Mindset refers to the assumptions and expectations we have for ourselves and others, which determine our commitment to any given task.  Dr Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence.  Learners with a fixed mindset believe that there is a limit on how much they can learn and, therefore develop intellectually.  Those with a growth mindset on the other hand, believe they can get smarter, and they understand their talents and abilities can be developed through effort and persistence.

Although individuals may not necessarily be aware of their own mindset, it can still be discerned based on their behaviour.  The mindset of an individual becomes particularly evident in the face of setbacks or failures.  A student with a fixed-mindset dreads failure because it is a negative statement on his or her basic abilities, whereas growth-mindset individuals do not mind failure so much, since they realise their performance and learning can be improved from failure.

As educators, we must do all that we can to cultivate our own growth mindset first.  This means we should be lifelong learners, keen to develop our skills, and acquire new ones.  After all, we are role models for the students that we teach, and to have a growth mindset also shows our students that we believe they can be successful too.  Equipped with a growth mindset, educators will adapt the teaching style and instructional material, to ensure all students can learn.

Recent advances in neuroscience have shown than the brain is much more malleable than previously thought.  Research on brain plasticity shows how the connectivity between neurons change with experience.  With sustained practice, neural networks grow new connections, strengthen existing ones, and builds insulation that speeds the transmission of impulses.  Teaching learners about their brain plasticity then, helps to shift mindsets from fixed to growth, which then leads to increased motivation and achievement.

In addition to teaching about brain plasticity, the type of feedback that teachers give their students can have a huge impact on their mindset.  For example, studies presented by Carol Dweck have shown that telling children they are intelligent encourages a fixed mindset, whereas praising effort cultivates a growth mindset.  When students have a growth mindset, they are more likely to take on new challenges and learn from setbacks, which therefore increases their abilities and achievement.

To put all this theory into practice, we gave our teachers and students these activities below to complete in the makerspace.  Even if your school does not have a makerspace, depending on the resources you have available, these activities can be adapted to take place in a standard classroom.  The most important thing is for the activities to give students the opportunity to learn something new whilst being challenging and fun!  By tackling and overcoming these learning challenges, the idea is for students to develop their growth mindset.

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The Intuos Draw Wacom Tablet is the perfect tool for starting out in digital art.  I recently purchased a class set of these pen tablets, and I have started to put together a series of lesson plans to get the most out of them.  A pressure-sensitive stylus (pen) is included with each tablet that makes drawing and painting feel natural, just like using a pen on paper.  As anyone who has tried drawing with a mouse will know, it’s difficult to produce a decent piece of artwork when you can only use dragging motions that require your entire hand.  A mouse is ideal when it comes to navigating the web for example, but when you want to create artwork on the screen with precision, a pen tablet gets you noticeably better results.

With the stylus, you simply move your hand and wrist into a natural drawing position.  Using the software, ArtRage Lite, which comes free with the Wacom pen tablet, I’ve been able to blend colours, add effects, and apply retouching effects easily.  This all helps to create digital artwork that looks more natural than could otherwise be achieved using just a mouse.

One of my first attempts using the Wacom tablet was to produce a London cityscape.  I include here a few screenshots of how I went about the process:

The ArtRange Lite software also includes a ‘Tracing’ option in which an image can be uploaded, and by default, this appears transparent, enabling you to trace over the image.  Since students will frequently be drawing portraits as they move through school, I had a go at creating a digital portrait of President Obama:

Below is a tutorial video, which introduces some of the key tools in ArtRage Lite:

I see several advantages of students using a pen tablet alongside a software like ArtRage Lite:

1.   The tool, which emulates the experience of using a pen or paintbrush on paper, creates a direct cross-curricular link with Art.  In doing so, it provides another medium in which to accelerate students’ creativity.

2.  Digital art itself eliminates all the mess associated with students using traditional paints, brushes, etc.

3.  The use of a stylus technology is ideal for helping younger students to develop their fine motor skills.

4.  This tool can provide a range of digital activities in the classroom including drawing, painting, designing 3D models or editing photos.

5.  Pen tablet technology and the skills associated with its use, is increasingly being used in many careers including animation, game development, fashion design, product design, film, photography and graphic design.

Concluding thoughts… 

As well as being easy to use, the process of using the Wacom pen tablet to create digital art is fun!  Education is about far more than academic attainment, and tools like the Wacom pen tablet provide an innovative medium to help foster students’ creativity.

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