About Carol Dweck and Growth Mindset in Education, for Students
Feel free to skip this section if you’re familiar with growth mindset's definition and history.For the many educators who aren’t, Carol Dweck -- a Stanford University psychology professor who researches personality and development -- popularized the philosophy through her 2007 book, Mindset.She explains students’ mindsets -- the way they perceive their abilities -- fall somewhere between two opposites:- Fixed Mindset -- Students believe their skills, talents and overall intelligence are fixed traits. They may resist learning and trying to improve, typically feeling embarrassed when not understanding something.
- Growth Mindset -- Students know they can develop their skills and talents through effort and persistence, as well as being receptive to lessons and feedback. They generally believe they can improve through hard work and trying new learning methods.
10 Ways Teachers Can Foster a Growth Mindset in Students
1. Avoid Praising Intelligence and Sheer Effort
Fixed Mindset | Growth Mindset |
You tried your hardest, and that’s all you can do. | Don’t worry if you don’t understand something right away. Focus on your next steps. What should they be? |
You’ll eventually get these types of questions if you just keep trying. | If you don’t understand these types of questions, try using a different perspective. You may be able to draw or write them out. |
Great job! You’re so smart! | Great job! The study plan you made helped a lot. You should make another for the next test. |
2. Use Diverse Teaching Strategies
- Content -- When applicable, use videos, audio clips, presentations and physical manipulatives such as blocks in your lessons. Learning stations can help you deliver this content in a single class.
- Processes -- Give students chances to not only work individually, but in pairs, small groups and big groups.
- Products -- Let students demonstrate understanding of content in a variety of ways on tests, projects and assignments. For example, you can create an open project that students can complete as an essay, presentation or artistic production.
3. Introduce Simple Gamification Elements

4. Teach the Values of Challenges
5. Encourage Students to Expand their Answers
- Problem-based learning (PBL) activities -- Whether in a small or large group, problem-based learning allows students to collaborate and share thoughts with each other.
- Question and answer sessions after presentations -- Encourage students to ask questions to the presenter, allowing him or her to delve into important points.
6. Explain the Purposes of Abstract Skills and Concepts
- Why it is significant
- What its uses are outside of class
- How it will help students in the future
7. Allow Time for Goal-Based Journaling
- Set learning goals for themselves
- Discuss progression toward meeting these goals
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable and Agreed-Upon
- Realistic
- Time-Based
8. Say “Yet” More Often
- I can’t do long division
- I don’t have the skills to answer this question
- I don’t understand dependent and independent clauses
9. Help Students Change their Language
Fixed Mindset | Growth Mindset |
It’s as good as it’s going to get | There’s room to improve with the right approach |
This is just too difficult | Time to try some strategies we learned |
I made another mistake | Just another chance to learn |
This’ll get the marks I need | I can add more to this answer |
I’m not good at this topic | I’m not good at this topic yet |
10. Use Success Folders
- Create the Folders -- Give each student a folder -- yes, the kind made of cardboard or stiff paper. On the cover, ask them to draw a picture or write a short story that depicts their personal concepts of success.
- Personalize the Folders -- Every day or week, allot time for students to add personal examples of successful learning to the folder. These can be summaries of tasks they completed, explanations of new concepts they learned or tests and assignments they aced.
- Reflect on the Folders -- To begin each week on a high note, have students look through their success folders. This encourages them to reflect on their achievements, providing first-hand evidence of growth.
Infographic
Created by Educational Technology and Mobile Learning — an online resource for teaching tools and ideas — below is an infographic based on this article, helping you foster a growth mindset culture in your class: [caption id="attachment_690" align="aligncenter" width="392"]