Carol Dweck is the psychologist who wrote the groundbreaking book “Mindset.” This book highlights how a person’s mindset can change the way that they navigate the world. There are basically two mindsets that a person can have. These two mindsets are growth and fixed. A person with a growth mindset believes in the power of their effort and resilience. A person with a fixed mindset believes that there are certain things that they are just good at and certain things that they are not good at. A growth mindset allows a person to improve and thrive in life, and a fixed mindset does the opposite. It gives a person permission to feel stuck in his or her own believed abilities. A growth mindset is essential for students. Even though there are some students who will have an innate growth mindset about learning, it is up to the educator to teach his or her students how to develop a healthy growth mindset. In the following article, you will find 10 ways that educators can encourage their students to have a growth mindset.
#1 Teach Students the Value of Challenges
Students need to learn that a challenge is not something that they should run away from; a challenge is something that they should strive to conquer. When students see that a task is difficult for them, encourage them to find innovative ways of overcoming the challenge.
#2 Encourage Students to Expand Their Answers
Students might believe that there is only a fixed way of answering a question. Show your students that there is more than one way to find and explain an answer. In that way, they can show that they have a full grasp of the material.
#3 Use Games To Teach
Games are a great way to expand a student’s mindset. There are times when a student might believe that he or she cannot grasp a concept, but when it is taught in a game, it might be easier to understand it. Show your students that there is more than one way to learn.
#4 Use Innovative Teaching Strategies
Since all students learn in different ways, you do well to teach your students by using diverse methods. If you notice that one method is not working for your class, you should switch it up.
#5 Reward Effort
When students are rewarded for their natural talents, they will feel like they can only rely on what comes easy to them. Praise your students when they try hard even if they do not do well on the assignment. In that way, your students will be stimulated to try hard again.
#6 Give Examples of Resilience
Show your students regular examples of people who beat the odds and achieved greatness through discipline and hard work. When you show your students examples, they will see success as something that is truly achievable.
#7 Teach the Growth Mindset to Families
In order for the growth mindset to be inculcated, you do well to teach it to parents as well. When families reinforce the growth mindset, it becomes a part of the student’s world view.
#8 Use Growth Mindset Worksheet
There are great growth mindset worksheets that you can use with your students in order to motivate your students to think outside of the box.
#9 Share Your Failures and Success
Share your experiences with your students in order for them to see that all people make mistakes.
#10 Give Your Students a Platform
In order for your student to explore their talents, give them different learning platforms.
A Growth Centered Class
It is a fact that a growth mindset is something that can be taught. A growth mindset will empower your students to thrive and achieve, so put concentrated effort into creating a growth centered classroom.