6 Steps for Building your student’s daring Growth Mindset
“Dare to be more than ordinary… Dare to be extraordinary.” — Imania Margria.
What is a mindset?
Our mindsets shape our lives. According to the dictionary, our mindset is our way of thinking and our opinions. I would add to that because I believe our mindset also encompasses our values, beliefs, and biases. It is our frame of mind within which we evaluate and respond to our world. We don’t always have the same mindset. It can change with the situation.
The two basic mindsets
Dr. Carol Dweck, in her book Mindset, the new psychology of Success, defines two basic mindsets she has identified in her research. A fixed mindset assumes that our intelligence and creativity are static givens which we can’t change during our life. So, when we fail a test as a student then it was out of our control and there is nothing I can do about it. It just is. I don’t like math I like English.
A growth mindset accepts the challenge of a failure and realizes that they can change. They don’t see a failure as a lack of intelligence or out of their control. They see failure as a challenge and a learning opportunity.
Fixed vs Growth Mindset | Brainpickings.org
We all face challenges
We all face challenges, it is which mindset, fixed or growth that we approach them with that determines how successful and enjoyable our life will be. Young children live in a growth mindset when they are learning how to crawl, walk, and ride a bike. But somewhere along the way, they have either a fixed or growth mindset. This belief may stay with them the rest of their lives unless we work as parents to make sure they grow up with a growth mindset.
Step1 Talk to them using growth-oriented terms
Give them choices and positive encouragement. Ask them questions like how do you think you can improve? Should we try a different way to learn this? Get them involved.
Step 2 Help them build a success file
Keep track of all the good things that have happened and what they did to achieve that success. Emphasize the process that led to the result.
Step 3 Help them identify their strengths and weaknesses
Each of us has strengths and weaknesses. Help them work on their weaknesses and celebrate their growth in these weak areas.
Step 4 Value the process over the result
Disappointments will always happen. But value the hard work they put in and discuss these disappointments not as failures but as opportunities to learn. How many politicians have you read about that lost many elections before they finally got elected? They cut how many sports stars from their youth teams, but they persisted and became stars in college?
Step 5 Take ownership of their attitude
It is never too early to help them learn about attitude. How they approach successes and failures is all about attitude. When you are more successful than others, then you need to be humble. When you fail, and we all do, accept it with an attitude of here is a new challenge.
Step 6 Encourage them to try new things
But remember to teach them it is ok to fail at some. We can’t all be rocket scientists or movie stars. Help them find their niche. College may have worked for you, but it may not work for them.
This list is endless. As parents and teachers, we must be very careful how we talk to students when they struggle. Especially coaches. Calling someone stupid or too dumb to learn can scar them for life. Bullying is another action that we cannot allow in our schools or social media.
Build the growth mindset in your children and yourself. It is never too late to change.
“As human beings we do change, grow, adapt, perhaps even learn and become wiser.” — Wendy Carlos.
“Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose — not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember.” — Anne Sullivan.
