Dear Canyon View Families,
As mentioned in the first
newsletter, this year marks the third year of our five-year School Improvement
Plan (SIP). Our site-specific SIP
supports Canyon View students in their journey to become college and career
ready. The strategies and action steps
outlined in our SIP support the overarching District Objectives in the areas of
literacy, transfer, academic mindsets, Deep Learning Proficiencies (DLP) and
communication. In this newsletter, we
will focus on specific aspects of our mindset plan to give our families a
better understanding of the direction we are headed in this area as a
school.
Mindsets
District Deep
Learning Goal # 2: Raise the engagement of
students so they are highly motivated to set and achieve increasingly
challenging goals
for deep learning.
District Objective: Develop positive academic mindsets so students are more confident learners who feel
they belong to
the CFSD academic community,
succeed in their learning, grow their competence with effort, and
find value in their work.
Rationale: Research
shows that non-cognitive (or motivational) factors, also referred to as
academic mindsets, have been shown to play an important role in raising academic
achievement. Positive mindsets about
intelligence, social belonging, self-efficacy, and the relevance of schoolwork,
as well as self-regulatory skills, have been a consistent predictor of academic
success.
Classroom conditions have
powerful influences on students’ mindsets and overall engagement. These
conditions include the level of academic challenge and teacher expectations for
success; student choice and autonomy in academic work; the clarity and
relevance of learning goals; availability of supports for learning; grading
structures and policies; the nature of the academic tasks students are asked to
complete; the type, usefulness, and frequency of feedback; classroom norms of
behavior; and level of trust and safety.
Some students bring positive
academic mindsets and skills with them to school while others do not. Research
shows that these mindsets and skills can be taught.
There is evidence that
demonstrates the academic mindsets are interrelated (Farrington, Roderick,
Allensworth, Nagaoka, Johnson, & Beechum, 2012). Students’ beliefs about
their academic ability influence overall mindset development. If students are
going to invest their effort and energy in school, it is important that they
believe their effort will pay off. According to Farrington, et al. (2012),
there is a reciprocal relationship among the mindsets, perseverance, academic
behaviors, and performance.
Data Sets & Problem Statements: According to the Spring 2017 Canyon
View Parent Survey, 23% of parents who completed the survey indicated that
their child did not view their work as challenging and personally meaningful. This
survey data led the School Improvement Team to question whether students feel
the same way, or if they do find their work at school challenging and
personally meaningful.
Relevant and personally meaningful learning is extremely important to us
at Canyon View as research shows that when students find value in their work,
motivation, engagement and achievement increase as a result (Dweck, Walton
& Cohen, 2014).
Criteria for Success: If
our students find their work in school to be valuable and personally
meaningful, students will communicate
that:
●
They apply their
learning outside of the classroom
●
They are lifelong
learners
●
It’s important to
do well in school
●
They find
interest in what they learn
●
They participate
in class
●
They are focused
on activities in class
●
They are excited
about going to class
Strategy 1: All teachers will create learning experiences that are
authentic and personally meaningful to their students.
Action Steps:
1. Administer the
Canyon View Relevance Mindset Survey to students in grades K-5 at the beginning
and end of the school year.
2. K-5 grade level
and special areas teachers will create and implement lessons including, but not
limited to, a PBL unit that support the alignment of relevance to Student
Voice/Choice, Authenticity, Feedback and Revision as well as Sustained Inquiry.
At Canyon View, we are
committed to providing authentic learning opportunities that directly connect
to our students’ interests and experiences.
By directly connecting the content to authentic problems and real-world
scenarios, our students will be engaged in deep levels of learning, and their
newfound knowledge and skills can be applied to their lives both in and outside
of the school setting.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Rob Henikman
Principal
