MY STUDENTS' TAKE ON GROWTH MINDSET!

I HAVE BEEN TEACHING MY STUDENTS ABOUT WHAT A GROWTH MINDSET IS, HOW IT MIGHT HELP US AS LEARNERS, AND HOW WE MIGHT DEVELOP A GROWTH MINDSET AND PUT AN END TO FIXED MINDSETS! THEY CAME UP WITH SOME FANTASTIC IDEAS- HOW TO DEVELOP A GROWTH MINDSET AT ST JOSEPH'S SCHOOL, EFFECTIVE PRAISE FOR GROWTH MINDSET (BECAUSE WHEN A TEACHER SAYS "GOOD JOB" WHAT DO YOU LEARN FROM THAT??!!) AND HOW TO DEVELOP A GROWTH MINDSET IN MATHS- SINCE THAT IS A LEARNING AREA WHERE YOU SO OFTEN HEAR: "I CAN'T..." I'M SO PROUD OF MY RECEPTIVE AND DEEP THINKING LEARNERS!

 

DEVELOPING A GROWTH MINDSET

AT ST JOSEPH’S SCHOOL

INSTEAD OF THINKING… (FIXED MINDSET)	WE CAN THINK… (GROWTH MINDSET)
I can’t do this	I can achieve success
This is too hard	I’m going to give this my all
I hate maths	I’m going to train my brain to learning in maths
I’m so good at this	I’m going to challenge myself to extend my learning
I’m finished my work	How can I progress even further?
I don’t want to do this	This is difficult, but I can learn and I can succeed
They are so much better/ smarter than me	What can I learn from them to achieve success?

 

 

 

 

EFFECTIVE PRAISE FOR DEVELOPING

 GROWTH MINDSET

YOU HAVE WORKED VERY HARD ON THAT

I CAN SEE YOU HAVE USED DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM

YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK

YOU HAVE BEEN PRACTICING

YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF YOUR HARD WORK

YOU ARE WORKING HARD TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS

YOU ARE WORKING HARD TO MAKE PROGRESS/ IMPROVEMENTS

THAT LOOKS INTERESTING, TELL ME ABOUT THAT

I LIKE THE WAY YOU HAVE…

 

DEVELOPING A GROWTH MINDSET IN MATHS

INSTEAD OF… (FIXED MINDSET)	TRY THINKING… (GROWTH MINDSET)
I can’t do division	I know I can train my brain to learn division
I don’t like fractions	I find fractions challenging but I know I can achieve success
This problem is too hard	This is going to take some time and effort
I don’t get it	I will try a different strategy
I’ll never learn all my times tables	Learning my times tables is challenging but achievable
I’m not good at maths	I learn from my mistakes and look for ways to improve

Here are some of their statements about having a growth mindset;

The blossom tree sparks imagination. To have a growth mindset means to have strong courage in yourself, no matter what, your mind is like a tree- always growing, sprouting, and a new leaf is a new idea sprouting out of your mind.

Brick walls symbolise a fixed mindset, and when you have a fixed mind there are no never-ending ideas, and no courage to get what you need done.   

Harriet, Year 7

 

A growth mindset is like a blossoming tree inside your brain that grows and blossoms, learning more every day.

A fixed mindset is like a brick wall that never changes, grows or blossoms.

Having a growth mindset helps me with my learning, because with a growth mindset, I can learn and become more intelligent, but with a fixed mindset, you stay the same.

Whatever you tell your brain, it thinks it's true, so if you tell your brain, "I can't do it," or, "I don't like it," you have a fixed mindset and you will not get better. But, if you tell your brain, "I'm on the right track," or, "What more can I challenge myself with?", you have a growth mindset and will learn and improve.  

Ellie, Year 6

 

A growth mindset is like a field of wild grass, growing continually, untameable, except through disbelief.

A fixed mindset is like grass trying to grow on a slab of stone- it can't until cracks show and the soils of learning push up through the cracks and the seeds grow and help us learn.  

Joseph, Year 7

A growth mindset helps people to achieve anything they believe they can do. With a fixed mindset, people will achieve extremely little. They stay the same person with the same habits, attitude and personality. If I have a growth mindset, I will be able to set goals which I will achieve.   
Maria, Year 8

A growth mindset helps me achieve success in school work by helping me think about the positives not the negatives, and believe more in myself. It also inspires me to try harder and know there's always a solution to problems.
A growth mindset is also like a car; a car needs petrol to run, and it's like how we need to believe in ourselves more to achieve success in life. It helps us to be proud of what we have achieved, and what we need to work on.
Siva, Year 8