What is growth mindset?
Growth mindset is the belief that one's abilities are not confined by their natural-born talents, but rather we get smarter through hard work and practice. This means struggling with something difficult doesn't mean you're not smart-it's your chance to grow your intelligence. People with a growth mindset have a positive outlook on challenges and even failures. They view them as opportunities, not as defeats. Here in D-103 I will provide opportunities for your child to experience productive struggle. They will be given many opportunities to practice growing their mindset. It is my one wish for all my students to grow their mindset to become more persistent, intelligent, resilient, and see themselves as lifelong learners!
Tips to Teach Growth Mindset
1. TEACH YOUR CHILD ABOUT THE BRAIN AND HOW WE LEARN
Your brain actually physically grows...the more you use it the bigger it gets!!!
2. TEACH YOUR CHILD ABOUT THE TWO DIFFERENT MINDSETS
There are two mindsets... growth mindset and a fixed mindset. A person with a fixed mindset spends all their time documenting their talents instead of developing them. They also believe one's talent alone creates success with little or no effort (Dweck, 2015). They do not emphasize effort and persistence in achieving success.
3. MODEL GROWTH MINDSET THINKING AND POSITIVE SELF-TALK with the following statements....
Your brain actually physically grows...the more you use it the bigger it gets!!!
2. TEACH YOUR CHILD ABOUT THE TWO DIFFERENT MINDSETS
There are two mindsets... growth mindset and a fixed mindset. A person with a fixed mindset spends all their time documenting their talents instead of developing them. They also believe one's talent alone creates success with little or no effort (Dweck, 2015). They do not emphasize effort and persistence in achieving success.
3. MODEL GROWTH MINDSET THINKING AND POSITIVE SELF-TALK with the following statements....
4. RECOGNIZE EFFORT OVER SUCCESS- PRAISE PROCESS OVER PRODUCT
I cannot stress this one enough. I know it's so easy for us as parents to tell our children "Wow, you got a MP, great job!" (I'm guilty of this with my own two children, my 14 year old and 6 year old). While, this is not exactly a bad thing, what we need to recognize is that we just praised the product and not the process. Instead, let's try to say something like this..."Wow! I noticed you struggled on that project all afternoon, but you kept working so hard and never gave up!" What we just taught our kiddos is that we value their effort and doing their very best is the most important thing we want to stress. Their "very best" may not always "make the cut" but we NEVER want to devalue their effort....So praise process over product!
5. EMPOWER THEM WITH THE POWER OF “YET”
I can't read.
I can't ride a bike.
I can't learn multiplication.
As parents, it can be heartbreaking to hear our children feel so defeated. Teach them the power of "YET!"
Just feel the difference...
I can't read YET.
I can't ride a bike YET.
I can't learn multiplication YET.
6. CELEBRATE MISTAKES AND CHALLENGES
Allow your kids to fail and make mistakes. But why, when you can help them succeed? Because making mistakes is how we learn. Openly talk about mistakes and what we can learn from them and what we might do differently next time.
I cannot stress this one enough. I know it's so easy for us as parents to tell our children "Wow, you got a MP, great job!" (I'm guilty of this with my own two children, my 14 year old and 6 year old). While, this is not exactly a bad thing, what we need to recognize is that we just praised the product and not the process. Instead, let's try to say something like this..."Wow! I noticed you struggled on that project all afternoon, but you kept working so hard and never gave up!" What we just taught our kiddos is that we value their effort and doing their very best is the most important thing we want to stress. Their "very best" may not always "make the cut" but we NEVER want to devalue their effort....So praise process over product!
5. EMPOWER THEM WITH THE POWER OF “YET”
I can't read.
I can't ride a bike.
I can't learn multiplication.
As parents, it can be heartbreaking to hear our children feel so defeated. Teach them the power of "YET!"
Just feel the difference...
I can't read YET.
I can't ride a bike YET.
I can't learn multiplication YET.
6. CELEBRATE MISTAKES AND CHALLENGES
Allow your kids to fail and make mistakes. But why, when you can help them succeed? Because making mistakes is how we learn. Openly talk about mistakes and what we can learn from them and what we might do differently next time.
The following are a list of Children's books that teach great Growth Mindset concepts:
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