Power of Growth Mindset

Having examined Carol Dweck's enlightening book 'Mindset' and the insightful growth mindset materials for EDLD 5302, I am thrilled to explore the transformative potential of fostering a growth mindset in our classrooms. This journey promises to revolutionize our teaching methods and ignite a passion for learning in our students.

Creating a classroom culture that values effort, encourages risk-taking, and sees failure as a stepping stone to success is important in helping students create a growth mindset. This means that students should be praised for more than just their accomplishments. They should also be praised for their hard work, strategies, and progress. It is about shifting the attention from the goal to the learning process. I will include reflective practices where students can write down how they have grown, the problems they have solved, and the methods that helped them. This will support the idea of a growth mindset.

Another important thing is to show others how to have an optimistic attitude. As a teacher, I will show students how to deal with problems and learn from their mistakes. A simple but powerful lesson that I will use in my feedback to students is that "yet" has power. I reinforce that learning is a journey by telling them, "You haven't mastered this concept...yet" or "I can see how you are improving; you are not there...yet." When it comes to feedback and how people feel about cheating a growth mindset makes it easier for people to see constructive feedback as a way to get better instead of as an attack on their character. It helps them understand that stealing is wrong for their learning. If students value learning over grades, they will be more interested in their education and less likely to cheat.

Dealing with the need to focus on grades is hard, but having a growth attitude can help here, too. Putting more weight on learning goals than performance goals helps students focus on how they are doing and what they are learning instead of just the result. In this situation, grit is important because it helps students keep going even when things get hard and keep their desire for long-term goals even when things go wrong. It's important to ensure that the growth mindset is used in a real and deep way to keep it from becoming a fad or being used in the wrong way. It's important not to praise effort without also showing students how to get better, and it's important not to confuse grit with just making things harder, as that can lead to stress and burnout instead of real persistence.

The idea of a growth attitude is strong, but it is not a magic bullet. It should be part of a bigger plan to help all students, including social and emotional learning, individualized lessons, and fair teaching methods. To get our students to have a Learner's Mindset, we need to encourage them to be curious, love to learn and feel comfortable asking questions. It means making a place where learning is valued for its own sake, not just for the praise or grades it might bring. I am dedicated to helping students develop a more profound and enduring love for learning by incorporating these aspects into my teaching. I think this is what it means to "reignite the learner's mindset."  By teaching my students to love learning and showing them how great it feels to get better at something, I think we can do some amazing things together in the education profession!

References 

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.

Dweck, C. S. (2014). The Power of Believing That You Can Improve. TED Talks. Youtube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X0mgOOSpLU

Duckworth, A. (2013). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8