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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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
someone the boost they need to keep going.
We permit our student 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).
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.
Personal, Academic, Professional, Lifelong: The Power of a Growth Mindset.
The growth mindset will positively impact not just how I approach my work in this course and
throughout my academic career, but also my personal life and my 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, both of which are essential for maintaining a sense of motivation and engagement. I look forward to what is "yet" to come!
References
Dweck, C.S. (2016). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Penguin Random House LLC.
Dweck, C. (2017). Decades of Scientific Research that Started a Growth Mindset Revolution. The Growth Mindset – What is Growth Mindset – Mindset Works. https://www.mindsetworks.com/Science/Default.
Dweck, C. (2020, April 2). Carol Dweck Revisits the 'Growth Mindset'. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/23/carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset.html.
Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaClaro, S., Paunesku, D., Dweck, C. S.2016; 113 (31): 8664-8668
Holmes, N. (2017). The Impact of a Growth Mindset. Science Impact. https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/Impact.
Jeffrey, S. (2020, June 23). Change Your Fixed Mindset into a Growth Mindset [Complete Guide]. Scott Jeffrey. https://scottjeffrey.com/change-your-fixed-mindset/
Lenz, B. (2015, April 8). Failure Is Essential to Learning. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/failure-essential-learning-bob-lenz.
Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015). Mind-Set Interventions Are a Scalable Treatment for Academic Underachievement. Psychological Science, 26(6), 784–793. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615571017
Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M. (2011). Social-psychological interventions in education: They’re not magic. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 267–301.
Kommentare