Foster Growth Mindset

Overview

When students are aware that learning involves effort, mistakes, reflection, and refinement of strategies, they are more resilient when they struggle. Showing students that teachers, too, are learners who struggle and persist through challenging work also models the importance of continuous growth.

Use It in the Classroom

Watch how these teachers look for opportunities, like celebrating moments when students chose to grow, to foster a growth mindset in their students. Providing feedback that supports students' growth is critical for fostering growth mindset.

A critical way to embed growth mindset is to frame assessments as opportunities for students to show what they know and can do versus a test of their ability. Research has shown this strategy is particularly effective in reducing the impact of Stereotype Threat on student performance. A related strategy is to have students do an expressive writing task before an assessment to help them reappraise their negative emotions and learn to move past them. Teachers should frame feedback to students in the form of continuous follow-up and growth, rather than simply praising immediate achievement.

Design It into Your Product

Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.

Watch how Brain Ventures teaches about the brain, learning process, and growth mindset in an interactive and relatable way. By providing scenarios learners may encounter in their daily lives, Brainventures has learners think about how to tackle and overcome real-world struggles. The increasingly challenging games support learners' Motivation while also exercising their Self-regulation.

Products that focus on the learning process and encourage mistakes convey the importance of a growth mindset. One way to do this is to provide open tasks that have more than one answer so students focus on process and strategies, helping foster a learning-focused mindset. Letting learners set individual goals and create study plans also encourages Motivation and Self-regulation.

View References

Resources

Below are additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.

Examples

Mindset Kit

Lessons and practices for fostering adaptive beliefs and a growth mindset

Examples

Math Mindset Course

Free student course from Jo Boaler to foster growth mindset in math

Examples

Growth Mindset Videos

ClassDojo video series on the impact of having a growth mindset

Professional Development

Developing a Growth Mindset

Tips for developing teachers' growth mindset