HAVING A GROWTH MINDSET IS A POWERFUL ATTITUDE THAT CAN HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP A LOVE FOR LEARNING, IMPROVE THEIR GRADES AND INCREASE THEIR CHANCES OF SUCCESS.
Stanford University psychology professor Dr. Carol Dweck has made it her mission to study what drives and motivates people to persist in learning, regardless of their innate abilities or talents.
What factors need to be considered if you wish to have an impact on the Growth Mindset?
It is often said that clarity is power. When it comes to setting and achieving personal goals, this could not be more true. Without a clear understanding of what we want to achieve, it is all too easy to get sidetracked or give up entirely.
So, how do we go about getting clear on our goals? First, it is important to take some time to reflect on what you want to achieve (Holmes, 2017). What are your long-term goals? What do you hope to accomplish in the next year or even in the next month? Once you have a good sense of your overall goals, you can break them down into smaller, more manageable pieces. One helpful way to do this is to create a goal map.
Secondly, if you want to be a successful leader in the classroom, the first thing you need to do is understand is how to articulate your goals and plans in a way that inspires others. This can be difficult to do if you're not used to thinking about your goals in an inspiring way, but it's important to remember that people are more likely to follow a leader who seems confident and optimistic about the future.
One of the best ways to learn how to articulate your goals in an inspiring way is to practice writing down your goals and then reading them aloud to yourself. As you read them, pay attention to the way they make you feel and try to imagine how other people would react if they heard you say them. Would they feel motivated and inspired, or would they feel skeptical and doubtful?
How can we move our learners toward reigniting or adopting a Learner's Mindset?
For elementary students, educators are the most influential people in their lives. Educators have the power to shape the mindsets of their students and teach them how to achieve success in life.
To guide our students toward academic success, we must provide specific, targeted feedback that helps them see the areas in which they need to continue to grow and improve. In addition, we must encourage them to set goals for themselves and track their progress over time.
Eportfolios can be a great tool to help foster our students' growth mindset, critical thinking, and individual goal setting. When students have precise goals in mind, they are more likely to be motivated to achieve them and see the value in doing so. We must deliver the encouragement our learners need to take risks and experiment with new ideas that will catapult them to new heights. Our encouragement will help them become more comfortable with change and open-mindedness, two key characteristics of a Gowth Mindset.
So why is it so important to foster a growth mindset at the elementary level?
The growth mindset is crucial because it allows people to learn and grow from mistakes. People with a growth mindset are more likely to take on new challenges and persist in the face of adversity (Holmes, 2017). In addition, people with a growth mindset are more likely to be creative and innovative (Dweck, 2017).
LET’S INCORPORATE THE FOUR STEPS INTO THE DAILY ROUTINE OF THE ELEMENTARY CAMPUS.
Throughout the morning announcements, we will:
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Promote the growth mindset: Students will see and hear what it is to have a fixed mindset. This will be presented via a quick video slide with a voice over and when time permits, watch a mini-series from acted out with their peers.
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Writing Prompt: Our students will be assigned a quick writing prompt to help reinforce the rewiring of their minds and to improve their writing capabilities.
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Recite the Growth Mindset Pledge: Our students will recite a campus-wide phrase to condition them to always think with a Growth Mindeset. Our students will come to know how to talk with a growth mindset.
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S.M.A.R.T. Goals: Our students will take the growth mindset action by creating a monthly S.M.A.R.T. Goal. This goal will help them to be Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timely so that they live the life of a Growth Mindset learner.
THE POWER OF "YET".
When students are feeling down or facing a difficult challenge, the word "yet" can show them that they still have hope. Saying "you haven't succeeded yet" or "you haven't given up yet" can give
Learn to Soar someone the boost they need to keep going.
We permit our students to try again. We are telling them that it's not too late and that there is still time for them to achieve their goals. When we tell others that they haven't given up yet, we are telling them that there is still time for them to make a change. We are reminding them that they have the power to choose what happens next in their lives.
As students discover the power of learning by rewiring their brains, they become more interested in learning and less resistant to doing things that make their friends think poorly of them (Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M. 2011).
How will you model the growth mindset and the message of "Yet" to your learners?
I plan to model the growth mindset by having a segment in my morning announcements where students repeat after me reciting the growth mindset pledge. Repeating affirmations like these every day will help students start to believe in themselves and their ability to improve. It’s important for students to see that their teachers also have a growth mindset.
CREATIVE RESOURCES TO HELP PROMOTE A GROWTH MINDSET.
Below are several resources to help encourage students to discuss the growth mindset and how it has impacted their lives. These resources include articles, videos, and other media that can help explain the concept in an easily understandable way.
Supplemental lessons to implement throughout other instructional periods can be found at the link below. They will help students learn to apply the growth mindset in their own lives.
ENCOURAGING A GROWTH MINDSET LIFESTYLE WITHIN OUR STUDENTS.
We should take every opportunity to promote the growth mindset when and how often it is deemed necessary. The promotion of the growth mindset will likely coincide with increased test scores, improved behavior, and other positive outcomes.
Allowing our students to foster A fixed perspective will prevent students from accomplishing their goals to push beyond their comfort zone. Furthermore, having a growth mindset can lead students to try new skills courageously (Lenz, 2015).
This approach to education is proactive and ongoing, so students must constantly be reminded of the benefits of having a growth mindset. To make this process automated, a segment called the growth mindset pledge should be instituted in the daily morning announcements.
Consider how the growth mindset can change the acceptance of feedback and student's attitude toward cheating.
Students with a growth mindset are more likely to see feedback as helpful instead of hurtful. Feedback becomes an opportunity to learn and improve, rather than a reflection of their intelligence or worthiness as a person. This mindset leads to a less likely need to cheat. Cheating is often motivated by the belief that one's intelligence is fixed and cannot be improved. If a student believes that they can get smarter by working hard, they are less likely to resort to cheating.
In Dr. Harapnuik's presentation, Reigniting the learner's mindset, he mentions states "The head won't go where the heart hasn't been - Change starts with why (Harapnuik, 2021)." I think this phrase could not be more accurate when it comes to preventing students from cheating. Cheating can be prevented if students understand why it is wrong and how it can hurt them in the long run.
How can the growth mindset help limit some of your student's preoccupation with grades? What role does grit play?
It's no secret that grades are important to students. But what happens when grades become more important than learning? When students become preoccupied with grades, they can miss out on the joy of discovery and the satisfaction of mastery.
When students believe they can improve with effort, they are more likely to take risks and persevere in the face of setbacks. As a result, they become less focused on looking smart and more interested in learning.
Grit also plays an important role in helping students overcome challenges. When students are gritty, they don't give up easily. Instead, they have the tenacity to keep going even when things are tough (Gerstein, 2015).
How can we prevent the growth mindset from becoming a fad or being improperly implemented?
There are a few ways to prevent the growth mindset from becoming just another fad or being improperly implemented in education. One way is to ensure educators understand what it means and why it's important before trying to implement changes based on the growth mindset philosophy. This is important because one can easily implement too much focus on grit. Grit should be used as a tool to help individuals overcome challenges and setbacks, not as something to punish people for failing.
Also, ensuring that teachers receive proper training on effective teaching with a focus on fostering students' growth mindsets. Educators must understand that everyone will not succeed all of the time. However, when a growth mindset is implemented properly, you will realize that effort and determination will lead to success over time (Gerstein, 2015).
While understanding that having a growth mindset alone is not enough, educators must ensure that all stakeholders (parents, administrators, policymakers, etc.) know the goals and advantages of using growth mindsets in classrooms. This will help to ensure this effort has enduring effects over time. Following these strategies will help to establish a well-entrenched growth mindset in your learning environment.
PERSONAL, ACADEMIC, PROFESSIONAL, LIFELONG: THE POWER OF A GROWTH MINDSET.
The growth mindset will positively impact how I approach my work in this course and throughout my academic career, as well as my personal life and career. A growth mindset allows me to take a flexible and malleable approach to learning, which is critical for success in any challenging endeavor. Additionally, a growth mindset allows for recognizing and celebrating effort and progress, which are essential for maintaining a sense of motivation and engagement. I look forward to what is "yet" to come!