Middle Years
Adopt a Growth Mindset
I have been an admirer of Carol Dweck for a long time, her work on growth mindset is extraordinary. I encourage you to watch this YouTube Clip with you children. In the lead up to the examinations, it is important that we reflect on growth mindset.
Developing a Growth Mindset
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X0mgOOSpLU&feature=youtu.be
The power of believing that you can improve | Carol Dweck
I believe that if we have grittier students, they will do better in many facets of life. Having grit is tied to having what is called a growth mindset. This refers to the idea that intelligence, like any skill, is not fixed but can be developed. Intelligence or talent is something that can be developed – it is not a case of you either have it or you don’t.
We hope that students have perseverance, discover their passion and put in the effort to keep chipping away at their learning, whether that be mastering mathematics or the piano.
With grit and a growth mindset, you’re aware that your ability is not fixed, perseverance is the key, and failure is a speed bump, not a roadblock. So, how do you develop a growth mindset? Some things you can try to make your life a little grittier:
- Add ‘yet’ when you’re talking about your goal. “I can’t play the piano” becomes “I can’t play the piano, yet”. By adding ‘yet’, you are demonstrating you are heading towards your goal.
- Embrace challenges and see them as opportunities. Some days are smoother than others. When unexpected things pop up and your plans go awry, keep at it.
- Learn from criticism. this one can be hard, as not many people love hearing bad things about themselves.
- Celebrate other people’s wins. If your friend wins or gets a better grade - celebrate their success!
- Try swapping ‘failing’ for ‘learning’. When you’ve made a mistake, or fallen short of a goal, you haven’t failed; you’ve learned. It’s okay if it doesn’t work out, praise the process and strategies learnt.
- Make a new goal for every goal accomplished. this way, the learning never stops. Creating new goals will keep you stimulated and help you stay curious.
When you are gritty, you’re living life like it’s a marathon - or even an obstacle course - not a sprint. There is no real ‘end-point’ as each goal you achieve continues you on a path to your next goal. Explaining and understanding growth mindset is important. When I started exploring growth mindset years ago, my dream was for all our students to adopt a growth mindset. I have seen a significant shift in many students as they chose to foster a growth mindset.
Mrs Julia Winter Cooke
Head of Middle Years