Hi, teacher friends!
Over
my years of teaching, I have come across several students who firmly believed
that they were stupid if they made mistakes, that they
were not
good enough when
faced with a challenge, and that they would never understand, so why try. Of course I
spoke with students, referred many to our guidance counselor and had parent
conferences. But year after year, there was always one student who I just couldn't reach. I never new how to fight back against those negative
beliefs, but then I learned about Growth Mindset. I was so
excited, that I
created posters, activities, and a bulletin board set to use with my students each year.
I not only teach Fixed vs. Growth Mindset, but I also use
Brag Tags with my 5th graders. I purchased and downloaded many freebies and have been using
both with fidelity since the first day of school. (Tags that I use are perseverance, empathy, etc.) My
students LOVE it!
In the past I have had students hang their brag tags on a chain, and then hang them off of clips on the wall... this took up way to much space. So thinking outside of the box is what we teachers do, right? One small wooden pasta drying rack over near my Growth Mindset bulletin board, and done!!!
So much easier! I put three of my favorite posters on the bulletin board along with their growth mindset writing. This way every time
they line up or put a brag tag on their necklace they are reading these posters:
1.) Mistakes are proof that you are
trying. Never Give Up!2.) I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work. ~Albert Einstein
3.) I will persist until I succeed. Keep trying.
How I Teach Growth Mindset to My Students
The first thing I teach my students
is that their brain is always growing and that challenges are actually good
for them. I ask students if they have any baby brothers or sisters.
(Many will raise their hands.) I inquire if their baby brothers and
sisters were born knowing how to walk. Then we have a conversation about
how it is difficult for a baby to learn to walk. They often tell stories about
siblings falling over and over and laughing each time they fall, but they
always get up. We discuss that this is challenging for their baby
brothers and sisters, but with practice they got better... and how their
brain goes through growth every time they learn something new.
Next, I ask students to share a
time they were learning something new. Something that they really wanted
to learn, but was frustrating for them. The key to this, not only do I
want them to share something that used to be challenging for them to learn...
but that now they feel that they were experts at it. I lead them
to discuss that they practiced and practiced and practiced some more. That they didn't give up. Their mindset allowed them to learn ride
a bike, learn to skateboard, learn to dance, etc. That this is
called a growth mindset, and I explain to them them that they are going to learn the
difference between a fixed and a growth mindset this year.
I teach growth mindset vs. fixed mindset all year through discussions of perseverance, the various writing activities I created, and with the brag tags.
How do you teach growth mindset? Please share in the comments section below.
I look forward to reading your ideas,
