Growth mindset has been a hot topic in education for a while now.  Carol Dweck wrote her book Mindset: The Psychology of Success in 2007.  It has been a tremendously influential work and is a must-read for teachers and parents because the beliefs that each of us hold basically steer the ship.  We succeed or fail largely because of our view of the world, our mindset.  Our mindset influences how we deal with life’s difficulties.

What is a growth mindset?

Dweck states that “growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities  are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others.”  A person with a growth mindset believes that they are capable of growth and change regardless of their innate talents or gifts.  Failure is not the end of a process, but the beginning of the next stage of growth.  We can learn from our mistakes and develop strategies to do better next time.

What is a fixed mindset?

A person with a fixed mindset believes that they are born with certain traits, skills, and intelligence, and that they can’t change those characteristics.  They tend to give up easily when the going gets tough because they don’t really believe that they can improve.  They just ARE who they are.

How language affects learning

As teachers and parents, it is imperative that we have high expectations for young learners.  In other words, we have to believe that all children can learn and will learn with effort, feedback, and persistence.  This article has some great suggestions on how teachers can develop a growth mindset.  Children pay attention to how we handle the challenges of life.  Parents and teachers are powerful role models.

The words that we choose when working with children really matter.  Carol Dweck gave a memorable TED talk in 2014 on the power of “yet.”  Let’s say you are trying to help your child learn a list of vocabulary words.  Instead of saying, “You don’t understand these words,” you can say “You don’t understand these words YET.”  Adding the word yet to the statement encourages the child to continue working and looking for new strategies for learning the words.

Avoid praising a learners’s abilities in a general way.  Don’t say, “You’re so smart” or “You are really good at math.” Focus instead on giving specific feedback on the process that they used and how well it worked for them.  Encourage them to consider what they might do next to continue their learning.

Kids are going to get discouraged from time to time (adults, too).  When you hear them making negative comments about themselves, help them rephrase their statements to encourage them to persist.  If they say something like, “I will never learn long division,” encourage them to try say, “I haven’t learned long division yet.”  We all fall into a fixed mindset at times, but if we are paying attention we can redirect that negative energy into a focus on growth.

Kids need to understand that making mistakes is a really important of life, and that mistakes can help them to redirect their learning toward new strategies that will help, not hurt.

I really love Shakira’s song, “Try Everything” from Zootopia.  It’s all about having a growth mindset and kids can really relate to the message.  Listen to it together, and then have a conversation about what it means.  Actually, the whole movie is great and well worth watching.

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