Mindsets

Rewards can be used to alter motivational mindsets, by praising effort, persistence and the acceptance of challenge it is possible to move children towards a growth mindset and away from a fixed mindset (Dweck, 2006). The change can be reflected in behaviours associated with goal orientation theory, that is mastery or performance orientations which will in turn impact pupil achievement, resilience, persistence and well-being. Teaching children to develop a growth mindset, even at an early age, was found to improve learning so dramatically that previously low performing students raised their academic achievement to rival pupils in significantly more affluent schools (Dweck, 2017; Claro, Paunesku, & Dweck, 2016).

2.8.1 Mindsets and Goal Orientations

There are two mindsets that people can hold: the fixed mindset or the growth mindset (Dweck 2006; 1986; 2012). The fixed mindset holds that intelligence and human abilities such as talent are immutable, fixed at birth and remain unchanged through life. A person is either good at something or they are not, and they can do little to change the situation. The growth mindset believes the opposite, that intelligence and abilities

are something that can change and grow with effort and persistence; they believe a person might not be good at something … yet but with effort, education and good teaching the abilities will develop. Mindsets play a significant role in achievement (Dweck, 2015; Claro, Paunesku, & Dweck, 2016) and bear some resemblance to goal orientations (Dweck, 1986; Elliott & Dweck, 1988) discussed earlier. The growth mindset is associated with learning goals, mastery orientation and challenge seeking behaviour while the fixed mindset is associated with performance goals, seeking favourable judgements of competence and challenge avoidance behaviours (Elliott & Dweck, 1988; Dweck, 1986). If self-confidence is high then performance approach behaviours are more likely but if self-confidence is low behaviours such as helplessness, giving up easily and work avoidance can occur (Dweck, 1986; Elliott & Dweck, 1988). It is possible to hold different mindsets in different situations, believing some abilities are fixed and some are not (Dweck, 2015) and it is also possible to change mindsets just as it is possible to change the orientation behaviour associated with a specific situation or domain. This change can be brought about by the student’s independent efforts or by the teacher’s task phrasing and use of rewards (Dweck, 2012; Droe, 2012; Mueller & Dweck, 1998).

2.8.2 Rewarding Mindsets and ClassDojo

It has been found that supporting children to develop a growth mindset by praising effort, attitude and perseverance has been positively associated with pupils selecting a learning goal approach to academic tasks while rewarding ability or talent encouraged them to adopt performance goals (Droe, 2012). ClassDojo (see section 4.10) is a classroom behaviour management tool (Robacker, Rivera, & Warren, 2016; da Rocha Seixas, Gomes, & de Melo Filho, 2016) based on Dweck’s mindset research which is

designed to praise growth mindset characteristics in real time. The tool allows the teacher to acknowledge desirable behaviours by awarding a positive dojo point at the moment the pupil displays the desirable characteristic. The praise is further reinforced as the tool records the points and can display them on the interactive whiteboard. This form of immediate, public praise not only helps young children associate their behaviour with desirable behaviours but helps them align what they do with other children in the class. That is seeing others achieve can inform everyone’s behaviour and goals (Dweck, 2006).

Although ClassDojo is based on Carol Dweck’s mindset theory, and claims to be extensively used across the world (Vaughan, 2016; Robacker, Rivera, & Warren, 2016; da Rocha Seixas, Gomes, & de Melo Filho, 2016) to create ‘happy classrooms’ and promote growth mindset orientations, the customisability of the program and its interconnectivity allows this tool to be potentially used to ‘shame’ children in front of their peers and parents (Krach, McCreery, & Rimel, 2017). This shaming may create a level of fear (see section 2.6) in the classroom and in the home, increasing pupil anxiety while reducing their ability and motivation to engage with academic tasks. Instead of motivating the child to do better shaming them could support performance avoiding behaviour (Jackson, 2010) and strengthen a fixed mindset orientation. The ClassDojo tool is a powerful communication app, which records all points awarded, when they were awarded and for what behaviour. The information can be displayed and shared in a variety of ways, either for individual children, groups or the whole class and over customisable time periods. The data are displayed as graphs (figure 4.3), which can be used as a discussion point to celebrate positive behaviours and understand how they contribute to creating a better learning environment but can also explore any negative

behaviours and who demonstrated them. Allowing teachers and parents unfettered access to this level of data puts an onus on them to understand the motivational implications of using it to reprimand children.

Simply using ClassDojo in the classroom to collect and display dojo points, does not guarantee the teaching approach will automatically support a growth mindset and positive learning goal orientation for pupils; much depends on the teacher’s ability to maximise the tool’s potential to fit the needs of the class. Using the growing bank of resource videos to initiate discussion around growth mindset characteristics supports the learning intentions of the tool and can keep the class focused on the desired behaviours. However, displaying numerical values next to children’s names (see figure 4.1) can provide children with data-based evidence of their contribution and worth to the class which may inform their concepts of self (Dweck, 1986) (also see section 2.5). These values also highlight who receives the most praise/punishment and for what and who contributes very little to the class learning environment, evidencing underlying behaviour patterns that might go unnoticed without this tracking capability.