What is the Growth Mindset?
If this is your first time here, welcome! This is a 12-week series to help parents and teachers discover hidden gems across the internet that will help them teach Growth Mindset to the children in their lives.
What is it? Fixed versus Growth Mindset
A fixed mindset means a child believes his or her intelligence is set and that there’s no changing it. With a growth mindset, a child believes persistence and hard work lead to success.
How can you help?
**Allow children to make mistakes
**Praise them on the process (work) instead of the end result (grade)
** Teach them that mistakes and failures will help them learn and grow
**Help your child change their inner dialogue:
Instead of “I can’t do this,” teach them to say, “ I can’t do this yet.”
- Instead of “I’m not smart,” try “ I will learn to do this!”
- Instead of “That didn’t work!” tell them to say “There’s always Plan B!”
- Instead of “I give up!” have them practice saying, “I’ll try it a different way!”
- Instead of “This is too hard!” have them say “This may take some time.”
**Be mindful of areas that can promote a Fixed Mindset (undesirable mindset)
**Pay attention to: what children are
- Watching (television, youtube, etc.)
- What children listen to (music)
- What they are reading (books)
Use www.commonsensemedia.org for reviews and recommendations for children’s media and technology
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
Her teacher smiled. “Just make a mark and see where it takes you.” Art class is over, but Vashti is sitting glued to her chair in front of a blank piece of paper. The words of her teacher are a gentle invitation to express herself. But Vashti can’t draw – she’s no artist. To prove her point, Vashti jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. “There!” she says.
How this book teaches Growth Mindset:
This is a story about negative power in the words “I can’t” and how that can really bring someone down and that can stop your thinking. This book reminds me about a book written by one of my colleagues, Miriam Laundry. Her book is called “I Can”. She has an “I Can” series and her books talk about the power in saying “I can” do something.
This book teaches growth mindset. Growth mindset says that although you might not be able to do something now, you will be able to do that in the near future with a lot of hard work and determination. This is a story about a teacher who believes in someone and the miraculous things that happen when you have a mentor in your life backing you up and cheering you on.
A video to teach Growth Mindset:
Lesson on teaching Growth Mindset:
Growth Mindset Comparison Chart using The Dot by Peter Reynolds
