Mathematical Mindsets

So I finished the book, Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler. I am going to buy my own copy. 
I feel so inspired, and excited about going back to school and trying out the ideas I have read about. I will be making quite a few changes to my numeracy/mathematics planning and teaching. There are just too many notes and reminders and photos of text on my phone (Thank goodness for Google Keep!) that I thought worthwhile remembering, I haven't time to talk about all of them right now, so I'll bullet point with a few notes.

• Assessment ideas - Traffic Lights and Exit Tickets, Two Stars and a Wish (peer) and Reflections for homework. I loved all of these ideas and found the information regarding homework and the negative impact it has on children (and families) very interesting. I don't recall major homework issues when my daughter went to school, or my stepson, but maybe they just didn't do it!
• Assessment for Learning - there's a whole chapter on this, I am quite keen to try out some new methods.
• Maths Basic Facts - mindless practise and speed drills can be damaging, being successful at maths is not about recalling facts at speed, and works against the development of a mathematical mindset
• Gifted - there is no such thing as a "math gift" or "math brain"
• Mistakes - are SO GOOD! If we aren't making mistakes, or struggling, then we aren't learning
• Comments - that we give to the children can be damaging too. Growth mindset comments are specific to the task and not how wonderfully smart the child is. If a child is told that they are smart, and then they face a challenge, they will think they aren't smart after all and give up easily. They need to make mistakes, face challenges and persevere.
• Depth over Speed - being slow to work things out, and using materials, is all good! Yay for me and my own funny methods when I am trying to work out something more complicated than what I usually deal with in the classroom. I must admit, I did try some of the activities in the book to see if I could work them out myself. Some were definitely a struggle. And I had to look up what the "nth" term meant - and then try it out!
• Mixed ability grouping - it was awesome to read and discover evidence of how and why this is a good thing, especially since we have stopped streaming our senior classes.
• Activities - Low floor, High ceiling, and I really am pleased that there were examples in the book, and ideas, apps and internet sites to visit. This is going to be a huge help with planning to cater for everyone, engage and motivate all learners.
• Times have changed - future employers (even now) don't need employees who can recall basic facts and add numbers quickly, computers can do that. They need people who can problem solve, pose questions, work collaboratively, use logic and reasoning...
• Art - oh yeah! That's made me very happy, evidence to prove that art and maths link together beautifully (even though I already knew this, it's nice to have evidence to back my ideas up!) And also drawing problems and doodling.

I did a lot of thinking as I read the book.  And I am still thinking now (pretty reflective eh?!) and what I am thinking is too much to write about. But now I worry that I have made damaging comments in the past, and I worry that I have made assumptions about students because of they way they work, their levels, and what I thought they were capable of. I worry about the way I've set up the groups, and the tasks, and that I've given fixed mindset feedback/feedforward. 
So yes, I will be making changes. I hope it has a very positive impact on my class.