In the third and final part of this series, Jishan Uddin, author of the Mindset for IELTS Foundation Teacher’s Book, shares his advice for teachers new to the IELTS test through developing a mastery mindset.
In my first article, Keeping the interactive environment, I introduced a couple of ideas for keeping IELTS classes interactive and engaging. In the second, Adding collaboration to writing practice, we looked at introducing collaboration into your IELTS writing classes. In my final article, I‘ll introduce some ideas for encouraging a mastery mindset amongst your students.
Developing a mastery mindset
Some students simply don’t yet have the reading skills and vocabulary to complete the more difficult exam tasks. One way to maintain motivation is to focus on skills and processes employed by students.
- Give students a checklist to keep track of the processes they used to complete exam tasks and encourage them to reflect on what worked well and what they will try to do more in future.
- With Poll Everywhere and OneNote, students can rate their confidence before and after the task as well as reflect on what went well and what they need to improve upon.
The thinking behind reflection as a tool to improve attainment is inspired in part by Dweck’s (2006) mastery (or growth) versus fixed mindset (no direct relation to the course books – just a happy co-incidence!). A student who believes that they can improve through dedication and hard work (mastery/growth) rather than purely innate talent (fixed) is likely to view a multi-level exam, despite their low starting point, as one in which they can do well in the future by following good habits and strategies.
To encourage this, self-reflection on skills practice and development through the course book in collaboration with the TEL (Technology Enhanced Learning) resources above can be invaluable. When teaching lower-level students in a multi-level exam such as IELTS, by focusing on good strategies to use, students can start to achieve higher competence bands in time, as the skills developed and utilised here can be transferred and upgraded as language levels and confidence improve.
Of course, Mindset for IELTS Foundation – as with all the books in the series – is graded at the correct language level and creates tasks very similar in nature to the actual exam. This helps students to develop good skills practice. In addition, the online modules that come with the book encourage students to take responsibility for self-study and further practice – thus facilitating this desirable mastery mindset.
Listen to Jishan discuss these strategies and other ideas in more detail in his webinar. For more helpful resources, visit our resources website for teaching IELTS. You can also find out more about the Mindset for IELTS course.