Growth Mindset

Liz Barrow and Erin Michalak

Clawson Public Schools

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
BTgRLzIitgo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
fviFNrWKzZ8
Famous Failures
 Mindset Quiz Results:
* Strong Growth Mindset 45-60 points
* Growth Mindset with some Fixed 34-44 points
ideas 21-33 points
* Fixed Mindset with some Growth 0-20 points
Impact of a Growth Mindset
The belief that intelligence can be developed leads to
Embracing challenges
Persisting in the face of setbacks
Seeing effort as the path to mastery
Learning from negative feedback
Finding lessons and inspiration in the success or failure of otherso
Impact of a Fixed Mindset
The belief that intelligence is static leads to
Avoiding challenges
Giving up easily
Seeing effort as fruitless
Dismissing and/or feeling attacked by useful negative feedback
Feeling threatened by the success of others
Research on Mindsets

Mindset can predict future achievement

Messages from adults about ability and effort can have a strong
influence on student attitudes and achievement
Students can learn to adopt a growth mindset through explicit
teaching
Students with a growth mindset react differently to critical feedback
Mindset Predicts Achievement
6th grade students divided into 4 groups based on:
Confidence in academic abilities (high, low)
- Prior achievement
Mindset (growth, fixed)
Their 7th grade achievement (grade points) was predicted based on
their 6th grade achievement
Henderson & Dweck, 1990
Mindset Predicts Achievement, cont.
Three Strategies
1. Use effort-based praise
2. Teach a growth mindset
3. Model a growth mindset
 Effects of Praise
Students given a difficult task
Praised for Ability
Enjoyed tasks less
Felt dumb
Didnt want to take school work home Read The Perils and Promises of
Praised for Effort Praise article by Carol Dweck
Enjoyed tasks more
More apt to take school work home
Thought they needed to put forth more effort
 Teaching a Growth Mindset
Have students take a mindset quiz
Share the You Can Grow Your Intelligencearticle with students
Teach students that the brain is a muscle that needs to be
exercised
like other muscles
Videos & Quotes Discussion
FamousFailures: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT4Fu-XDygw
Model a Growth Mindset
Talk aloud about challenges and setbacks youve faced and feedback
or criticism youve received
Demonstrate hearing the fixed mindset voice and talking back to it
Ask students for feedback when youre working with them and then
demonstrate how you use that feedback to change your practice
Provide examples of people with a growth mindset who are famous in
a related field (ie: Einstein, JK Rowling, Michael Jordan)
Beliefs of the Growth Mindset Teacher
You are capable of so much more than you can imagine
I believe in you and your capabilities even if you dont
Everyones unique self is valued and valuable
Failure is ok but you need to stand up after you fall/fail
We will support you as you take risks
Conditions will be set up for you to be challenged. It is
up to you to take responsibility for embracing those
challenges
You can go beyond your self-perceived limits. I might
push you a bit to do so because I believe you can
succeed.
In this class
We can all be successful.
We can all learn from each other.
We will all choose tasks that
challenge us.
We all have different starting
points.
We can all make progress.
www.mindsetworks.com/asses
s
Resources

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Mindsetonline.com
Mindsetworks.com
http://www.mindsetworks.com/assess/ (quiz for
students/teachers)
Motivating Students to Learn by Jere Brophy
Pinterest (Growth Mindset)