What was the biggest challenge you faced today?How can you think about these challenges in a new way?
What can we do differently tomorrow if we face similar challenges?
Research conducted by Carol Dweck has found that children who believe that their brain could grow did better in school, and in life. Behind mindset is a simple idea that makes all the difference - everyone needs to work and put it in effort. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and engagement in the worlds of business, education, and sport.
Mindset explains why brains and talent do not bring success. Having fixed mindset about your intelligence or talent can stand in the way of developing your skills.
The idea behind growth mindset might be simple but it is important to allow children time to develop their mindset. In a growth mindset, children believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work, Everyone needs to work on stretching their brain power. Everyone can rewire their brain. But it is not enough to simple tell children that they "should" have a growth mindset. Supporting and encouraging children to come to their own decisions takes time.
Growth mindset has become a buzz word but like many great ideas, children are not always taught about mindset in a fruitful way.
"They are just telling kids to try hard: which I call nagging, not growth mindset. Or they are just saying 'hey kids, have a growth mindset'.
"They are still worried about the child making mistakes and glossing over them." The focus is not on making children feel great about themselves rather it is "a tool for learning and improvement".A way to encourage children to reflect and grow in their ideas about their mindset is to ask questions. Question asking is increasingly recognised as an important part of learning. The focus should be more on allowing children to reflect and ask question than on providing an answer.With this in mind I make a Growth Mindset Booklet, which also includes a banner with cool Pelicans & Pelicants' as well as pages where children can fill in their ideas.
