Growth Mindset

Staying Open to Learning New Things

In the classroom, I often see students who become discouraged when they do not automatically understand new concepts or they cannot instantly learn new skills. They want to be successful so they think that if they don't get it right away, they must not have the abilities. They often give up or struggle to be resistant in the face of failing at something. This is especially true when it comes to reading and writing skills that require more processing and higher level thinking as well as analysis. Sometimes they can shut down and it impacts how they view themselves.

Having a growth mindset helps students to accept their learning speed and it empowers them to work hard in class. I will be talking about this concept throughout the year to ensure that students are not just learning the content of social studies, but they are also learning how to become confident students and life-long learners. I will be encourage them to embrace challenges, work hard, and try new things in order to grow their abilities. This philosophy is based on the work of Carol Dweck and additional information can be found in the work of Angela Duckworth, Albert Bandura, and Brenee Brown.

Having a Growth Mindset Means:

-Embracing challenges, and seeing them as opportunities to learn new things

-Realizing the developing new skills take time and we will move at our own pace

-Discovering that if you work hard and train your brain, you can improve

-Understanding that your abilities are not fixed and with time and hard work, you can change

-Having a positive outlook on new tasks or skills

-Planning and using strategies to develop your abilities in order to improve

-Setting goals and realizing that every day you are striving for progress and not perfection

-Failing at something is not a sign of weakness and it will help you to learn and improve for next time

-Using feedback from others to help propel yourself forward and improve