Question

what are the steps to develop growth mindset

Answer 1

1 – Train teachers and pupils – children need to understand the growth mindset concept as much as teachers do.

2 – Integrate growth mindset into the curriculum – it’s a mistake to teach growth mindset in isolation as part of PSHE or in an assembly. It’s important the growth mindset philosophy is incorporated into the whole curriculum.

3 – Praise a student’s thinking – subtle cues will mould a child’s perception of intelligence. Saying ‘you are so good at maths’ reinforces a fixed mindset. Instead, offer praise about the learning process to encourage a growth mindset – ‘you worked really hard to find the answer.’ Correlate success with effort, not intelligence.

4 – Embrace the word yet – failure is an inevitable part of the learning process. Failure provides pupils with a chance to reflect. Research suggests that utilising the word ‘yet’ can shift the thinking of students from ‘I can’t do this’ to seeing problems as growth opportunities.

5 – Teach pupils to embrace failure and celebrate it – part of developing a growth mindset is in celebrating failure rather than fearing it. Letting pupils struggle a bit so they can solve problems on their own is an important step. Teach pupils to embrace mistakes and see them as part of the learning process.

6 – Encourage students to take risks and love challenges – create a culture that fosters risk taking. The more students take risks and love challenges, the more they stretch themselves and make mistakes, which leads to growth and learning.

7 – Pupils must experience success in small incremental tasks – when pupils are struggling to succeed, tasks should be broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks to help the student experience success.

8 – Work with parents – invite parents into school to learn about growth mindset. Fixed mindset language may be used at home, such as ‘oh don’t worry I was rubbish at maths.’ Educate parents about this.

9 – Plan lessons to support growth mindset – consider these three key growth mindset questions in your lesson planning: