What is a Growth Mindset?
A mindset includes assumptions or attitudes we have toward something, including ourselves and our abilities. A growth mindset is the belief that our minds, talents, and abilities can grow with perseverance and hard work. A person with a growth mindset doesn't believe that his/her success depends just on talent or intellect, or that he/she is just born smart, talented, or successful. A person wit a growth mindset believes that he/she becomes these things through effort.
In the absence of a growth mindset, some students have a fixed mindset. Those with a fixed mindset believe they have a limited amount of intelligence, cannot learn, and tend to give up easily. Most people have a mixture, with a growth mindset in some areas and a fixed mindset in others. The goal of Learning Coaches is to help their students work toward a growth mindset in all areas.
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Fixed Mindset |
Growth Mindset |
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Belief · Intelligence is limited or fixed and cannot be changed · “I’ll never be able to learn.” · “I’ll stick with what I can do.” · “Failure is bad.” |
Belief · Abilities, talents, and intelligence can be developed. · Brain is like a muscle and grows with use. · “I am capable of learning.” · “I can learn from failure.” |
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Action · Runs from failure. · Doesn’t want to appear stupid. · Gives up easily. · Avoids challenges, especially if fearful that s/he won’t succeed. · Doesn’t want to put forth the effort. · Ignores feedback. · May resort to cheating or hiding mistakes. |
Action · Learns from failure and improves. · Persists in learning. · Embraces challenge. · Recognizes that success correlates to the amount of effort. · Welcomes feedback and learns from it. · Doesn’t give up. · Looks for new strategies or ways to learn. |
Why Does Mindset Matter?
Students who believe they can learn and are willing to put in the effort will work toward, and achieve, success. This person recognizes that his/her brain is a muscle that will grow and develop with use and doesn't expect success to come easily. Over time, students who are considered gifted but have a fixed mindset have been found to fall behind ordinary students with a growth mindset. Those with a growth mindset surpass their gifted counterparts who tend to depend on their innate intelligence and little effort. Ultimately, a student with a growth mindset achieves success; whereas, a student with a fixed mindset often does not reach his or her full potential.
More importantly, students with a growth mindset become self-directed learners who:
- Develop an interest in the material.
- Stay focused and pay attention.
- Avoid or ignore distractions.
- Think about what they are learning and apply it to real-world scenarios.
- Monitor their understanding and performance.
- Seek help when needed.
How Can You Encourage a Growth Mindset?
- Listen for fixed-mindset language and help your student shift attitudes and assumptions.
- Stress that failure isn't always a bad thing as long as we learn from it.
- Don't praise intellect; praise effort, willingness to try something new, and persistence.
- If something doesn't work, encourage your student to try another way or strategy to accomplish a task or solve a problem.
- Discuss how the brain is like a muscle and how it will grow stronger with exercise.
- Tell your student that he/she shouldn't be afraid to seek help.
- Recognize the learning process, not just the grade. Did your student learn something?
- Recognize that learning and improvement are more important than effort alone. Stress that effort leads to learning.
- Praise effort when it leads to new abilities or alternative strategies, not just working hard at doing the same thing over and over with no results.
- Avoid statements such as "Try harder" or "You'll get it."
- Use statements such as, "Tell me what strategies you tried so far," "What else can you try?" or "What have you learned?"
For more information on a growth mindset, read Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2007) by Carol Dweck, or search "growth mindset" in your internet browser.