Each year, I have reflected on myself as a teacher continuously and the huge impact my own mindset has on the development of student mindsets. Teacher language and specific teacher-led activities such as embracing mistakes are crucial for students. I have learned that mindset can change, and as teachers, we play a pivotal role in that change. Everything in the classroom should be intentional so that the teacher and students are fostering a growth mindset environment.
As teachers, we can also take the high effort or growth mindset approach to teaching and find hands on, creative, out of the box way to educate our students.Does it take a lot of time and work and effort to come up with engaging, hands on lessons? Absolutely. Is being an out of the box teacher hard work? Yep. But the rewards are so worth it. Will our kids learn? Will they love learning? Will they enjoy school?I think the answer is yes.Growth mindset connects one’s intelligence to achievement and autonomy in various,positive ways. Thinking of just standard grades, students with growth mindset have an overall grade increase over the time-span of two years in junior high. In contrast, those with a fixed mindset will see a decrease. At this age, students have already set preconceived notions about their intelligence level and their mindset plays such a huge role. If a fixed mindset student enters junior high with the thinking that they are inevitably going to do horribly, then their grades will reflect that. As the chapter explained, these students would explain their grades based on ability.On the other hand, growth mindset students will use the appropriate strategies to always do their best. The chapter explains how even when studying for their tests, these students will look for themes in their notes and go over mistakes until they understand them. Ultimately, individuals with growth mindset will do whatever it takes to get them to a set goal. That is truly what achievement and autonomy mean to me. They don’t rely on anything but themselves and will learn new practices and use whatever strategies in order to reach success.