GROWTH MINDSET
Sharon Amesu
Trainer
Our Lady of Lourdes, Witney
Aims and Objectives
-Explore the origins of Growth Mindset theory and its relevance to
our children’s learning at school and at home.
-Define the Fixed and Growth Mindset Theories.
-Explore the scientific basis of Growth Mindset Theory.
-Explore why having a Growth Mindset will help our children become
better learners.
-Explore some ways of developing a Growth Mindset with our children.
“The hallmark of successful individuals is
that they love learning, they seek
challenges, they value effort and they
persist in the face of obstacles.”
Carol Dweck
How does a Growth Mindset Help Your
Child?
-Helps children to embrace challenge.
-Encourages intrinsic motivation.
-Develops Collaborative Skills.
-Promotes steady progress and high scholastic
achievement and outcomes.
-Builds skills for high level of achievement
beyond school life.
Mindset: A Working Definition
‘The established set of attitudes held by someone.’
Oxford English Dictionary
‘A Mindset is simply a belief- a belief about
yourself and your most fundamental qualities like
ability.. personality… and talents etc….’
Barry Hymer and Mike Gershon
Those children with a ‘fixed mindset’
• Research shows more girls have a fixed mindset than
boys in maths
• ‘Higher ability’ children often have a fixed mindset;
having always received praise for being ‘smart’, they
won’t take on further challenges for fear of losing
that ‘smart’ label
• ‘Lower ability’ children with a fixed mindset perceive
themselves as ‘not smart’ and only ever capable of
tackling ‘easy’ tasks
• These children see ‘failure’ as something to be
avoided, so stay firmly in their comfort zone
Fixed Mindset
“Believing that your qualities are carved in stone.”
A belief that fundamental qualities such as intelligence
don’t really change much over time.
Growth Mindset
“Basic qualities are things you can cultivate
through your effort….everyone can grow
and change through application and
experience.”
“What on earth would make someone a non-learner? Everyone is
born with an intense drive to learn. Infants stretch their skills
daily. Not just ordinary skills, but the most difficult tasks of a
lifetime, like learning to walk and talk. They never decide it’s too
hard or not worth the effort. Babies don’t worry about making
mistakes or humiliating themselves. They walk, they fall, they get
up. They just barge forward. What could put an end to this
exuberant learning? The fixed mindset (!) As soon as children
become able to evaluate themselves, some of them become afraid
of challenges. They become afraid of not being smart.
Carol Dweck
Mindset
Fixed
Growth
Event
Exam Failure
Exam Failure
Belief
I am a failure
because my IQ is
not high enough. I
cannot change my
IQ
I failed this exam because I
didn’t try hard enough. I will
try harder next time.
Emotion
Fear, Anger
Disappointment,
Determination
Behaviour
Give up, make
excuses
Get a tutor, study harder.
Mindset:
Study 1
Study 2
Control Group
Study Group
Stages of Memory
How the brain grows
Smarter with learning
3 x’s as many students of the Growth Mindset group
showed increased Effort and Engagement.
How do we help our children
to develop a growth
mindset?
What should we praise?
-Engagement
-Perseverance
-Strategies
-Improvement
-Taking on Challenges
-Concentration
Have daily learning discussions using the
language of learning:
“What did you learn to day ( requires deeper thinking
than “How was your day?”)
“What mistake did you make that taught you
something?
“What did you try hard at today?”
Examples:
• “I like the way you didn’t give up on that tricky maths
problem. You tried different ways of solving until
you got it.”
• “You really studied for this spelling test and
improved a lot.”
• “It’s great that you chose a challenging project. You
will learn a lot from it.”
Provide Constructive Feedback:
Feedback plays a major role in developing a Growth
Mindset.
Encourage Risk and Challenge and Debunk
Failure Myths (not recklessness)
Encourage “Wobbling.”
James Nottingham
Role Modelling
“Children learn more from what you are than from what
you teach.”
W. E Dubois
Encourage and Model Positive Self Talk
“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. That way, their children
don’t have to be slaves of praise.
They will have a lifelong way to build
and repair their own confidence.”
Dweck
Recommended Reading:
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)
Bounce: Matthew Syed
Emotional Intelligence: Daniel Goleman
Growth Mindset Pocketbook: Barry Hymer and Mike Gershon
Mindsets in the Classroom: Mary Kay Ricci
Website Blog:https://chrishildrew.wordpress.com
The Optimistic Child: Martin Seligman
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain- JoAnn Deak Ph. D
The Most Magnificent Thing- Ashley Spires
Encouraging Learning: James Nottingham.
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/
Children’s Literature
Teaching growth mindset through Literature
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Little by Little by Alison Stewart and Layn Marlow
Perfect story to introduce growth mindset. About a little otter who wants to learn to
swim.
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain, Joann Deak
This book explains how intelligence is expandable.
Everyone can Learn to Ride a Bicycle, Chris Raschka
The child in the story learns to ride a bike, by getting up time and time again, after a
fall.
Giraffes can’t Dance by Giles Andrae and Guy Parker-Rees
The Dot, by Peter Reynolds
The story of a child who believes she can’t draw, but her teacher tells her to ‘make a
mark and see where it goes.’
Rosie Revere Engineer, by Andrea Beaty
The story of a child who invents something that fails
Ryan the Spy: and the Superhero Secret, by Jason Rago
Talks about hard work and practice being the keys to success