Mindset

What is Mindset? “Brain power is something you are born with and you can’t change this very much.” Do you agree with this statement?

What is Mindset? Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference. There are two Mindsets. Fixed and Growth. You may recognise some of the traits and attitudes in the table on the next slide which characterise each mindset. The mindset is not set and can vary depending on the situation or outside factors at that time. As you look through the information you will see clearly that a Growth Mindset is preferable to a fixed

What is Mindset? Fixed Mindset Key Area Growth Mindset It’s all genetic, we are either born clever or not Intelligence Is something that can be developed Seen as a weakness/failure Mistakes These are opportunities to learn and work on weaknesses What’s the point? I’m either good at this or I’m not – working hard won’t make much difference Effort See this as fundamental – the path to success Avoid Challenge Challenge Embrace Challenge Less Effort – revert back to working on strengths rather than weaknesses When things get tough Try different ways to succeed Ignore constructive criticism Feedback Willing to learn from feedback Give Up! Failure Persist and keep trying Feel threatened by the success of others Success of Others Inspired by the success of others Plateau early and may not reach their full potential As a Result Continue to learn and reach their full potential

What is Mindset? As educators we want the very best for each individual and so encouraging the Growth Mindset is a valuable tool for future improvement. Developing a Growth Mindset has been proven by research to have a hugely positive impact on the future potential of all learners.

More about Mindset Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset – an introduction How a Growth Mindset leads to Higher Achievement Growth vs Fixed Mindsets – Changing Mindsets

How to Promote a Growth Mindset The coming slides give some hints ant tips for things that we can do to promote a Growth Mindset in our children. Modelling Discuss self talk Praise Effort over Success The Power of ‘YET

Model the types of thinking we want from our children Consider how you react to problems and challenges in your own life and let your child over hear positive phrases when ‘thinking aloud’. Instead of… “I’m not very good at this.” or “This is too hard.” Say… “This is really hard for me so I’ll have to keep practising.” Yes it may feel awkward at first but modelling behaviours but it is well know that children learn their behaviour and attitudes from watching how we react to challenges.

Discuss positive and negative self-talk. Talk to your child about their thoughts and hat they say to themselves when things are difficult. Sylvia Duckworth’s sketch on the next page has some simple but very effective examples. Correct your child if you hear them ‘Thinking out loud’ in a negative manner.

Discuss positive and negative self-talk.

Recognize Effort Over Success when giving praise. Instead of praising a child for their successes, praise the effort and process they went through to achieve that success. No one can be successful all the time but if their efforts are recognized, as long as the efforts are in line with the task, then they will see that it is important. This promotes a sense of self-efficacy. The aim is to promote that any success they have is due to the effort they put in (something they can control) rather than an innate level of talent or skill (which they can’t control).

The power of ‘YET’. This is a simple one, and there is a lot more to promoting the correct mindset, but it’s a great starting point. The next time you hear that frustrated ‘I can’t do it!’ whatever the task may be, add on “YET”. This is a great starter for further positive conversation about what steps the learner may need to take in order to be able to say ‘I CAN do it!’

Help them set goals.  Setting and achieving goals can have a massive impact on their ability to recognise that improvement is possible. Set goals with your child and create a plan which will help them achieve those goals. Goals must be S.M.A.R.T……

Help them set goals. S = Specific – Who? What? Where? When will I work on this? M= Measurable – How will we know if we succeed? A = Achievable – Is this realistic? Can this be done? Do I have only 1 or 2 goals to focus on? R = Relevant – How will this help me? Can I see the benefits of achieving this goal? T = Timely – When do I want to be able to do this by?

Celebrate Mistakes and Struggles Learning from mistakes is one key part of having a Growth Mindset so we have to be able to recognise those mistakes and then do something to improve. Have a chat with your child at the end of the day, what did they find difficult or what couldn’t they do? What did they learn from it? What can they do next time to solve the problem. Maybe you have an example from your day that you can use to model.

Have a Growth Mindset Show your child that you; Keep going with difficult tasks Try to learn new things Take of challenges and show enthusiasm Make mistakes, persist and talk about mistakes