Growth mindset

Sarah Tew

Aims:

Introduce the concept of

“growth mindset”

Explore the role of growth mindset

in relation to effort, feedback and

challenge

Discuss practical approaches

for classrooms/schools

In no more than seven words, can you

explain what a ‘growth mindset’ is?

What is ‘growth mindset’?

Intelligence/ability …

Source: Z Read

or

Source: iStock, Andrew Rich

Are you born with it … … can you develop it?

Carol Dweck’s – The power of yet

https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve#t-187915

3 minutes 13

Fixed v Growth

Mindset Fixed Growth

Your belief: Intelligence is a fixed trait Intelligence is cultivated through learning

Your priority: Look smart, not thick Become smarter, through learning

What makes you feel smart:

Achieving easy, low effort successes and out performing others

Engaging fully with new tasks, exerting effort, stretching and apply skills

You avoid: Effort, difficulty, setbacks, higher performing peers

Easy, previously mastered tasks

Success is a combination of:

Talent Mindset

+

Mindset: talent matrix

Mindset

Tale

nt

Underachiever

Ordinary

Champion

Overachiever

Examples

Mindset

Tale

nt

Underachiever

Ordinary

Champion

Overachiever

Example: Roger Federer

Source: Roland Garros

Roger Federer

Growth mindset: what it isn’t

× Anyone can do anything

× That ability doesn’t matter

× Anti-competition

× Making people feel better about failing

× Simply telling pupils to ‘try harder’

× A silver bullet

× A quick fix

What are the benefits?

If someone believes they can improve, what

behaviours could this lead to?

Growth mindset: benefits

• Seek out better feedback (Mueller and Dweck, 1998)

• Stretch themselves (Mueller and Dweck, 1998)

• Want to persist for longer (Mueller and Dweck, 1998)

• Cope better with transitions (Blackwell et al., 2007)

• Higher levels of grit (Hinton and Hendrick, 2015)

• Better grades (Dweck, 2008 and Paunesku et al., 2015)

• Less likely to drop out of school (Paunesku et al., 2015)

• Reduced stress and aggression (Yeager and Dweck, 2012)

Growth versus fixed mindset

Effort

Feedback

Challenges

!

“The hallmark of successful individuals is that they love learning, they seek challenges, they value effort, and they persist in the face of obstacles”(Carol Dweck 2000)

The role of effort

Fixed mindset

Pointless

Risky

Counter

indicator Effort

The role of effort

You tried your

best and you

failed miserably.

The lesson is,

never try.

The role of effort

Fixed mindset

Pointless

Risky

Counter

indicator Effort

Growth mindset

Vital

Worth it

Pride

How can we help a develop a positive

attitude towards effort?

Developing a growth mindset

The brain and effort

Source: Allen Lee Huang, Feng, Sanes, Brown, So, and Nedivi

Feedback

Feedback

Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset

Ignore it, even if useful Use and learn from it

Which feedback supports learning...

You’re a maths wizard!

You got 15 out of 20Check your use of inverted commas

Show me a different way of solving this

problem

Include more complex sentences

You kept going – I can see you tried

hard today

Feedback

Good Feedback Moves:1. Task Level – How well tasks are understood/performed. (You need

to include more about...)2. Process Level – The process needed to understand/perform tasks 3. Self Regulation Level – self-monitoring, directing and regulating

actions (Go back and check your use of commas...)

Bad Feedback Moves:Feedback at the self or personal level (usually praise) is rarely effective.Praise is rarely directed at the task/process level so is ineffective in enhancing learningWhen feedback draws attention to the self, children try to avoid the risks involved in tackling a challenging task, they minimise effort and have a high fear of failure.

Classrooms that challenge

What would you expect to ...

-See-Hear-Feel

In a classroom that challenged learners?

Challenge

Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset

Avoid them Embrace them

Challenge

Being in the PitThe 'pit' is a metaphor to show that being stuck (being in the pit) is part of the learning process/challenge. It is the learning process and the learner qualities that are key strategies in helping our learners get out of the pit.

Growth mindset at Lowtown

1. Language is key – develop a common mindset language in school – “I can’t do it” to “I can’t do it yet”. Share with all stakeholders including parents and governors.

2. Parents need to be involved! Particularly in relation to the message of feedback and praise.

3. Develop a feedback policy which focuses on next steps in learning, challenge and celebrates effort and resilience.

4. Think about differentiation – how do you know they can’t do it . Consider challenge by choice.

5. Dialogic mark sheets – Einstein Challenges6. Learning about learning – ensure the curriculum covers learning about the

brain and the process of how we learn. How empowering is it to know the science behind the concept of growth mindset?

7. Introduce learning pit as a concept model for the learning process.8. Regular opportunities to refresh understanding both for staff and children.

Growth mindset in seven

words or less

I can always improve if I keep trying

Mistakes are just part of learning – keep going.

If I get it too easily I’m not learning

We don’t let challenges beat us

Never say you can’t do it – not yet!

It’s having the confidence to try again

It’s working your way out of the pit

References

© The Key CPD Toolkit | InnerDrive Developing a growth mindset | Session 1: Slide 29

Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., and Dweck, C. S. 2007. Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement

across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246–263.

Dweck, C. 2008. Mindset. New York: Ballantine Books.

Fujioka, T. 2006. One year of musical training affects development of auditory cortical-evoked fields in young children.

Brain, 129(10), pp.2593-2608.

Hinton, C. and Hendrick, C. 2015. Getting Gritty With It. [online] Wellington Learning and Research Centre. Available at:

https://issuu.com/wellylearning/docs/year_1_rsi_grit_report [Accessed 5 Apr. 2016].

Maguire, E., Gadian, D., Johnsrude, I., Good, C., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. and Frith, C. 2000. Navigation-related

structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(8), pp.4398-

4403.

Mueller, C. and Dweck, C. 1998. Praise for intelligence can undermine children's motivation and performance. Journal

of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(1), pp.33-52.

Paunesku, D., Walton, G.M., Romero, C.L., Smith, E.N., Yeager, D.S., and Dweck, C.S. 2015. Mindset Interventions

are a Scalable Treatment for Academic Underachievement. Psychological Science.

Stone, M., Thomas, K., Wilkinson, M., Jones, A., Gibson, A. and Thompson, K. 2012. Effects of Deception on Exercise

Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 44(3), pp.534-541.

Yeager, D. and Dweck, C. 2012. Mindsets That Promote Resilience: When Students Believe That Personal

Characteristics Can Be Developed. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), pp.302-314.