Mindset

A mindset is simply a belief – a belief about yourself and your qualities - ability, personality and talents.

Mindset Carol Dweck has spent more than 30 years researching mindset. What matters most in terms of motivation, is whether we see ability as fixed or growth. If we are to develop resilient, independent learners, we need to promote the growth mindset.

Two very different types of mindset

Challenges Embrace ChallengeAvoid Challenge Mistakes Persist in the face of mistakes Make excuses/ Give up Easily/ See as end of the road Effort Effort = Essential Effort = Only for ‘ungifted’/ ‘fruitless’ Constructive Feedback Learn from feedback Ignore feedback Success of Others Find lessons and Inspiration Feel Threatened Growth Mindset Desire to LEARN and GROW Fixed Mindset Desire to Look smart/ Avoid looking ‘stupid’ Effects of the Mindsets on Learning

How common is this? Fixed – 40% Growth - 40 % Mixed – 20%

A life sentence? Age, gender or intelligence Can change Higher levels of success/ motivation

How are Mindsets formed?

‘ Great at Maths’ ‘Terrible at Maths’

My experience

Avoid praise orientated feedback ‘10/10. You Superstar!’ (I want to keep this superstar label. Better not try anything where I may make mistakes. They are only happy because I was successful)

Avoid praise orientated feedback ‘You’ve learned that so quickly, you’re so smart’ (If I don’t learn something quickly, I’m not smart)

Avoid praise orientated feedback ‘You’ve been doing that for half an hour and you’ve still got the wrong answer’ (No matter how long I spend on this, I will never get it)

‘You get that from your dad. He couldn’t do maths either.’ (Maths will never be my thing!) Avoid praise orientated feedback

‘Yet again your behaviour has let you down!’ (I am trouble, and always will be! Why change.) Avoid praise orientated feedback

Giving ‘Growth’ Feedback Fixed Mindset JUDGEMENT – Your behaviour has been awful PAST – That’s the third time I have had to speak to you. Growth Mindset INFORMATION – You have raised your hands and you know we don’t do that at home. FUTURE – You must keep your hands to yourself. Next time, if someone annoys you, walk away from the situation. If you raise your hands again the consequence will be …

Mind your language What feedback would you give to a child, who comfortably gets full marks on an activity/ test on their first day in your class?

Mind your language What is the best feedback to give to a child who gave their all in a gymnastics tournament, however was devastated not to win any medals: 1)Tell him/her that you thought they were the best 2)Tell him/her they were robbed of a medal 3)Tell him/her gymnastics is not that important in the bigger picture 4)Tell him/ her they have the ability and will surely win next time 5)Tell him/her they need to do more to win next time

What we are doing at Braehead

The Brain ‘It just means I need to make my neural pathways stronger’ P4 Pupil ‘I just need to keep working on it, until it becomes automatic’ P7 Pupil

Mindset Rrs Rrs Highlight type of attitude we should all be striving for

Praise Process

Self Improvement ‘Last week I made two mistakes and took 3 minutes and 20 seconds. This week I got all my answers correct in 2 minutes!’ P7 Pupil

Change Words/ Change Mindset ‘I shouldn’t have said that. I will try doing it in a different way.’ P7 Pupil ‘You shouldn’t be saying that, that’s a fixed mindset.’ P3 Pupil

The role of Parents/ Carers Model a GM yourself Praise Process When you hear negativity – encourage to re- phrase Reinforce message that mistakes are an essential part of learning

Information Pack About Mindset Feedback Tool Recommended Reading/ videos