Growth Mindset
At Marsh Gibbon CE Primary School; children, parents, staff and governors are all learning about Growth Mindset.
YES I CAN!
Our children recognise that effort, persistence and good teaching are what help them improve. We want the children to understand that it is okay to be stuck, and that some of their best learning is done when they find things the hardest. Rather than simply praising success we praise effort and persistence.
Every class has been looking at and learning about the two types of mindsets that children and adults can have, a ‘fixed’ mindset and a ‘growth’ mindset. Below is an overview of the traits of each:
Fixed Mindset
Growth Mindset
This approach links with how we mark work and give feedback too: we always mark giving ‘prompts for improvement’ in writing and ‘next steps’ in maths so that all learning for all children, even the very brightest, is seen as a way to grow. If children have fixed mindsets they find it hard to cope with failure: we teach our children to see mistakes and failure as positive. This makes for a very energetic and inclusive culture. It also has a really positive effect on our ethos and on how children approach learning and support each other. Children strive to improve their personal best rather than seeing coming top as the goal.
A quote from Carol Dweck:
"In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don't necessarily think everyone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it."
This is important because:
(1) individuals with a "growth" theory are more likely to continue working hard despite setbacks and
(2) individuals' theories of intelligence can be affected by subtle environmental cues.
For example, children given praise such as "good job, you're very smart" are much more likely to develop a fixed mindset, whereas if given compliments like "good job, you worked very hard" they are likely to develop a growth mindset. In other words, it is possible to encourage students, for example, to persist despite failure by encouraging them to think about learning in a certain way."
How you can help at home
Book list:
Mindset in the classroom: Building a culture of Success and Student achievement in Schools. By Mary Cay Ricci
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Mindset: Drive the Power of Habit from A Fixed Mindset to A Growth Mindset [Kindle Edition]
Anna L. Matthews
Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential by Dweck, Carol (2012)
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain Hardcover – December 13, 2010 by JoAnn Deak Ph.D. (Author), Sarah Ackerley (Illustrator)
Websites:
Carol Dweck: The Effect of Praise on Mindsets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTXrV0_3UjY
An interview and over view of Fixed and Growth Mindset.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/carol-dweck-mindset_n_3696599.html
Growth Mindset – Carol Dweck’s website
http://mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/
YES I CAN!
Our children recognise that effort, persistence and good teaching are what help them improve. We want the children to understand that it is okay to be stuck, and that some of their best learning is done when they find things the hardest. Rather than simply praising success we praise effort and persistence.
Every class has been looking at and learning about the two types of mindsets that children and adults can have, a ‘fixed’ mindset and a ‘growth’ mindset. Below is an overview of the traits of each:
Fixed Mindset
- I like my work to be easy
- I don’t like to try a challenge
- I want people to praise me for how clever I am
- I believe I cannot change how clever I am
- I don’t like to try new things because I won’t be very good at it
- I give up easily
Growth Mindset
- I never give up
- I like my work to be difficult – it means I am learning
- I love challenges
- I want people to praise me for the effort I put into my work
- I believe I can get more intelligent by working hard
- I feel clever when I’m learning something new
- I learn from my mistakes
This approach links with how we mark work and give feedback too: we always mark giving ‘prompts for improvement’ in writing and ‘next steps’ in maths so that all learning for all children, even the very brightest, is seen as a way to grow. If children have fixed mindsets they find it hard to cope with failure: we teach our children to see mistakes and failure as positive. This makes for a very energetic and inclusive culture. It also has a really positive effect on our ethos and on how children approach learning and support each other. Children strive to improve their personal best rather than seeing coming top as the goal.
A quote from Carol Dweck:
"In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don't necessarily think everyone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it."
This is important because:
(1) individuals with a "growth" theory are more likely to continue working hard despite setbacks and
(2) individuals' theories of intelligence can be affected by subtle environmental cues.
For example, children given praise such as "good job, you're very smart" are much more likely to develop a fixed mindset, whereas if given compliments like "good job, you worked very hard" they are likely to develop a growth mindset. In other words, it is possible to encourage students, for example, to persist despite failure by encouraging them to think about learning in a certain way."
How you can help at home
- • Praise the amount of effort your child is putting into things rather than how clever they are;
- • Talk to your children about their brain being like a muscle - the more they use it, the stronger it gets;
- • Encourage your children to not give up if they are finding something difficult;
- • Challenge your children to try something new or challenging.
Book list:
Mindset in the classroom: Building a culture of Success and Student achievement in Schools. By Mary Cay Ricci
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Mindset: Drive the Power of Habit from A Fixed Mindset to A Growth Mindset [Kindle Edition]
Anna L. Matthews
Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential by Dweck, Carol (2012)
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain Hardcover – December 13, 2010 by JoAnn Deak Ph.D. (Author), Sarah Ackerley (Illustrator)
Websites:
Carol Dweck: The Effect of Praise on Mindsets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTXrV0_3UjY
An interview and over view of Fixed and Growth Mindset.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/carol-dweck-mindset_n_3696599.html
Growth Mindset – Carol Dweck’s website
http://mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/
