adaptability - vaei.vai.org
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Adaptability
Adaptability is the ability to change to fit changed circumstances. Explore these strategies to intentionally support Adaptability as a Habit of Mind in your classroom. Mindset Minute Choose one of the mindset categories (skills and intelligence, challenges, effort, feedback, obstacles, or success of others) and have students consider it for one minute. Have them reflect in writing or through conversation about whether the category is something you are born with or whether it is something that can be developed and learned. Use the Fixed vs. Growth Mindset poster as a visual reminder for yourself or your students. Use the Mindset Quiz with your students to help them self-evaluate their own mindset and target specific areas to work on. RAFT Use the RAFT strategy to differentiate instruction and to promote creative thinking. Assign (or have students choose) a Role, an Audience, the Format, and the Topic. For example, you may have students present a Topic that is related to the investigation question, and students might choose to play the Role of a newscaster, present in the Format of a cartoon, and pretend their Audience is parents. SCAMPER Use the SCAMPER activity to differentiate instruction, promote creative thinking, and/or discover alternate design solutions. Once students have studied a concept or designed a solution, ask them to SCAMPER it. They can choose one letter of the acronym to revisit their learning. S=substitute, C=combine, A=adapt, M=modify, P=put to other use, E=eliminate, R=rearrange. Four Corners For questions that have multiple possible answers and/or perspectives, put four different answers to the question in the four corners of the room. Ask students to go to a corner, discuss the topic with the other students in the corner, and then support and defend their choice to the rest of the class. White-Boarding Use whiteboards to capture ideas and thoughts. The temporary nature of a white-board promotes risk-taking and collaboration. Students can develop models that show their understanding of a process or concept. They may use pictures, diagrams, and words to convey their meaning. Other strategies that are good for white-boarding include Gallery Walk, Board Meeting, Graffiti Wall, and Floor Display.
Adaptability
Lesson Skeleton Come to class on certain days with an incomplete lesson plan. Share the rough agenda with the students and allow them to suggest the learning, activities, discussions, investigations, etc. for the additional time. Mix-it-up! Start students working with a partner on a multistep problem. Before starting the second step of the problem, have students “mix it up” by changing partners. Repeat for each new step to help students develop their ability to collaborate with various types of people. Backward Day Reverse the normal schedule for a day. Highlight the adaptations that have to be made. Create Two Begin an Engineering Design investigation. As a class, determine two or more solutions to the problem. Label plans A, B, C, etc. As students begin solving the problem, assist them in making the transition to a different solution when needed. Explain the importance of exploring a variety of potential solutions to any given problem. Punt Model for students that there are times you may need to stop something that is not working for the class and re-adapt it for later use. Say “punting this until…….” Then point out to students how it is brought back. Explain the importance of knowing when to abandon a plan or idea when it is not working. Collaborative Brain Sketch Conduct a collaborative brain sketch. Place students in small groups. Provide each student with a sheet of plain white paper and a pencil. Ask each team member to do a quick sketch about the topic being studied. After a designated time, have the students pass their sketches to the person on the right. This person may add to the sketch by drawing more, adding labels, or adding descriptions. After a designated time, rotate the drawings until each student has an opportunity to contribute to each drawing. Then, allow the groups time to share their finished drawings and share what they learned. Share these ideas to a class list. First Word Acrostic Students write the topic word (ex. Photosynthesis) on their paper. They use the letters of a word to incorporate their understandings about the topic. For example, for the “P” in photosynthesis, the student may write “Plants use the process of photosynthesis to make their own food.” Let them work in pairs and encourage creativity.
MINDSET QUIZ 1. Circle the number for each question which best describes you 2. Total and record your score when you have completed each of the 10 questions 3. Using the SCORE chart, record your mindset
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much 0 1 2 3
No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit 3 2 1 0
Only a few people will be truly good at sports, you have to be born with the ability 0 1 2 3
The harder you work at something, the better you will be 3 2 1 0
I often get angry when I get feedback about my performance 0 1 2 3
I appreciate when people, parents, coaches or teachers give me feedback about my performance 3 2 1 0
Truly smart people do not need to try hard 0 1 2 3 You can always change how intelligent you are 3 2 1 0 You are a certain kind of person and there is not much that can be done to really change that 0 1 2 3
An important reason why I do my school work is that I enjoy learning new things 3 2 1 0
SCORE CHART 22-‐30 = Strong Growth Mindset 17-‐21 = Growth with some Fixed ideas 11-‐16 = Fixed with some growth ideas 0-‐10 = Strong fixed mindset MY SCORE: MY MINDSET:
Adapted from: Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House Inc.
Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset
• Something you are born with
• Something to avoid• A chance to fail
• Unnecessary• For those who aren’t skilled
• Get defensive• Ignore and discount Criticism
• Get discouraged; give up easily• Blame Others
• Feel threatened• Find fault or excuses
Skills and Intelligence
Challenges
Effort
Feedback
Obstacles
Success of Others
• Something that can be learned and improved
• Something to embrace• An opportunity to grow
• Essential• The path of mastery
• Find feedback useful• Learn from criticism
• Persist through setbacks• Look forward to the next try
• Feel inspired• Seek ways to emulate or partner
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
Van Andel Education Institute VAEI.org
Van Andel Education Institute VAEI.org
RAFT
ROLE AUDIENCE FORMAT TOPIC
• Writer
• Journalist
• Scientist
• Artist
• Judge
• Athlete
• Weather Forecaster
• Historian
• Adventurer
• Student
• Doctor
• Police Officer
• Class
• School
• City
• State
• Parents
• Fictional Character
• Jury
• Experts
• Toddlers
• Sports Team
• Actors
• The President
• Poem
• Song Lyric
• Video
• Cartoon
• Infographic
• Journal Entry
• Brochure
• Advertisement
• Game
• Biography
• Newspaper article
• Interview
• Issue relevant to
current events
• Issue relevant to a
particular time
period
• Topic of personal
interest
• Topic related to
investigation
questions
SCAMPER
Substitute
Combine
Adapt
Modify
Put to other use
Eliminate
Rearrange
What alternative materials or processes can you use?
How can you combine seemingly different ideas to create something new?
How can you adapt or adjust something you’re already doing for a project?
How can you change the form or quality of your materials or processes?
Can you use something for a different purpose?
What can you remove or omit?
How can you move around materials or change the order of your process?
S.C.A.M.P.E.R.A Teaching Strategy to Develop Original and Imaginative Thinking
K-12
Van Andel Education Institute VAEI.org