Growth Mindset

A topic that has been surrounding education recently that can be very helpful information for parents is the idea of a Growth Mindset.  Teaching kids to approach school, sports and life with a growth mindset gives hope for possibilities and can actually even increase happiness levels. 

The opposite of having a growth mindset is having a fixed mindset.  In a fixed mindset, kids believe that their skill sets are carved in stone, and they do not believe they have the capacity to develop, cultivate or improve.  They firmly believe that a person is born with a certain aptitude and there is not much that can be done to change that.  However, luckily research shows that a person can actually grow their intelligence through hard work and challenging tasks.   According to the leading researcher in this field Carol Dweck, "The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life."  When students fall into this fixed way of thinking, it can sabotage not only their hope, but also their happiness levels.

In a growth mindset, you believe that your skills and intelligence can be developed, cultivated, and improved.  You believe that you do have the capacity to learn and grow.   I love the below graphic!

Isn't this what we want for our kids?  We want them to know that with work, drive, grit, and perseverance, they can improve! They can get better in math, reading, basketball, volleyball, band...anything!  Please do not think I am trying to tell you to lie to your kids!  Having a growth mindset is not saying that with enough practice in music your child can be the next Beethoven or shooting hoops every day means they will be a first draft pick to the NBA.  It simply means that if a student works at something, the student WILL get better.  Not being great at something right away is not a life sentence for never being able to do it.  So how do we encourage a growth mindset among our kids?

When our kids do well at something, we need to praise the work they put in or how hard they tried, not necessarily the outcome.  For an example if a student scores a 4 (or an A) on a test, instead of saying, "Wow, you got an A, you must be really smart at math," we should shift our words to, "Wow, you got an A. That's a really good score.  You must have worked really hard." Our praise should focus on the work the student did.  Ask questions such as How much did you study?  Did you study differently?  Do you think you did well because you reviewed that morning?  

Having a growth versus a fixed mindset can dramatically impact a child's future.  The latest research in "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink states that IQ accounts for only 4-10% of career success!  So, what makes up the other 90-96%?  Grit! Drive! Perseverance!  Effort!   Let's keep working together and help kids learn that with a growth mindset, possibilities are endless!