“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”—Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Several years ago, Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University after years of research, published her groundbreaking book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. In it, she discusses the two types of mindset people have growth or fixed, and how those mindsets affect how individuals deal with challenges in their lives. With a fixed mindset, an individual believes that intelligence is static and cannot be changed and that talent is innate and therefore, effort is not necessary. The growth mindset individual believes that both intelligence and talent can be increased and improved through consistent development and effort. Through her research and study, Dr. Dweck demonstrates how individuals can move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset in order to overcome, as well as be proactive about, challenging situations.
During the course of this current school year, the NVS faculty and staff have been reading Mindset as a group in order to apply her ideas to our own professional practices and to assist our students in becoming more successful. For many of our students, previous unhappy school experiences have led them to believe that they are powerless to make changes in how they learn and how they cope with their individual learning challenges. Those previous experiences, many of which focused on that fixed mindset belief that intelligence and talent are static and cannot be changed and/or are just innate, have caused the creation of unproductive behaviors, such as fear of attempting new tasks and cheating.
To help students (and adults) move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, be aware of the following:
· Focus on sending messages, in words and actions, that let your child know you recognize s/he is developing and you are interested in that development,
· Practice using praise that focuses on the processes, strategies, and/or effort your child is using or used to master a task,
· Use constructive criticism to help your child correct mistakes,
· Help your child set reasonable goals and understand that everyone can make improvements.
While moving from fixed mindset ways of thinking to growth mindset ways of thinking does not happen overnight, it is possible to change thought patterns to those that promote a growth mindset. With consistent reinforcement and support, students can recognize that they do have control over their own learning, can embrace challenges, persist through those challenges, and be inspired by their successes, as well as others’ successes.
