Developing a Growth Mindset
May 7, 2021
“If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort and keep on learning.” - Carol Dweck
A growth mindset, as Carol Dweck calls it, is the belief that you can grow - control your own ability and learn to improve.
“When I fail, I learn” vs “When I fail, I am not good”
“Plan A didn’t work, let’s try Plan B” vs “I am not the best, so I give up”
A “growth mindset” is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a tendency to believe you can grow. It thrives on challenges and sees failure not as something bad, but as an opportunity to learn and grow, stretching existing abilities. A person with a growth mindset will be more resilient and will keep improving until they become the best they can be.
A “fixed mindset” on the other hand assumes our characters, intelligence and ability are static which we can’t change in any meaningful way. This mindset can negatively impact all aspects of one’s life as a person with this mindset gives up too easily and feels deficient most of the times.
A growth mindset, as Carol Dweck calls it, is the belief that you can grow - control your own ability and learn to improve.
Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset
“When I fail, I learn” vs “When I fail, I am not good”
“Plan A didn’t work, let’s try Plan B” vs “I am not the best, so I give up”
A “growth mindset” is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a tendency to believe you can grow. It thrives on challenges and sees failure not as something bad, but as an opportunity to learn and grow, stretching existing abilities. A person with a growth mindset will be more resilient and will keep improving until they become the best they can be.
A “fixed mindset” on the other hand assumes our characters, intelligence and ability are static which we can’t change in any meaningful way. This mindset can negatively impact all aspects of one’s life as a person with this mindset gives up too easily and feels deficient most of the times.
Parents role in developing a growth mindset
Parents have tremendous influence on how a child’s belief system develops. The best way you as a parent can instil growth mindset in your child is by being a role model yourself. Some tips on developing growth mindset in your child include:- Model growth mindset by showing that you are willing to try out new things. This gives your children the confidence to challenge themselves without having a fear of failure.
- Praise the process, not the result – Praising kids for being smart or talented suggests that innate talent is the reason for success, while focusing on the process helps them see how their efforts led to desirable results.
- Let your child try doing things on their own before being too quick to jump in to help. It helps teach a child to persevere through challenges to achieve a desirable outcome. This may take more time, but in the long run, it will surely be worth it.
Growth mindset at Nexus
At Nexus, our educators play an important role in encouraging growth mindset in our learners. Some ways this is done in our school, include:- Learning through mistakes – teachers sometimes model making small mistakes during lessons and pick up on it. The mistakes are identified, discussed with our learners and improved upon. This allows students to learn that making mistakes is only a natural process of learning.
- Feedback with learning – Instead of using general words like “good” and “great job”, teachers provide specific feedback with descriptions of what it is that a learner did well.
- Discuss challenges faced – Teachers sit down with learners to identify areas that could be improved in a particular lesson and how they can help support the learner to develop.
