The term ‘growth mindset’ is quite a specific term that has often been misused (and simplified into a set of motivational posters) in some educational settings. I think that the evidence suggests that motivation (and a more helpful mindset) are PRODUCTS of achievement, rather than precedents. This means that they will be more likely to occur if we can find ways to give students a sense of achievement and accomplishment in their work.
Growth mindsets are all about encouraging learners to see ‘intelligence’ as being based on what they do (effort and techniques) rather than who they are (innate abilities).
There are a number of ways to do this, for example by praising effort and techniques e.g. “You have been working hard on your times tables Katie and it shows” instead of praising the child’s abilities e.g. “You are so good at times tables Katie”. With older children you can discuss how the brain grows and changes as we learn new things.
There are also ideas about how to promote growth mindsets in a toolkit which I co-created with school teachers and speech and language therapists. It is aimed at Year 1 students but some ideas may be useful for other settings. You can find it here: https://www.keele.ac.uk/cyp/stokereadsmindsetkit/
In theory! But of course the praise needs to be given out sparingly enough so that it isn’t devalued, and the achievement needs to be seen as difficult enough to be proud of, whilst not too hard to not bother trying! It’s a very difficult balance… that’s why teaching is the most difficult job in the world! If it helps there are some specific summaries of motivation theories relevant to education here… http://psychtutor.weebly.com/motivation-and-education.html
Comments
jamesallen1705 commented on :
So positive reinforcement, praise, good feedback etc. to motivate our students and then they will “grow” as a result?
Mike commented on :
In theory! But of course the praise needs to be given out sparingly enough so that it isn’t devalued, and the achievement needs to be seen as difficult enough to be proud of, whilst not too hard to not bother trying! It’s a very difficult balance… that’s why teaching is the most difficult job in the world! If it helps there are some specific summaries of motivation theories relevant to education here… http://psychtutor.weebly.com/motivation-and-education.html