Growth Mindset
Fostering Resilience & a Love of Learning

What is Growth Mindset?

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things that you did do. So sail away from the safe harbor. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Mark Twain

A growth mindset means that you don't give up when facing a difficult challenge. It means that you won't accept failure as the end of a problem, but rather as having learned another way that doesn't work. It means you can keep getting better at things and that your skills and abilities, and your intelligence and talents are not set, but they have the ability to grow. Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University discussed the power of mindset nearly three decades ago! Her team of researchers studied how students felt when they experienced failures. After analyzing their results, they came up with the phrase growth mindset!

In short, having a growth mindset enables a learner to believe that their skills and abilities can improve through self-determination, persistence in finding solutions, and working and learning with others.

I would even simplify this by saying that, "Growth Mindset is believing that you can get smarter by your effort!"

Why is it important?

When problem solving and seeking possible solutions, thinkers can learn from what doesn't work and use that analysis to get closer to something that might actually work.

Thomas Edison is credited with saying,
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work!"

Mr. Edison didn't work alone. He assembled teams of thinkers to work collaboratively! Sooo... if Mr. Edison and his team of innovators gave up after the light bulb didn't work after so many tries, we might still be in the dark!

How is a Growth Mindset Beneficial?

Encourages Learning!
You become more open to attempt to understand new information.
Embraces imperfections!
You attempt to overcome weaknesses instead of accepting them.
Challenges become opportunities!
You seek a wide-range of strategies to improve and problem-solve on how to succeed.
Critiques various perspectives!
You listen to others' thoughts and ideas.
Gains intrinsic motivation!
You don't feel the need to seek approval for learning.
You recognize and appreciate your progress.
Values the learning process!
You enjoy learning and appreciate your time invested in thinking.
Embraces constructive criticism!
When you are looking at things positively, suggestions based on improvement are taken as motivation for revision, rather than negativity.

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset...

What's the difference?

Growth mindset, as stated above, is the belief that even though certain people may seemingly have a natural ability to know or do something, anyone can learn and experience success if they believe they could do it - and actually try!

Conversely, a fixed mindset is the belief that you are born with your abilities and your aptitude for your intellect is set. In a fixed mindset, you'll hear things like, “You’re so talented!”, “You gifted!", "You a natural!”, or “You’re doing so well in school, you must be really smart!” When a learner hears these messages, why would they learn to persevere or pursue excellence if it's just a talent they were born with?

Take a look at the image & then chart below.

See what you can differentiate between the two and formulate an assumption of what type of mindset you have!

What is the essence of both?

How do they compare?

What are some misconceptions about Growth Mindset?

There are many mistaken beliefs about growth mindset. Here's a few to look at.

4 Common Misconceptions About Growth Mindset Theory | Grow Kids MindsThere is a lot of conflicting and confusing information about Growth Mindset Theory. This article busts some of these myths to help you and your child.

6 Myths About Growth Mindset, DebunkedIn the 1970s, researcher Carol Dweck – now a professor of psychology at Stanford University – began researching children’s abilities to bounce back from failure. She found to her surprise that some children didn’t need to “bounce back” at all; for them, failure wasn’t something to cope with, but to

Now... consider this: Margaret Thatcher once said, “You may have to fight a battle more than once in order to win it.” 🤔

Lastly, discuss with others about how her quote is applicable with the misconceptions you read.

Does it matter what a person believes they can do?

So, you didn't do well on something that you tried... How are you going to respond to it?
What are you going to do next?

Here is Carol Dweck’s TED Talk video about having the power to believe that you can, in fact, improve your own thinking. It is powerful!

The power of believing that you can improveCarol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field.

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Growth MindsetFostering Resilience & a Love of Learning