Growth mindset is a term that is being thrown around a lot in podcasts, Apple News articles, education blogs, and even PD sessions geared towards teachers and educational staff. Do we even really understand what growth mindset is truly and how it makes such a profound impact on learning?
I think that the principles of growth mindset as described by Carol Dweck (2006) are often grossly under-simplified when presented in teacher professional development and almost presents this mindset as a cure all for the issues we are facing in the classroom. That is not what the growth mindset is at all. While the growth mindset is an important tool in a teacher's arsenal it is not a miracle cure for all that ails the education system in the United States.
In fact, the growth mindset is a loose frame of mind or way of thinking that makes learners more resilient to academic struggle and is pivotal in getting students to build rapport in which they are looking to their teachers as guides to the learning, turning to them for feedback and critique, but it will not fix the system on it's own. The growth mindset focuses on the power of "yet", which Carol Dweck discusses in depth in her Stanford talk (2014), by reframing what would traditional be thought of as a failure into an opportunity to learn and make changes in order to get better. For example, when students write essays in traditional education settings the teacher will mark their paper in red pen with all the mistakes that were made and give a numerical grade and that is that, but in a classroom embracing growth mindset marks will be made in order for the student to correct the information and make a higher grade.
Stanford Alumni. (2014, October 9). Developing a growth mindset with Carol Dweck [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ
This kind of teaching sets students up to believe that failure is really the first step in finding eventual success. Students over time will reframe their minds to not see learning and education as a fixed, you got it or you don't scale and start recognizing that learning and true education is more of a spectrum that can (and should) continually change.
Ever since reading Carol Dweck's work (2006) and listening to her Stanford talk (2014), I have started modeling this growth mindset in my classroom by asking students what they like and what they think could be better in my lessons or activities. I have had very positive reactions to this and I have seen a marked increase in the amount of students that are initiating conversations about how they can correct their assignments for a better grade, which has almost never happened in all the previous years I have taught. I think that the growth mindset is a powerful tool in my classroom now and I can't believe I wasn't implementing it effectively enough sooner, especially with how easy it has been for me to implement in my class - more on my growth mindset here. If you haven't started implementing growth mindset lessons and practices in your class I challenge you to try it out, even if you just try it for a single grading period. I think you will see a huge change in your students and your classroom culture.
Resources:
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
Stanford Alumni. (2014, October 9). Developing a growth mindset with Carol Dweck [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ
Comments