The Growth Mindset is a phenomenon that has taken readers by a storm as this popular concept has been praised by educators and students alike! But what is the Growth Mindset and how does it differ from a fixed mindset?
What Even is the Growth Mindset?
For some, retaining information and learning new skills comes easy while others may need more time and effort. The growth mindset is the belief that your skills can be improved over time. Contrary to the fixed mindset, in which a person may believe they cannot improve and develop skills. The fixed mindset can oftentimes lead people to feel discouraged and unmotivated.
The growth mindset is a more positive outlook that leads people to success compared with those who hold a fixed mindset. Research shows that our brain is more malleable than we ever knew, so we can increase neural growth by our actions. When instilled in students, evidence proves the growth mindset is a very powerful tool that increases their success rate.
How It Helps Students
A student’s mindset directly relates to how they face academic challenges. With a growth mindset, students go into challenges open minded with the goal to learn. Whether they “fail” or not, students still understand the value of learning from their mistakes.
Students with a growth mindset are more willing to try again until they comprehend and succeed. School then becomes an exciting place to learn and the perfect place for your students to grow.
Students with a growth mindset view effort and failure positively and put more effort into their academics. They value effort and learning over just grades. A growth mindset understands that it’s normal to fail and you can still improve — a much more motivating approach.
- Students with a growth mindset are three times more likely to score on the top 20% of a test!
- In contrast, students with a fixed mindset are four times more likely to score in the bottom 20%.
With a fixed mindset, students think they are either smart enough or not smart at all. This prevents them from putting effort into something they deem “useless.” Students with a fixed mindset recognize school as a threatening place that points out their weaknesses. This can be very frustrating for students. It adds pressure to the need to make good grades to avoid the possibility of “looking dumb.” But NSTEM can help!
- NSTEM focuses on teaching through Project-Based Learning, a method in which students learn by actively engaging in meaningful, real world projects.
- This fosters the growth mindset and allows students to succeed in their goals.
How Educators Can Instill this Mindset in Their Students
The most important part of cultivating a growth mindset is making sure your students adopt and stick with it. School can be a very difficult time for many, and it’s easy to fall into a fixed mindset.
As educators, you have an important role in developing your students’ mindsets and growth, both academically and personally. Encouraging optimism in learning new concepts gets students out of the pessimistic mindset regarding school they may harbor. You can achieve this by using actively leading.
- Express examples of how you overcame obstacles
- Keep a positive atmosphere and create an inclusive classroom
- Use encouraging language, i.e. “we knew this would be tough, but we can stick it out”.
Tracking success and growth provides students with the confidence that they are improving and their effort is paying off. Have students write down completed tasks, learning gains, and assignments at the end of every day. This will connect your students with their progress and is a constant reminder they are constantly growing.
Assessing weaknesses and strengths is another way to introduce the growth mindset in your students. As educators, it’s important to remember learn the atmosphere you create is directly linked to your students’ attitude towards success and learning. It is okay for students to fail because it helps them grow and learn. A student’s learning path is not linear, and they don’t all look the same, just make sure they know that!
To learn more about growth mindset from the leaders of STEM Education, register for our free webinar, STEMulating Conversations, today!
Written by Olivia Kirven
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