What is a growth mindset?
Growth mindset can be described as the belief that individuals' brains can grow and that they can learn many things. You are not born smart; you grow to become smart.
Children with a growth mindset view challenges with a “can do” attitude, for example “This is hard, but I will try,” and “I can learn how to do this!”.
We can describe the concept of growth mindset to children through the analogy that our brain is like a muscle, similarly to when people lift weights when you exercise your brain it too will become bigger and stronger.
The importance of growth mindset in children:
A growth mindset in children allows them to embrace the challenges they may face, persist through times of difficulty and to learn from their mistakes and feedback provided to them. In doing so, children develop a love for learning and achievement of personal success both inside the classroom and outside in the home and community.
5 key characteristics of a growth mindset:
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Persistence: The individual demonstrates persistence through challenging and difficult tasks.
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Inspired by the success of others: The individual is able to learn from the achievements of others.
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Value the process: The individual understands that the process of learning is just as valuable as the result.
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Learning from criticism and mistakes: The individual is receptive to input and is able to implement feedback to support their understanding.
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Embrace the challenge: The individual is not afraid of challenging themselves and trying new ways of doing things.
5 strategies to foster a growth mindset within our children:
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Praise: Praise your child on the effort and throughout the process rather than just the outcome or results of their work. For example, “I am super proud of how hard you worked on that school project!”.
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Learn from mistakes: Emphasise the importance of learning from their mistakes. Create a safe space for your child to experience mistakes and reflect upon what they learnt from their experiences.
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Foster curiosity: Encourage your child to become curious about experiences and the world by asking open ended questions to allow them to explore and question the “why” and “how.
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Challenge your child: Encourage your child to try something new, even if they may struggle initially.
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Positive self-talk: Encourage the use of positive self-talk as opposed to negative language. For example, “With practice, I can improve” or “I can’t ride a bike yet”.
Resources:
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YouTube: Fantastic Elastic Brain (read aloud book)
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The Grow Your Mind Podcast (a podcast spoken by children for children).
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Grow Your Mind newsletter (free resources).
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Mental health centre for kids (various activities to do with your children)
https://mentalhealthcenterkids.com/blogs/articles/growth-mindset-activities-for-kids