Encourage a Growth Mindset in Your Classroom

Does your school or classroom encourage students to develop a growth mindset?

The Growth Mindset movement, made popular by Carol Dweck’s research and book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success has taken a strong hold in schools and classrooms over the past several years.

Mindsets Defined

Fixed Mindset

According to Dweck, people with a fixed mindset think that intelligence and personality are fixed traits. They may believe that they can learn things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are. People with a fixed mindset feel the need to prove themselves to show that they are worthy. They never want to expose any of their deficiencies.

People with a fixed mindset are very sensitive to making mistakes are being judged as inferior. They constantly ask themselves: Do I look smart or dumb? Am I a winner or loser? Will I succeed or fail? When things don’t go well, people with a fixed mindset see themselves as a failure. They don’t believe that things will change with effort. They want validation that they are smart or talented.

If you have a fixed mindset, you will thrive when things are comfortable and safely within your grasp. You don’t want to be challenged or have to give too much effort. If you have a fixed mindset, you believe that having to work hard is a sign that you aren’t smart or talented enough.

Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that your basic qualities can be developed through your efforts. Although you may have initial traits or qualities, aptitudes or temperament, you believe that you can grow and improve through training and experience. People with a growth mindset understand that it takes time for your potential to develop.

People with a growth mindset are inclined to stretch themselves in order to grow, even if they encounter setbacks along the way. They thrive on challenges. They will take risks without fear of judgement. They believe that with passion, toil and training, you can change your intelligence or abilities.

Your mindset, whether it is a fixed or growth mindset, has implications for all areas of your life, including how you approach life, careers, and relationships. Your mindset determines your parenting style and your leadership potential. It determines how will you will bounce back from loss or failures. It determines how you view success and what you will do to achieve

How can you encourage students to have a growth mindset? Here are some suggestions:

Stop telling students they are smart.

According to Dweck, praising students’ intelligence harms their motivation and their performance. If success means they are smart, then the opposite must be true. If I fail at something, I am dumb. Rather than reward them for being smart, reward their positive effort and improvement. Remark on specific things they do that leads to their success such as studying, practice and being persistent.

Use the phrase not yet.

When they are struggling with something new, remind students that don’t have the ability to do it- yet. The word yet implies that they will be able to master something in the future. This shows that ability is not fixed, it can be developed.

Be careful of labeling students.

He’s a math whiz, she’s really artistic. These comments encourage the idea that talent is naturally built in rather than developed. Instead, notice and comment on how students excel. Mention how he works through difficult problems several times until he finds the right solution, or how she studied where the light fell on the subjects she was drawing.

Focus less on grades and percentages.

Grades don’t tell the whole story. They don’t show the lack of learning of a student who got an A on the spelling pretest, automatically got an “A” on the final test and didn’t learn to spell any new words. They also don’t show the student who got an “F” on the spelling pre-test and a “C” on the post test. Who actually learned more? Yet we often praise the student with the “A” and tell the students with the “C” to work harder.

Discuss bad grades not as a personal failure or as a lack of intelligence, but as an opportunity to learn something and then improve.

Teach Students About Brain Growth

What we know about neuroscience is constantly changing, but popular perception has not kept up with reality. According to Mark Kay Ricci in her book Mindsets in the Classroom, “Neurons make new connections when you learn something new. These connections become stronger with practice and effort. The more connections, the denser your brain is. The more density, the ‘smarter’ you are.”

In short, our brain capacity is not fixed, we constantly change our brains as we learn new things and make new connections.

Praise steps in the right direction.

Growth mindset is about moving forward and making progress when learning and doing new things. Praising small steps in the right direction may help students with a fixed mindset take a chance at something new without feeling the risk of rejection or the devaluing of his competence. Noticing positive steps in the right direction also encourages students with a growth mindset to continue on their learning path.

Give honest and constructive feedback.

At first some students will see this as criticism. Remind them that they grow better by learning. Give them specific feedback to help them grow. Then give them opportunities to apply that feedback. Let them re-do an assignment or use the feedback in upcoming work. Giving students much criticism without the opportunity to apply it, is often perceived as judging. Giving students helpful feedback and an opportunity to apply it isn’t judging, it is teaching.

Watch the bullies.

Bullies often have a fixed mindset. When they bully someone else, they often achieve desirable feedback. They not only feel a shot of self-esteem, but often receive social status from their peers, who may think they are cool, funny or powerful. Rather than risk judgement, bullies do the judging. A fixed mindset believes that in order for you to be superior, someone else must be inferior. Help them to see their good traits without the need to put down others.

Watch the victims.

Victims often take a bully’s words to heart. Eventually they stop believing in their ability and believe that they are worthless losers. If they have developed a fixed mindset, they believe they have been judged in a negative way. As a result, they will often look for revenge. In revenge, they become the judge rather than the one being judged, which satisfies their internal need to be smarter or better than someone else to prove that they are worthy. Just like with bullies, help victims to understand their worth as a person.

Developing a Growth Mindset Will Help Students for Life

Good educators know that they teach students, not just subject matter content. In our role as a teacher, we want to help students to be their best. Fostering a growth mindset will not only help them in their education, but will help them develop the tools for a productive and successful and happy life.

How have you adopted growth mindset ideals? Has your school engaged in specific programs or methods to develop growth mindset? We would love to hear your experiences.

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