Growth Mindset
Fostering a Growth Mindset
At St John's Junior, we believe in fostering a love of learning that empowers every child to reach their full potential. This is why we cultivate a growth mindset, where challenges are seen as opportunities to learn and grow, and we celebrate "yet" rather than "not yet." . We emphasize effort over simply having the "right" answer, and encourage children to embrace mistakes as stepping stones on their journey. By meeting each child where they are and celebrating their progress, we strive to create a supportive environment, filled with curiosity, where everyone feels comfortable taking risks and furthering their learning.
Carol Dweck: The Effect of Praise on Mindsets
“You’re such a great artist!” “You’re so smart!”
Who would ever imagine that praising a child could be bad? After all, we love our children and want them to have high self-esteem. We want them to go out into the world thinking well of themselves, trusting their abilities, succeeding. But it turns out even well-intended praise for children’s talents and abilities can backfire.
Carol Dweck: The Power of "Yet"
Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field.
parent-growth-mindset-booklet2.pdfBooklet for Parents
This is a booklet for parent by the Great Binfields School in the UK. It is an excellent resource that summarises many of the features of the growth mindset. Well worth having a read.
Helping Your Child Thrive: A Guide to Growth Mindset
What is a Growth Mindset?
Imagine your brain is like a muscle! The more you use it, the stronger it gets. A growth mindset is the belief that your brain can learn and grow with effort. It's all about having a positive attitude towards challenges and seeing mistakes as stepping stones to success.
Why is it Important?
With a growth mindset, your child will:
Love Learning: They'll see learning as an exciting adventure, not just getting the right answer.
Embrace Challenges: They'll view difficulties as opportunities to learn new things and get better.
Learn from Mistakes: They won't be afraid to make mistakes, knowing they can use them to improve.
Keep Trying: They'll be more likely to stick with something even when it gets tough.
How Can You Help?
Here are some ways you can encourage a growth mindset at home:
Focus on Effort: Praise your child's hard work and perseverance, not just the end result.
Celebrate Mistakes: Talk about mistakes as learning opportunities. Say things like, "Wow, that was tricky! What can we try next time?"
Use Growth Mindset Words: Use phrases like "Your brain is getting stronger!" or "Let's figure this out together!"
Challenge Them (the Right Way!): Give your child tasks that are a little bit difficult, but achievable. This helps them build confidence and see how effort leads to improvement.
Remember: Every child learns at their own pace. Our school meets children where they are and helps them grow their brains! By working together, we can create a love of learning that sets your child up for success.
Want to learn more?
Listen to a TED Talk by Carol Dweck on Growth Minset.