A growth mindset means believing in our abilities, including intelligence, primarily due to time, effort, and practice. The interpretation is that no matter where a person is now, they can continually improve with effort, good strategies, and a lot of practice.
Instilling the belief of a growth mindset in a student at an early age is very crucial for their future. When it comes to maximizing student potential and catapulting them to success, research has shown that one of the most crucial foundations of all of that comes from a student’s mindset.
This article will talk about the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset in students and points in securing the development of the growth mindset of the students in the classroom. It also includes a list of the best schools in Uppal, the best schools in Hyderabad, and the best schools in Tarnaka.
Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset in Students
Mindsets can be divided into two types – one that embraces difficulties as opportunities to learn and one that avoids difficulties out of fear of failure. People that see difficulties as challenges and opportunities to discover have a growth mindset and people that run away from problems have a fixed mindset.
During a class discussion, try filling out an anchor box by giving an example of a set mindset and developing some growth mindset options to replace it. Alternatively, provide individual students or groups with paper strips strewn with examples of both types of sentences and ask them to classify the sentences into the “Growth” and “Solid” columns.
• Fixed Mindset in Students – Students with a fixed mindset may believe that intelligence, skills, and talents are innate, which cannot be developed. Because of this reason, they may be disinterested in studies and resist improvement.
• Growth Mindset in Students – Students having a growth mindset believe that they can improve their skills through effort and practice. They trust that skills and talents are not innate, but they are something that has to be worked upon to improve.
Also read: Choose Best School in Hyderabad
How to aid students in developing a growth mindset
By making simple changes in the school, educators can foster an environment where students develop a growth mindset that can positively impact learning. The question now becomes – ‘How to instill a sense of growth mindset in the classroom?’. Here are some tips that answer the above question.
1. Adopt a ‘growth mindset’ language in the classroom
Use positive phrases for the effort of learning by the students. Instead of using the term ‘failing’, use the term ‘learning’. If a student is struggling with a task, don’t tell them to ‘try harder’, tell them they haven’t mastered the task yet. By using mindset phrases for growth, instead of fixed mindset phrases, students discover that mastering a specific skill or task comes through hard work and effort. They learn that their success is in their control and if they work hard enough, they will achieve it.
2. Avoid praising perceptiveness
Instead of praising the intelligence of a student, praise the effort they put in to complete a specific task. Praising a student’s intelligence instills a fixed mindset as it gives them the idea that intelligence is something that someone is born with. Instead, commend their efforts and strategies. Admire their hard work and place a greater emphasis on the learning process than on talent and intelligence.
3. Maintain success files
Ask students to maintain success files for the year. This folder will contain their achievements of the year. Every week or month, ask students to add successful learning to their file. This can include the summaries of their projects, strategies they learned while doing that task, assignments or tests they performed well, etc. Then, at the start of every week, ask them to go through this file to instill a sense of achievement and growth throughout the year.
4. Normalize struggle
The struggle is a part of the learning and developing process. Normalize struggle while making a project or doing a task. If students are facing difficulty in doing a particular task, don’t discourage them. Instead, tell them what strategies they can use to complete that project. Tell them to work hard and use their knowledge to achieve the goal.
Best Schools in Uppal and Hyderabad
Here is a list of some of the best schools in Uppal –
- Global Indian International School
- Johnson Grammar School
- Little Flower School
- Camritz Global School
With the best schools in Hyderabad implementing simple tasks and providing students with the opportunity to develop the skills they need to tackle challenges head-on, they are helping students gain confidence in their academic journey. Along with it creating an environment that fosters a state of mind and the spirit of growth.
Also read: CBSE Exam Preparation
