small talk with the customer ahead of me as she swipes items across the reader.

Hamburger. Beep. Kale. Beep. Beep. Beep.

She says, “That will be forty-two. twenty-eight” Wincing, she shook her head and said, “No, no wait! It is twenty-eight forty-two.” Smiling sheepishly, she blushes and says “Ugh! I just hate numbers.” The customer, patient and kind, concludes her business at the register and goes on about her way.

I cannot stop myself. Why can’t I stop myself from attempting to put salve on the raw wound that someone else – knowingly or unknowingly – has inflected on this poor young woman? I hear my internal voice say, “You don’t have to fix this. You really can’t fix this. You did not do this.”

I know I should stop myself. I cannot. I softly say, “So I’m a math teacher. It is easy to mix numbers up. Don’t worry.”

And then it happens… again. It breaks my heart a little more every time. Though it is not unexpected, I brace myself for what is coming.

She takes a deep breath. In a painful blurt, she replies, “I did so many posters just so I could pass.  She decided that was never going to ‘do’ math well, so she let me create bulletin boards and cut out letters in order to pass. I just hate it. Math was never my thing. Early, we knew that I could not do it, and we created workarounds so I could pass and graduate.”

So then, as always, I apologize for her terrible experience.

I am so sorry.

I am so sorry that any child is led to believe they cannot be successful at math – the language, art, and communication tool that is my love and passion.

I am so sorry that any child is led to believe they cannot be successful.

I seethe inside that any teacher would “extra credit” a child out of learning.

High-purpose environments are filled with small, vivid signals designed to create a link between the present moment and a future ideal. They provide the two simple locators that every navigation process requires: Here is where we are and Here is where we want to go. The surprising thing, from a scientific point of view, is how responsive we are to this pattern of signaling. (Coyle, 180 pag.)

Teachers need to determine the gap between students’ current level of performance or understanding and the expected level of mastery. (Hattie, 66 pag.)

If someone received just three or more touchpoints, or instances, of praise in a single quarter, their performance score in the next review period significantly increased. If they received four or more touchpoints of praise or recognition in a quarter, the retention rate increased to 96 percent over the next year. (Achor, Kindle Locations 1766-1768.)

How might we create more classrooms that are high-purpose environments where teacher clarity empowers learners to close gaps between what is known and what is needed?  What if we highlight what is going well to create touch points of praise to embolden learners to reach for a next level?

CULTURE: from the Latin cultus, which means care.

Achor, Shawn. Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being (Kindle Locations 1766-1768). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Coyle, Daniel. The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups (Kindle Locations 2378-2380). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Hattie, John A. (Allan); Fisher, Douglas B.; Frey, Nancy; Gojak, Linda M.; Moore, Sara Delano; Mellman, William L.. Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12: What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning (Corwin Mathematics Series). SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.

Connecting Ideas, Learning, Reading

Thinking from different angles. Facing challenges. (TBT Remix)

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Thinking from different angles. Facing challenges. Making thinking more visible.

The modern world demands that we all think a bit more productively, more creatively, more rationally; that we think from a different angle, with a different set of muscles, with a different set of expectations; that we think with neither fear nor favor, with neither blind optimism nor sour skepticism. (Levitt and Dubner)

This means that facing challenges, both problems and opportunities, is vital to personal success. This is the arena in which we can grow, excel, create, and expand. Without these challenges, we wither. Because of this importance, it is equally vital that we examine the way in which we meet the challenges by questioning our path from the outset. (Lichtman)

So, if we really believe that good communication is core to intelligent strategy, to seamless teamwork, to the pursuit of excellence, we must take seriously the limitation of being literally blinded to larger realities. We don’t know what we don’t know until we ask others to add their perspectives and until we start drawing it out for everyone to see. (Brown)

The costs of changing nothing are stagnation and resignation to the status quo. But the benefits of changing your reality— and sharing that positive reality with others— are the kinds of successes, discoveries, and breakthroughs that can transform not only your own life but the world. (Achor)

What if we examine the way we meet challenges, think from different angles,  share perspectives, and share successes? How might we change our part of the world?

Thinking from different angles. Facing challenges. was originally published on December 22, 2014.

Achor, Shawn (2013-09-10). Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change (p. 232). Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Levitt, Steven D.; Dubner, Stephen J. (2014-05-12). Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain (p. 8). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Lichtman, Grant (2010-05-25). The Falconer (Kindle Locations 1330-1332). iUniverse. Kindle Edition.

“Silos Suck: How to Doodle Everyone Onto the Same Page.” Sunni Brown. Sunni Brown, 21 Nov. 2014. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.

Connecting Ideas, Learning, Questions

Move the fulcrum to a positive mindset; find a path forward (TBT remix)

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Move the fulcrum so that all the advantage goes to a negative mindset, and we never rise off the ground. Move the fulcrum to a positive mindset, and the lever’s power is magnified— ready to move everything up. (Achor, 65 pag.)

“When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failures may still hurt, but failures don’t define them.   And if abilities can be expanded – if change and growth are possible – then there are still many paths to success.” (Dweck, 39 pag.)

How are we intentionally teaching growth mindset? How might we coach ourselves and our learners using Carol Dweck’s first steps to changing your mindset?

Step1. Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice.”

Step 2. Recognize that you have a choice.

Step 3. Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice.

Step 4. Take the growth mindset action.

“Mostly though, I feel it in a changed attitude toward failure, which doesn’t feel like a setback or the writing on the wall anymore, but like a path forward.” (Coyle, 217 pag.)

Move the fulcrum to a positive mindset’ find a path forward was originally published on January 12, 2015.

Achor, Shawn. The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work. New York: Broadway, 2010. Print.

Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born : It’s Grown, Here’s How. New York: Bantam, 2009. 217.  Print.

Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: the New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House, 2006. 39. Print.

 

 

#LL2LU, Connecting Ideas, Learning, Reading

Intersection of struggle and hope (TBT Remix)

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The trick is to choose a goal just beyond your present abilities; to target the struggle. Thrashing blindly doesn’t help. Reaching does. (Coyle, 19 pag.)

When learners are thrashing around blindly, how might we serve as refuge for support, encouragement, and a push in a new direction? (And, what if one of the learners is me?)

Many days we stand in the intersection of struggle and hope.

We can observe our children carefully and look into their eyes and say, “Can I tell you what a great person you are?” and follow-up with concrete examples of the way they give amazing hugs and how kindly they treat their friends.  This is the stuff of our most important relationships: Aiming to understand and be understood. (Lehman, Christopher, and Kate Roberts)

… some teachers preached and practiced a growth mindset. They focused on the idea that all children could develop their skills, and in their classrooms a weird thing happened. It didn’t matter whether students started the year in the high- or the low-ability group. Both groups ended the year way up high. It’s a powerful experience to see these findings. The group differences had simply disappeared under the guidance of teachers who taught for improvement, for these teachers had found a way to reach their “low-ability” students. (Dweck, Carol)

Move the fulcrum so that all the advantage goes to a negative mindset, and we never rise off the ground. Move the fulcrum to a positive mindset, and the lever’s power is magnified— ready to move everything up. (Achor, Shawn.)

To pursue bright spots is to ask the question “What’s working, and how can we do more of it?” Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet, in the real world, this obvious question is almost never asked. Instead, the question we ask is more problem focused: “What’s broken, and how do we fix it?” (Heath, Chip and Dan Heath)

And so the challenge of our future is to say, are we going to connect and amplify positive tribes that want to make things better for all of us?  (Godin, Seth)

Move the fulcrum. Pursue bright spots. Amplify to make things better.

Aim to understand and to be understood.

Intersection of struggle and hope was originally published on December 10, 2014.

Achor, Shawn (2010-09-14). The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work (Kindle Locations 947-948). Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Coyle, Daniel (2009-04-16). The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How. Random House, Inc. Kindle Edition.

Dweck, Carol (2006-02-28). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Kindle Locations 1135-1138). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Heath, Chip; Heath, Dan (2010-02-10). Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard (p. 45). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Lehman, Christopher, and Kate Roberts. Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts and Life. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

“Transcript: Seth Godin – The Art of Noticing, and Then Creating.” On Being. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2014.

Connecting Ideas, Learning, Questions

Move the fulcrum to a positive mindset; find a path forward

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Move the fulcrum so that all the advantage goes to a negative mindset, and we never rise off the ground. Move the fulcrum to a positive mindset, and the lever’s power is magnified— ready to move everything up. (Achor, 65 pag.)

“When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failures may still hurt, but failures don’t define them.   And if abilities can be expanded – if change and growth are possible – then there are still many paths to success.” (Dweck, 39 pag.)

How are we intentionally teaching growth mindset? How might we coach ourselves and our learners using Carol Dweck’s first steps to changing your mindset?

Step1. Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice.”

Step 2. Recognize that you have a choice.

Step 3. Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice.

Step 4. Take the growth mindset action.

“Mostly though, I feel it in a changed attitude toward failure, which doesn’t feel like a setback or the writing on the wall anymore, but like a path forward.” (Coyle, 217 pag.)

Achor, Shawn. The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work. New York: Broadway, 2010. Print.

Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born : It’s Grown, Here’s How. New York: Bantam, 2009. 217.  Print.

Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: the New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House, 2006. 39. Print.

Connecting Ideas, Information Age Learning, Learning, TED talk

#TEDTalkTuesday: Believing, happiness, and dreams

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Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve

“Let’s not waste any more lives, because once we know that abilities are capable of such growth, it becomes a basic human right for children, all children, to live in places that create that growth, to live in places filled with yet.”

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work

“What we need to be able to do is to reverse this formula so we can start to see what our brains are actually capable of. Because dopamine, which floods into your system when you’re positive, has two functions. Not only does it make you happier, it turns on all of the learning centers in your brain allowing you to adapt to the world in a different way.”

Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution!

“And every day, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly.”

Connecting Ideas, Learning, Questions, Reflection

Practice vs. Class – skill building, scrimmage, get in the game

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Over coffee last week, Mary Cantwell and I connected coaching and practice to teaching and learning. Mary’s engagement with our discussion continues as seen in her post, An Ah-Ha Moment: Practice vs. Class.

Our conversation, for me, connects to PLCs and Dr. Bob Eaker‘s writing.  While at our previous school, Bo and I challenged our teaching teams to consider this connection that we learned as we studied, learned, planned, and implemented our PLCs.

How often do our learners scrimmage and get in the game: apply, synthesize, innovate, create with, use what they are learning?

As we plan, are we intentional to craft learning experiences so that learners grapple with content, process, and skill? Do we plan and collaborate so that learners scrimmage before game time? Do our learners experience needs, applications, and connections for what we are learning?  In our team (coaches) meetings, do we discuss and plan meaningful scrimmages?

A lack of meaning in our reality robs us not only of that joy but also of our ability to use our multiple intelligences to increase our success. (Achor, 65 pag.)

Achor, Shawn (2013-09-10). Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change. Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.