Growth Mindset Information and Resources
At Moreland Primary School Growth Mindset is very important and links to our Thinking School Approach.
The following gives you more information about Growth Mindset.
To help develop our Growth Mindset, we are using Guy Claxton's Building Learning Power alongside Carol Dwek's approach. Carol Dweck believes that it's not just our abilities or talent that bring us success but whether we approach our goals with a fixed or growth mindset. With the right mindset, children can be motivated to reach their goals.
Children who have a ‘growth mindset’ will try new things, persevere when times are difficult and learn from their mistakes. They solve problems and communicate their thoughts and ideas.
Children with a ‘fixed mindset’ will not rise to a challenge and may be worried about making mistakes.
Through the use of our Moreland Magnificent Eight Learning Powers, our children become aware of not just what they learn but also how they learn.
Try thinking about these questions…
- How do you like to learn?
- When do you feel clever?
- When do you feel less than clever?
How you answer these questions will give an indication of which mindset you have - but don’t worry as you can change your mindset and grow your brain…
One of the significant ways to change your mindset is to change your words. Here are some examples which can be used both in school and at home…
I’ll never be as smart as him / her |
I’m going to figure out what he / she does and try it |
I give up |
I’ll use some of the strategies I’ve learned |
I’m awesome at this! |
I’m on the right track |
It’s good enough |
What am I missing? |
I’m not good at this |
I can always improve – I’ll keep trying |
I made a mistake |
Mistakes help me improve |
This is too hard |
This may take some time and some effort |
I can’t do maths, spelling, Science, anything! |
I’m going to train my brain to learn |
I can’t make this any better |
Is this really my best work? |
As our children learn about mindset and how to be effective learners, we hope that they learn skills that they can employ in their academic work as well as life outside of school. Don’t be surprised if you start to hear you child coming home and using the power of yet!...
Did you know that in the world today, there are some very high profile failures!...
Do you know who was told that they couldn't work in the TV industry because they lacked creativity and imagination?
It was Walt Disney!
Growth Mindset for students - Episode 1/5
Episode 1: A Secret about the Brain Visit
Critique and feedback - the story of Austin's butterfly - Ron Berger
The best way to explain a growth mindset is to spend some time watching the video of Austin's Butterfly below. This is a video that we share and talk about a lot at school. It demonstrates the perfect approach to learning where children see themselves as teachers and they learn from their mistakes. Learning hould be visible and all children should know that we can always grow our brain.