Our students will often run from difficulty, so it is our job to push them forward with a growth mindset (Dweck, 2014). Teaching middle school students I often struggle to help them develop a growth mindset. By the time they are sitting in my 8th-grade math classroom, they have had multiple years of math classes, and for many, they have barely scraped by, never passing a STAAR test. They feel defeated and fixed into the mindset that they are just "bad at math", or will simply never "get it". It takes consistent encouragement for me to get my students to be okay with making mistakes and understand that mistakes help us to grow. Seeing that change in my students from a fixed to a growth mindset is amazing, it truly is the reason I teach.
A growth mindset is a powerful tool that we have as educators. As an educator, I need to be aware of when I am viewing situations with a fixed mindset so that I can correct them and be better for my students (Briceño, 2012). Once the educator has a growth mindset then they can adequately influence their students. If we can get our students to have self-confidence in their intelligence, they will rise to our expectations. The power of the simple word "yet" can help to change a student's entire mindset. "Yet" implies a sense of ongoing change and growth that can still occur even after a challenge with continued effort and persistence.
Going forward I have multiple books and videos on my list to help me develop a growth mindset with my students. I plan to continue reading Carol Dweck's book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, to build my personal growth mindset. Another book I am working on reading is Jo Boaler's Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Mathematics, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching.
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Briceño, Eduardo. [TEDx Talks]. (2012, November 18). The Power of belief -- mindset and success | Eduardo Briceño| TEDxManhattanBeach [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc&t=1s
Dweck, Carol. [Stanford Alumni]. (2014, October 9). Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ&t=4s
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