Thinking Cards

In my previous post,  I listed my goals for this summer. One of them is to plan for how I am going to help students with a growth mindset.  One of my Twitter friends, Justin, sums it up my issue nicely!

I struggle with the line between supporting and enabling #msitcbc

— Justin (@JustinAion) June 17, 2015

So how do I help them without just enabling them? How do I give them strategies, rather than them just giving up and waiting for me to help them?

I came up with an idea - Thinking Cards. The cards will be color-coded, and in folders attached to a wall. Students will be able to grab one whenever they need it.

Card #1 will be red - it is for when students have no idea where to start.

Card #2 will be yellow - it is for when students have gotten started, but get stuck somewhere in the problem solving process.

Card #3 will be green - it is for the student thinks they could be done, but aren't sure if they are.  An added bonus to these cards - hopefully they will reinforce the idea of "reasonableness" - which is missing in my class.

I think these cards will give students something to support them and let them know that they can be successful.

What do you think?