The Power of a Growth Mindset

     The growth mindset is essential because it allows you to reach your full potential by overcoming obstacles and persisting in the face of challenges. The growth mindset helps you realize that learning is not just about reaching your goal but rather the journey to reach your goal. Having a growth mindset is truly the key to success. 
     There are four simple steps outlined by Dr. Carol Dweck to obtain a growth mindset (Dweck, 2006). First, you need to identify your trigger. That trigger is your inner monologue and it can have what's called a fixed mindset. Your inner monologue, otherwise known as your inner voice will be your biggest critic. It will tell you that you cannot do something or you are not good at something. It is critical to identify this voice to obtain a growth mindset. Secondly, you need to determine how to appropriately react to this voice. Make a choice to interpret this voice as a challenge to better yourself and grow in your journey. Do not give in to the fixed mindset that will hold you back from success. Next, you need to talk back! Get sassy with that inner voice and tell it to “hold your…coffee”. Tell yourself that although the challenge may be difficult now, you will make it and grow in the process. Use the word “yet” often! For example, “I do not understand, yet”. Finally, take action and show yourself that you can and will do anything you set your mind to. Working hard and not giving up is the growth mindset. Do not give in and let yourself take the path of least resistance, aka fixed mindset.
     It is important to convey to our students and even colleagues the importance of the message of “yet”. If we use this word and show our growth mindset daily, it will help others around us do the same. We want our students to succeed and our colleagues are also working with these students so we need them to have a growth mindset as well. If we use the growth mindset others will start to develop their growth mindset and be better equipped to recognize their fixed mindset. Teach your students how to stand up to their inner voice and respond back by modeling this behavior out loud and often. Repetition becomes habit and a habit of growth mindset is not a bad habit to have. It will ultimately lead to your students reaching their full potential. 
I use a variety of resources in my classroom to promote the growth mindset. I incorporate these resources into my daily routine every morning. I set aside a 15-minute block every morning to show an engaging piece to my students that promote the growth mindset so it is fresh on their minds as they get ready to take on the day’s challenges. I also showcase visuals in my classroom that promote the growth mindset. These visuals have sentence stems to reword their fixed mindset to a growth mindset.  I also practice and model the growth mindset throughout the day so others around me can develop their own. Children pick up words and the word “yet” is no different. This is a word that we actually want our children to repeat. 
     I model and promote the growth mindset as often as I can and still challenge myself to do it more! This is having a growth mindset. First and foremost to promote the growth mindset I have to create a structural change (Harapnuik, 2019).  This structural change is one that will allow my students to have choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities. By practicing C.O.V.A, I can ensure that my students are able to practice this growth mindset in an environment that allows them to try different strategies and work towards their goals. I also encourage my students to not worry so much about their grades, but rather about their learning. The education system puts too much focus on scores and testing. This does nothing to help students develop a growth mindset. It actually inhibits the growth mindset from flourishing. This goes for both the "failing students" and the "passing students". When a student gets a bad score, they become overwhelmed with a fixed mindset of thinking they are a failure. When a student receives a passing score, they feel like they have passed and are done learning whatever the objective is when in actuality they can always learn more. Grades and scores create a sense of completion. Learning is never complete and there is no finish line to how much we can learn. I also allow my students to make mistakes and encourage them to try different strategies to figure out their mistakes on their own and with peers. By allowing my students to make mistakes and not telling them the steps they took that were wrong after their first attempt, the students are allowed to practice a growth mindset by working their brains. Students do not truly learn if we jump to assist as soon as they make a mistake.
     I will practice the same thing with my colleagues. As we all know, we can get overwhelmed as teachers. It is easy to just complain and refuse to put in the extra effort. Things get hard, and the day is long. However,  I know that if I use the language of a growth mindset, it will encourage others to do the same. Creating a change is heavily relied on by social influence. If someone sees others doing something, that someone will more than likely do the same. People do not want to be the “odd guy out”. Human instinct tells us to follow the crowd. It is essential to show my colleagues that I do not just speak the growth mindset language but I also follow through with it. It is easy to just speak the words and not truly practice the growth mindset. If we are just speaking the language then it is of no benefit to our students. It becomes just words that offer no value. Think of the "Just Say No" campaign. In the end, the campaign did nothing to help curb drug usage among students. That is because it was just words and no action (Gerstein, 2015). 
     In the ADL program, I will continue to practice a growth mindset and learn to embrace the challenges set forth. I know that by doing this it will only better myself so that I can ultimately better my students. This is obviously the optimum goal for an educator. My professor Dr. Dwayne Harapnuik and his colleague, Dr. Tilisa Thibodeaux offer a great explanation of how to truly grow a growth mindset in yourself and others around you. 

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References:
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: the new psychology of success. Choice Reviews Online, 44(04), 44–2397. https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.44-2397

 

Gerstein, J. (2015, September 4). Is “Have a Growth Mindset” the New “Just Say No.” User Generated Education; User Generated Education. https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2015/09/04/is-have-a-growth-mindset-the-new-just-say-no/

Harapnuik, D. (2019, April 6). How to Grow a Growth Mindset. It’s about Learning. https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=7955

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