Growth Mindset

A few mind-shifting tips for cultivating a Growth Mindset at home:

Help children reconnect with a time when they learned something new that was a stretch or a challenge.

Point out the developmental nature of getting good; we all go through the process of making a lot of mistakes, practising, and then getting better.

Help children get curious about mistakes.

Help them reframe a mistake as new information or as a step in the process of learning. In addition, help them incorporate self-correction in their own learning process.

Help children learn to hear their own fixed mindset voice.

Capture and, in a gentle and appropriate way, share their statements with them; most children are unaware of this self-talk because it has gone on so long and is subliminal.

• That guy is brilliant; he never tries and he gets it
• I got it wrong again, I’ll never get this

Help children talk back to negative self-talk with a growth mindset voice (i.e. give them language).

•  I am willing to learn new skills to improve, and I know it will be hard at times
• I get better and better with practice, this is hard but will get easier

Model growth mindset at the table

• At dinner: Tell your child about a time when you didn’t know the answer to a recent question. Who did you ask for help? How did you learn the answer?
• At breakfast: Ask questions about their opportunities for learning and growth in the coming day or week. What questions do they need answers to? What do they want to learn, practice, and/or get better at today/this week?

Avoid labels and give growth-mindset praise

• Don’t label yourself in ways that model a fixed mindset ( I’m a terrible cook….I was never good at maths)
• Shift your child’s attention to the process that led to the outcome. (i.e., cause-effect)
• Praise and value effort, practice, self-correction, and persistence.
• Don’t shelter your child from a failed task. Ask “What can you learn from this experience? What could you try differently the next time?”

Get curious about your child’s work through questioning

• How did you figure that out?
• What’s another way you could have done that?
• How many times did you try before it turned out that way?
• What here was challenging and how did you figure it out?
• What do you plan to do next time?

Read more about Growth Mindset on Carol Dweck's blog: https://fs.blog/carol-dweck-mindset/