In a growth mindset, “people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” (Dweck, 2015). Whereas those with a fixed mindset think the opposite, we are born with a given amount of intelligence, and the talents we possess are fixed - they cannot be enhanced or improved. Growth and mastery is the idea of allowing students ample amount of opportunities to demonstrate their learning in order to identify their level of mastery of a concept or skill. In traditional classrooms with strict district pacing guides teachers move on to the next concept whether or not their students have met a proficient or distinguished mastery level. This type of education does not allow for the student to fully understand the concept or topic, it does not give an opportunity for "reteaching", and does not allow students to master the content. Therefore, as educators, it is important that we practice the use of a growth mindset and give enough time to demonstrate mastery in the classroom.

It is important to practice a growth mindset in the classroom because, "when students have a growth mindset, they take on challenges and learn from them, therefore increasing their abilities and achievement." (The Growth Mindset - What Is Growth Mindset - Mindset Works, n.d.). As educators, we must; value the process over the results, see challenges as opportunities to grow and learn, experiment with a variety of teaching methods and instructional strategies, celebrate growth regardless of how large or small, and communicate about our own growth mindset (School of Education - American University, 2020). A growth mindset can and will truly change the perspectives of students in the classroom.

Use Diverse Teaching Strategies

One way to support growth and mastery is to use diverse teaching strategies in the classroom. Exposing students to different instructional methods and strategies will help build a repertoire of learning skills to handle diverse challenges (Guido, 2022). There are a number of ways teachers can go about doing this. When it comes to content teachers can use videos, audio clips, simulations, virtual reality, physical manipulatives or models, and or learning stations. When it comes down to how it will be delivered, consider your activity and your class; some activities may be more geared to independent work, or teachers may need to have students work in pairs, small groups, or even slightly larger groups. As mentioned in other personalized learning standards teachers should have students demonstrate their understanding in multiple ways other than assessments; videos, infographics, or presentations can be used. Guido says, by expanding your teaching tactics, students should sharpen a range of skills to help them approach different learning obstacles (2022).

Embracing the Word "Yet"

There are many ways to work on a growth mindset in the classroom but the biggest and most recurring suggestion is “embracing the word yet” (School of Education - American University, 2020). In a TedTalk video featuring Dweck ([TEDx Talks], 2014), she explains how when schools change a grade from a low number or low letter to the words "not yet", it provides students with the sense of opportunity to improve their work. That the letter or score is written in stone but can be improved. I found the above picture to be helpful for myself so I utilized the poster maker at work and reference it during student conferences or when intervention is needed. The video below shows Carol Dweck's TedTalk on the power of yet.

Feedback and Praise

Feedback cycles can be used to implement and teach both growth and mastery in a classroom. Feedback cycles allow students to review their mistakes through feedback from peers or the teacher and fix or improve it, which should be seen as a learning opportunity and corrections celebrated (School of Education - American University, 2020). Providing these cycles shows students they can grow. The idea is to have students see the feedback, make corrections, then re-apply the feedback to future assignments where they might receive similar feedback. Feedback should also consist of praises, what did the students do well? In addition, when providing feedback we should not praise students on their talents or intelligence, instead, praise should focus on effort, strategy, focus, perseverance, and improvement ([TEDx Talks], 2014). It leads to more resistance which will lead to more engagement and academic success. To the left are some examples I have found and utilized when giving praise and feedback.

Gamification

Gamification is one of my favorite tools to use in the classroom. It is a tool for student engagement. Students participate in a game which acts as a review but it also provides teachers with summaries or reports on the student's efforts. "Students have trouble accepting criticism. Some formative assessment tools can help students adjust to accepting constructive feedback as part of their learning experience." (Tools to Promote Growth Mindset, 2017). GimKit, Quizizzs, Plickers, Blooket, and more are tools that can be utilized. According to Gamification in Education: Fostering a Growth Mindset (n.d) the reason that gamification is so beneficial in developing a growth mindset classroom is that in theory no one "dies" in these games they have many opportunities to retry after "failure" and they see improvement. I like to utilize Quizizz before students learn a concept and after so they can measure their growth.

Simulations/Digital Hands-on Labs

Simulations like Phet or ExploreLearning's Gizmos can also promote a growth mindset in science and math classes. These simulations require students to engage in the scientific practice of inquiry while completing the simulations and answering questions. Students can work at their own pace and repeat the simulation as many times as needed - it also allows "them to engage in analytical thinking and improve their inquiry skills" (Embrace the Challenge: Growing the Growth M. . . | ExploreLearning, n.d.). I use both Phet and ExploreLearning's Gizmos in most of my units as it provides students will a realistic approach to a lab that we may not be able to do due to equipment or time. Below you can see both ExloreLearning's Gizmos which has tools for teacher implementation along with student handouts and teacher community suggestions, as well as Phet's Circuit Builder lab. Phet also has a teacher community that provides student handouts and lesson ideas.

Expand Their Answers Using Videos

Teachers should ask students to elaborate on their thoughts/ideas, which will allow for the teacher to see any misconceptions that may lie and what they understand. "Encouraging them to process content at a deeper level as they reflect on their responses." (Guido, 2022). This will allow them to improve their knowledge and understanding of a given concept. They can do this by using platforms such as Flip (formerly known as Flipgrid), Canva, and or Adobe Express to create videos, presentations, or various other graphical representations. This demonstrates that subject matter experts are developed through practice or consistent knowledge obtainment, not born with the knowledge. These platforms can also be used to provide reflections after an assessment, or even house their smart goals.

Pre Assessment Fixed vs. Growth Mindset Assessment

Students took a pre-assessment fixed vs. growth mindset assessment to see where they were before we started doing our data trackers. The recognized their scores and made some reflections. At the end of the year students will retake the assessment and see if they made any improvements and why do they think their responses changed. Based on their scores it was evident to me that some students may have had previous teachers who spoke with them about growth mindset. Pre-assessment can be found here.

Goal Setting and Action Plans

Each month students write a goal for the month. They also write down the action plan. I go through with them and we conference about their goals and see how we can refine their action plan. In the middle of the month students check in with an accountability partner, at the end of the month students reflect on the plan and whether or not they were successful. Goal setting can be found here.

Pre/Post Assessment Goal Setting and Reflection

Students pre-test is the district Common Formative Assessment. Students wrote down their Common Formative Assessment score, wrote down the score or range they'd like to receive on their unit (post test) and the standards they showed mastery on and did not show mastery. This was for students to identify what areas they need to work on or improve in prior to taking their unit test. After students take the the post test (unit test) they will write down what they mastered and what they did not, answer whether or not they met their goal. Based on their performance students will reflect on what they did to improve or meet their goal. If they did not improve why do they think they didn't meet it or what they need to do to improve.

Student 1:

Recently, I decided to provide students with their assessment data so they can keep track of their progress. They created folders, decorated them, and personalized them. Inside the folder contains all science assessments (district and school). The reports break down each of the Academic Knowledge Skills (AKS) and tells them which they performed highest on and which they need to work on.

This student performed well on our district Common Formative Assessment (CFA) but when given the school-created Common Unit Assessment (CUA) performs below proficient. The student felt successful walking into the CUA but after reviewing their results displayed a pessimistic attitude. I suggested we look at the AKS they performed the lowest in and see these as areas of opportunity to focus on and improve in.

After speaking with her, I learned that she had testing anxiety. I began asking what about the test makes her anxious, is it all test, and is it certain types of questions? She mentioned she was anxious whenever she took tests. I shared with her that I also have testing anxiety and shared with her what worked for me. We developed a plan that included creating a schedule to review material, and utilizing study guides and online tools that were already available (long-term goals).

Together, in a co-planning session, we decided the student would come to tutoring 2-3 times a week (short-term goals) and when they were ready we would reassess them with the CUA. In addition, we would change their language from the idea of "not good at something" to "I'm not proficient in AKS 9c yet". The student was given a glueable "yet" poster for their notebook to remind them of a growth mindset.

Student 2:

I had a student who struggled previous year in science and came in with a mindset they were not going to be successful. During castle time I conferenced with the student and asked why they feel they did not understand science or what made it hard to them. They mentioned math was a struggle and there is math in science.

We decided to create a tutoring schedule between my class and their math teacher since math seemed to also be a concern. We printed out their first assessment report and reviewed the data from the assessment This student was given the opportunity to decide their reteach opportunity and how they wanted to demonstrate their mastery and set up their own timeline.

Some of the items we reviewed were analyzing and interpreting data from graphs, looking at relationships of certain concepts that involved mathematics. When this students retook their assessment after a month and a half of tutoring they received a 80% and increased their score by 40%. You could tell this student was beyond proud of their improvement and add the updated test results to their portfolio and to the data tracker in their growth mindset google slides. We also created a growth mindset google slides for her math class and made a plan to meet once a week to check in on her progress in both classes.

Dweck, C. (2015). Carol Dweck Revisits the 'Growth Mindset'. Education Week. Retrieved from: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/09/23/carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth-mindset.html?cmp=cpc-goog-ew growth+mindset&ccid=growth+mindset&ccag=growth+mindset&cckw=%2Bgrowth%20%2Bmindset&cccv=content+ad&gclid=Cj0KEQiAnvfDBRCXrabLl6-6t-0BEiQAW4SRUM7nekFnoTxc675qBMSJycFgwERohguZWVmNDcSUg5gaAk3I8P8HAQ.

Embrace the Challenge: Growing the Growth M. . . | ExploreLearning. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.explorelearning.com/resources/insights/embrace-the-challenge-growing-the-growth-mindset

Guido, M. (2022, May 24). 10 Ways Teachers Can Instill a Growth Mindset in Students. Prodigy Education. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/growth-mindset-in-students/

School of Education - American University. (2020, December 10). How to Foster a Growth Mindset in the Classroom. American University. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/growth-mindset-in-the-classroom

[TEDx Talks]. (2014, September 12). The power of yet | Carol S Dweck | TEDxNorrköping [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-swZaKN2Ic

The Growth Mindset - What is Growth Mindset - Mindset Works. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/

Tools to promote growth mindset. (2017, June 12). SmartBrief. Retrieved October 9, 2022, from https://corp.smartbrief.com/original/2017/06/tools-promote-growth-mindset