Using growth mindset in the classroom

The Science behind the Mindsets:

For decades, Stanford Professor of Psychology, Carol S. Dweck has been studying how the ideas that we hold about the nature of our own abilities shape our behavior and the development of said abilities.

According to Dweck, one can have either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset consider personal characteristics to be unchangeable while people that hold a growth mindset believe in the possibility of improving them through our own efforts. Our own particular mindset is shaped by our experiences since childhood, but there is evidence that is can still be affected by certain interventions during adulthood.

The role of Mindsets in Learning:

Most of the research on mindsets focuses on our ideas about intelligence. As it turns out, a growth mindset fosters many of the attitudes conducive to a more efficient learning, such as an affinity for challenges and a welcoming attitude toward help. A fixed mindset, on the other hand, is usually responsible for a series of unhealthy coping mechanisms when facing any kind of failure or negative feedback.

Because mistakes are an inevitable component of the learning process, students' attitudes towards them play a crucial role. That's why it's vital to try and shift our students' mindsets away from a fixed framework, so long as it is within our reach to do so.

Growth Mindset in the classroom:

In order to foster a growth mindset in the classroom, it is vital to complement direct interventions with an appropriate attitude towards students. Let me explain...

For starters, making the students aware of the theory can already make a difference by helping them begin to consider an alternative framework. One can then strengthen the influence of these ideas by implementing self-reflection exercises throughout the duration of the course. However, this individual exercises are wasted if we, as teachers, don't learn to apply the same principles ourselves and use an adequate language when interacting with our students. Of course, it is important to not make criticism personal and instead give feedback on the particular task only. Although less obvious, it also important to focus the praise on the work behind an assignment rather than the end result only, since again, it is vital to convey the idea that effort can make a difference in unleashing our potential.

Most important of all, educators must ensure they also are working within a growth mindset framework at all times. Otherwise, no matter how big of an effort we make to address students correctly, subconscious ideas about fixed innate abilities are likely to be perceived by our students, creating a barrier that will inevitable hinder our attempts at reaching them.