7 Strategies to Develop Growth Mindset Among Students

posted on Jun 26, 2020

Carol Dweck, coiner of the term “growth mindset”, conducted a study with 4-year-old students to explore the influence of mindsets on overall development. To the class, she had given two options.

Carol Dweck, coiner of the term “growth mindset”, conducted a study with 4-year-old students to explore the influence of mindsets on overall development. To the class, she had given two options. One, to resolve an easy jigsaw puzzle that the students just solved. Or two, try another harder puzzle that might lead to failure. A few students who exhibited fixed mindset tendencies picked option one. They wanted to stick with the option whose result was known. The other group, students who showed growth mindset traits, could not fathom the necessity of option one. They instantaneously chose option two, questioning why option one was at all placed on the table when they had already completed the puzzle (or possessed no scope for further learning).

Such is the case that the growth mindset makes in students’ learning and development. And this is why the best play school in Greater Noida West infuses Dweck’s ideas in its curriculum. The renowned Stanford psychologist has shown that a growth mindset is cultivable. This is a world where effort is celebrated over ability, the process is placed over talent. Irrespective of upbringing, culture, knack or interest, students of any age can be taught the nuances of growth mindset and the following strategies sit on the top of the list that can awaken the hidden potential to strive for excellence.

1. Replacing “you cannot” with “not yet”

Not yet - a phrase that reinforces the importance of effort. A student can easily be termed as being weak in mathematics but this mindset will only hinder his/her growth. However, the statement – you are yet to master long division – shows that will time and proper effort, the child can master the intricacies of the topic.

2. Representing failures as learning

Every time the student fails to complete a long division successfully, he/she either fails or learns. Growth mindset dictates that students see failure as not the end of the world but an opportunity to learn to not make those mistakes again. Failures do not undermine inherent intellect or the ability to develop further.

3. Imperfections are not weaknesses

Taking a bit longer to master long division can be an imperfection but it is definitely not a weakness. All students are different and that applies to their ability to process information as well. Once imperfections are treated as part of being a human, they come to the forefront and students start actively working on them.

4. Growth is more important than speed

This is on which the pedagogy of personalised learning is based on in the best school in Greater Noida. One student may take 7 days to learn long division and the other may take 14. If the end result is the same, how does speed matter? The important assessing parameter is progress. Is the student making fewer mistakes today than yesterday?

5. Rewarding action over talent

Praising students with the statement, “You mastered long division fast, you must be talented” enforces a fixed mindset. However, the modified version of the same statement, “You mastered long division fast, you must have worked really hard”, encourages a growth mindset. The former student will try to prove his/her talent always while the latter will focus on giving more effort.

6. Updating goals after accomplishing one

The strategy of moving over to mixed fractions after mastering long division builds the proper pyramid of knowledge. If learning long division is abandoned abruptly, the student will live believing that he/she failed to master the same and will fail again with fractions. For creating a growth mindset, goals need to be updated after accomplishment. Easier goals make way for ambitious ones.

7. Seeking approval is never encouraged

Once students start working on the clock, that they have to be the first to complete the set long division or they have to come first always in class, it directly impacts the learning process. The aim then becomes seeking praise rather than mastering the subject. Students with a growth mindset focus on personal development. Approval exists as a bystander.

BGS Vijnatham has risen to the elite club of the top 10 schools in Greater Noida owing to its focus on developing a growth mindset among its students. The strategies that BGS employs are proven and tested to encourage learning, grit, development and healthy competition. Students with a growth mindset exhibit application. Their knowledge is sounder as compared to students who stay busy nurturing their talent. Intelligence is surely different among students but the ability to exert effort is nearly the same. With adequate motivation and the above strategies, all students can accept education in its true essence and learn to know rather than simply to excel.