The strategy can encourage a growth mindset as students are encouraged to value progress rather than performance.
Try to use language that promotes a growth mindset
Try to provide feedback on student effort and specific to the task rather than on their ability
Lorena Pellone-Gismondi
When they struggle despite strong effort:
OK, so you didn't do as well as you wanted to. Let's look at this as an opportunity to learn.
What did you do to prepare for this? Is there anything you could do to prepare differently next time?
You are not there/here yet.
When you think you can't do it, remind yourself that you can't do it yet.
I expect you to make some mistakes. It is the kinds of mistakes that you make along the way that tell me how to support you.
Mistakes are welcome here!
You might be struggling, but you are making progress. I can see your growth (in these places).
Look at how much progress you made on this. Do you remember how much more challenging this was (yesterday/last week/last year)?
Of course it's tough — school is here to makes our brains stronger!
If it were easy, you wouldn't be learning anything!
You can do it — it's tough, but you can; let's break it down into steps.
Let's stop here and return tomorrow with a fresher brain.
I admire your persistence and I appreciate your hard work. It will pay off.
When they struggle and need help with strategies
Let's think about how to improve (the accuracy of) this section/paragraph/sentence/word choice/logic/description/problem/calculation.
Let me add new information to help you solve this....
Here are some strategies to figure this out.
Describe your process for completing this task.
Let's do one together, out loud.
Let's practice (skill) so we can move it from our short-term to our long-term memory.
Just try - we can always fix mistakes once I see where you are getting held up.
Let me explain in another way with different words.
What parts were difficult for you? Let's look at them.
Let's ask for advice—s/he may be able to explain/suggest some ideas/recommend some strategies.
Let's write a plan for practicing and/or learning.
If you make changes, we can reassess your score. Let's discuss a plan for you.
When they are making progress
Hey that's a tough problem/task/concept that been working on for a while. What strategies are you using?
I can see a difference in this work compared to_____. You have really grown (in these areas)
I see you using your strategies/tools/notes/etc. Keep it up!
Hey! You were working on this for a while and you didn't quit!
Your hard work is clearly evident in your process/project/essay/assignment.
When they succeed with strong effort
I am so proud of the effort put forth to/in/with
I am very proud of you for not giving up, and look what you have to show for it!
Congratulations — you really used great strategies for studying, managing your time (behavior, etc.).
I want you to remember for a moment how challenging this was when you began.
Look at how far you have come!
All that hard work and effort paid off!
The next time you have a challenge like this, what will you do?
What choices did you make that you think contributed to your success?
It's exciting to see the difference in your work now when compare it to your earlier work.
I can see you really enjoyed learning_.
When they succeed easily without effort
It's great that you have that down. Now we need to find something a bit more challenging so you can grow.
It looks like your skills weren't really challenged by this assignment. Sorry for wasting your time!
I don't want you to be bored because you're not challenging yourself.
We need to raise the bar for you now.
You're ready for something more difficult.
What skill would you like to work on next?
What topic would you like to learn more about next?
For Communicating a Learning Goal
New material is an opportunity to stretch!
Today's learning objective will give everyone an opportunity to stretch.
Today, your brain will get stronger. I am hoping that you all do not know this already; I wouldn't want to waste your time.
I really want us to stretch our comfort zone on this!
After you do this, I'm going to ask everyone to share one mistake so we can learn from it.
I'd like everyone to share one thing that is really confusing with their partner.
The point of the lesson is learning; we want to know what parts are unclear so we can all meet our learning target.
Today's target for learning is…By tomorrow our goal is.
I do not expect you to know this already. I am here to help you learn challenging material.
Today, I want you to challenge yourself. Stretch to learn this challenging material.
This is very dense reading/challenging material. L am not going to hold you accountable for understanding all of it right away, but I want you to give it a first try.
This is just the first draft—you'll have lots of chance to improve it.
I want you to push yourselves to tackle this concept.
You won't be graded on this—it's a risk-free zone!
We're in the learning zone today. Mistakes are our friends!
For Communicating High Expectations
I know that you (all) have the ability to do this, so I have set the bar high.
This will be a challenging concept to learn, but all of us can reach the goal.
Be sure to communicate with me about your progress so I can provide support to you.
I am going to push you all because I know if I do you will all do amazing work!
Our classroom is a place for everyone to learn challenging material. I am here to help you meet that goal.
This is challenging, but rewarding!
This may be difficult right now, but you will remember it for the rest of your life.
When you master this learning, you can be proud because this isn't easy.
Here is my challenge for you. I know you can meet it. I want you to challenge yourself.
As you learn this, mistakes are expected. Your mistakes help me support you.
Let's make mistakes together!
I have seen you stretch and succeed in the past. Let's do it again.
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