​The learning myth: Why I’ll never tell my son he’s smart.  By Sal Khan.  In this article, Sal Khan discusses some fascinating research about Growth Mindset.  Dr. Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset is based upon the notion of self-perception.  The basic notion that there are two main mindsets, “fixed” and “growth”.  A very common example of a fixed mindset is when we hear a student say “I am not good at math.  My mom says she wasn’t good at math either.”  These students have allowed a fixed mindset to hinder their ability to learn.  Whereas, a student with a growth mindset knows that “capability and intelligence can be grown through effort, struggle and failure.”

Khan makes some great points about growth mindset:
1. Praise the process, not the trait or talent.
2. Our brains are muscles that grow when challenged.
3. Grit, tenacity, perseverance are key to learning.

The notion of grit in education is best described, in my opinion, by Angela Lee Duckworth in her Ted Talk, Grit: The power of passion and perseverance.
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A second related article, Growth Mindset: A Driving Philosophy, Not Just a Tool by ​David Hochheiser.  Discusses the importance of how we, as educators and schools, embrace this mindset.  Hochheiser argues that a growth mindset should be a paradigm or model of how students believe in their abilities, “to become better at being themselves.”  Students improve each day and better themselves by putting forth a strong effort during challenging learning events.

The author continues on to describe the importance of not comparing personal growth to learning outcomes, or specific goals.  In fact, using growth mindset as a pedagogy is counter intuitive because some kids find school very easy and have difficulties once they actually face adversity.  These kids will need to quickly learn what it is to persevere.  Secondly, he iterates the importance of “applauding the processes along the way” as some students take great learning strides and are yet to meet “grade level” expectations.

5 Growth Mindset Practices to implement from the book, Professional Learning Communities at Work, by Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker.

1. Being humble enough to accept that there are things about ourselves and our practices that can improve
2. Becoming part of professional teams that value constructive critique instead of criticism
3. Treating setbacks as formative struggles within the learning process instead of summative failures
4. Realizing the restrictive role that timelines can play in reaching high standards, and using foundational philosophies such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to map systems so that everyone’s growth is supported
5. Create flexible grouping at all times so that nobody’s trapped in any one course level or particular type of work.

How do you encourage a growth mindset in your school or classroom?