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No-prep interactive lessons on social, emotional, and mental health for teachers & parents
GROWTH MINDSET:
How to Introduce the Topic to Kids
INTRO
To teach what growth mindset is, let me first explain what the opposite is—a fixed mindset. I can sum it up in one word:
Labels
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When I first started teaching special education, I noticed nearly all my students came into my classroom with a label that they believed with all their hearts—the label of "dumb." They were "dumb" and they always would be. They felt this label was permanent and so they avoided doing anything hard. After all, what was the point if they were just dumb and that was that?
It might seem obvious that the label "dumb" could hurt a child, but what about a positive label like smart? Do kids with a "smart" label benefit?
Surprisingly, no. The label of "smart" can also hurt a child, because just like the label of dumb, it feels like something that you're either born with or you're not. Many children labeled "smart" also avoid doing hard things. Why? They want to retain their "smart" label, and so avoid doing hard things that might expose them as not being smart after all.
What both sets of kids who embrace labels believe is that they are born with fixed, unchangeable traits. They believe you either have it or you don't, and there's not much they can do about it. This message is so ingrained in our society. We praise prodigies, we praise people who appear to do things effortlessly, we praise natural talent. We often praise things that aren't in someone's control—and so it's difficult for some kids to realize they aren't simply a result of the genes they were born with. They actually have some say—quite a lot of say—in how smart they become, how successful they are, and how much they accomplish.
HOW TO TEACH
1) We aren't born smart. We only become smart by doing hard things.
Explain that we aren't born smart. The only way to get smart is to do hard things. I compare this to a physical skill like a baby learning to walk. It starts out hard, but then gets easier.
I then teach that it works the same with brains. When you learn hard things, your brain grows.
2) Your brain does not grow if you only do easy things.
Kids often think it's good if something is easy for them. It must mean they are smart! I try to challenge this view by teaching them that if everything is easy for them, their brain is bored. If their work is too easy, they aren't growing their brains.
3) Your brain does not grow if quit too soon.
Another thing that gets in the way of growing your brain is if you quit too soon. It helps to provide a personal example in your life of something that started out difficult for you, but ended up becoming easy.
4) Your brain does not grow if someone tells you answer before you have time to think.
Teaching this serves two purposes- it helps kids feel okay if it takes them longer to figure out a problem, because they know it means their brain is growing. I promise you, your students will latch onto this idea of doing hard things so their brain will grow. It also helps you as a teacher give an explanation to that "one kid" about why they shouldn't shout out answers immediately.
5) Hard can be FUN!
This is the fun part of the lesson. Show kids that doing hard things can actually be fun. Think of a really simple (but boring) thing for them solve, and then something more challenging like the example I use in my PowerPoint below:
Then prompt them with a question about which one was harder, which one took longer, and which one was more fun?
6) Mistakes can be good!
This concept is the big game changer in my classes. Most kids avoid showing their mistakes and failures, especially kids in special education who don't want to expose their "dumb" label to everyone. Kids believe not making mistakes means they are smart. I try to shift them from this mindset to the idea that if they aren't making mistakes, it must mean they aren't doing hard things and their brain isn't growing.
I can't tell you how big of an impact this concept has on kids! They start to see that making mistakes is a natural part of growing their brains. If I introduce a concept and everyone understands it really easily, I don't say, "Wow you're all so smart!" I say, "I guess we need to do something harder so your brains will grow!"
7) Recognizing and explaining why you made a mistake is when your brain grows the most.
Explain that finding and fixing mistakes is one of the best ways to grow your brain. In my class we go through some examples of common mistakes and have the students find the mistake and then explain why the mistake was likely made.
The goal is to get kids to think it's actually "cool" to acknowledge their mistakes, and even be willing to talk about and explain the reason behind their mistakes to the class. My students know I am most proud of them when they do this, much more than if they never made any mistakes. After learning this, and with me emphasizing how mistakes mean you're doing hard things, many of my students have transformed from not willing to do anything the might fail at, to getting up in front of class and showing a mistake they made and corrected.
KEEP IN MIND...
Carol Dweck's book "Mindset" has taught me so much and one of the biggest takeaways is to praise effort rather than intelligence. Praise what is in the child's control, not what isn't. If you only praise how smart a student is, it can actually encouraged a fixed mindset. If you praise how much effort a child is putting in, or praise the attitude they have, this helps them see they have a lot of control over how successful they become and encourages a growth mindset.
I highly recommend reading Carol Dweck's book. It changed my teaching, transformed my classroom, and it helped my personal life. It's a book I know I will re-read many times.
If you use any of these tips to introduce growth mindset, please let me know how it goes!
-Eve