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The Importance of a Growth Mindset

According to Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, there are two types of mindsets people can have, a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. A “growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others.” On the other hand, a fixed mindset is “believing that your qualities are carved in stone.” People who have a fixed mindset believe that you are either smart or not (Dweck, 2006).  

Having a growth mindset is essential and vital for success, especially in a school setting. Students that have a growth mindset believe that they can develop their abilities through hard work and dedication. Having this type of mindset creates a desire to learn while embracing challenges and persevering when setbacks arise (Jeffrey, 2020). It is important that we as educators also believe and develop a growth mindset in order to teach and model to students that failures can be a gift. 

Developing a Growth Mindset

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Yet is a small word, but it makes a huge impact on our learning mindset. The word “YET” can take a negative statement full of self-doubt into a positive outlook. When our students are struggling with something challenging and they tell us they can’t do it or they don’t understand it, we will respond by adding the word  “YET.” For example, “I don’t know this, YET.” 

This reminds our students that learning is a process and it is okay to fail forward. The word “yet” is not only powerful for our students, but also for our staff. We, as adults, must also make sure we walk the walk by saying this to ourselves when feeling discouraged or incapable. 

The power of YET

Incorporating the Four Steps

“The key to changing your mindset lies first and foremost in self-awareness” (Jeffrey, 2020). We as an organization, will individually identify and listen to our fixed mindset voice. This is the voice that holds us back. The voice that makes us fear a challenge and fear failure.

While listening to our fixed mindset voice, we will recognize that we have a choice in which direction to go when faced with challenges, setbacks, and criticism. Shifting from listening to the voice that underestimates us to the voice that empowers us, is key. 

In addition, we will use our growth mindset voice, the voice that is ingrained in positivity and believes in developing new skills, to talk back to our fixed mindset voice in order to encourage challenges and reach higher levels of achievement. 

Lastly, we will take a growth mindset action by “learning from setbacks, persisting without exception, and adjusting [our] actions based on feedback” (Jeffrey, 2020). As we take a growth mindset action and fail forward, we will embrace our failures as learning opportunities and gain confidence while overcoming obstacles. 

By following these steps we are reminded that learning is a process of purposeful engagement and that challenges, setbacks, and criticism are opportunities for growth.

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Steps to a Growth Mindset:

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  • Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice”.

  • Recognize that you have a choice.

  • Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice.

  • Take the growth mindset action.

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Book, Video, and Website Resources

Students:

  • The Most Magnificent Thing by: Ashley Spires

  • Rosie Revere, Engineer by: Andrea Beaty 

  • Aaron Slater, Illustrator by: Andrea Beaty

  • After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again by Dan Santat

 

Teachers and Staff:

  • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: by Carol Dweck

  • Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Growth Mindset Learning Community: by Mary Cay Ricci 

  • The Growth Mindset Coach: A Teacher's Month-by-Month Handbook for Empowering Students to Achieve Paperback by Annie Brock

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Personal Impact
     As I continue evolving into a growth mindset, I have noticed small yet impactful changes in my personal and professional life. The words I use to praise or offer feedforward are intentional and focused on the progress and not the ability.  I am more aware of how my actions within my organization can influence long-lasting change and behavior. Modeling my mindset is what I am working towards so I can achieve my full potential. As we move forward with our blended learning plan, I find myself seeking others from whom I can learn. I will continue to encourage the struggle and embrace the changes because my students have always been my WHY. The biggest change I have seen in myself is, that I am not as opposed to challenges as I once was. How? You ask.  I am currently in the process of earning my Master's degree and will see it through because I am starting to believe I can and I will.  

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References

Jeffrey, S. (2020, June 23). Change your fixed mindset into a growth mindset [complete guide]. Scott Jeffrey. Retrieved February 12,

 

      2022,  from https://scottjeffrey.com/change-your-fixed-mindset/#A_4-Step_Process_to_Change_Your_Mindset 

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Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success: how we can learn to fulfill our potential. Ballantine Books.

UPDATED
GROWTH MINDSET

As an educator, I have always tried to instill a growth mindset in students but always seem to miss the target. Upon reflecting I now know it's because I was teaching them from a fixed mindset. How could they personally invest and trust practicing a growth mindset when I did not truly understand it, believe it, or model it. I was not YET invested in learning how I could transform my own way of thinking. I needed to learn how by investing in a growth mindset 

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As our team moves forward I must keep this same mindset when asking administration and K-5 Reading teachers to invest in blended learning. I must share with them my personal journey to investing and continuing to work on my growth mindset. I believe true learning happens when we place ourselves in uncomfortable spaces and allow ourselves to be vulnerable to feedforward. I believe if our staff can internalize that change takes time and failures are opportunities for growth then our blended learning initiative will be welcomed and have sustainability. 

 

INVESTING IN ME FOR THEM

When I decided I was going to make some changes, as small as the changes were, I wanted my students to see the possibility of change. I began by allowing students to see my struggle at work and how engaged in collaboration with other teachers to create a solution. In the past, I may have felt defeated but now I was challenging myself to learn from my failures and I was welcoming that growth was progress towards my success.  I also made it a point to speak to my students about how daily reflection helped me focus on the progress that had happened that day. Reflection also helped me realize when something didn't work, I had the opportunity to implement it differently next time. I made it a goal to speak with them about meetings I had with my principal or projects I was working on so they could see how I handled these situations. This strategy helped me grow professionally because I was careful to accept failure in front of them and learn from it. 
 

I do believe because my students are beginning to understand they have the power within themselves to create change. The next step is to show them progress doesn't happen instantly and sometimes takes failing and revising your plans and a new strategy to move forward. As resilient as kids are, many are used to instant gratification, so growing into progress is our next hurdle. As Dweck says NOT YET, gives students a path into the future and does not set them up for failures with a grade they can not change. (2014). Educators are innovative and we must also teach our students not to run from challenges. We must empower them and raise them for YET.

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References

Dweck, C. (2014, December 17). The power of believing that you can improve: Carol Dweck. YouTube. Retrieved April 27,

       2022, from https://youtu.be/_X0mgOOSpLU

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