How teachers can help students to form a Growth Mindset in the classroom
A word that is heard quite commonly is ‘mindset ‘. Mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation. A growth mindset towards learning is now considered as important as the academic knowledge itself whether at school or at the workplace.
Research shows that a growth mindset towards learning helps students to understand that their abilities can be developed over time through effort and persistence. On the other hand, people with a fixed mindset believe that abilities are fixed and are present when you are born. They cannot be developed or improved further.
When a child has a growth mindset, they tend to have a hunger for learning and a desire to work hard and discover new things. This often translates into academic achievement. On the other hand, those with fixed mindsets are more likely to give up in the face of challenging circumstances.
How are these mindsets formed in the first place? One of the main causes is found to be praising and labeling often in early childhood at home, school or in public interactions. Thus, parents and teachers can make a significant impact in the formation of mindset in students.
A few pointers on how we can make a difference as teachers in formation of a growth mindset:
Teach the students about brain neuroplasticity which is the ability of the brain to form new neural connections in response to challenges or new experiences. Students will be more interested in learning when they know that they can remodel their own brain during study and drill. A very useful teaching resource in this direction is the 3-D brain map sourced from the Open Colleges website. Students can click on various parts of the brain model and learn about different parts and their functions. The brain map also provides options for accelerating learning by providing case studies.
“Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and
learn. Keep on going.” – Carol Dweck
Mistakes and Failure from the students are to be normalized and not criticized. As children grow, they become more and more reluctant to commit any mistake due to the fear of failure. Only if they commit mistakes will they learn. Encourage students to openly discuss their failures and learn from them.
Practice positive self – talk and reframe language during communication and feedback. A teacher must add the golden word “yet” if any student says “I am not good at math”. “Not yet”, the teacher must add so that students understand skills are modifiable. Teaching students how to use positive self-talk helps them develop the confidence and essential skills necessary to be successful in scientific challenges and investigations.
Therefore, as a teacher, the next time a student struggles we must consciously use a growth mindset to encourage and help that student to find a different way of thinking.
“More and more research is suggesting that, far from being simply encoded in the genes, much of personality is a flexible and dynamic thing that changes over the lifespan and is shaped by experience.” – Carol Dweck.
Ms. Preethi C
High School Math Teacher
The buzz in our campuses -June 2022
Ekya BTM - The electric campus
Joy, laughter, happiness, colour and energy - these are the words that define the atmosphere at Ekya’s BTM campus. On the first day of school, as the teachers prepared to welcome students to their classrooms in open arms, the excitement was palpable.
Now, the wait for classrooms and corridors longing for the sights and sounds of children is complete. Boards inviting students to their classes, books filled with knowledge, chalks describing complexities and stationary documenting the experience; the little things that the students have missed are all back. Smartphones and televisions are joyfully traded for school bags and lunches with their friends. With so much to share, the only commodity we are short of is time.
Reminiscent of all the classes they have been through with us, I rejoice as I see our students walking down the corridors enveloped in a world of learning with their friends. There are seldom finer moments of felicity when students ask me, ‘Ma’am, do you remember me?’. The sparkle in their eyes reminds me of years past, as I reminisce about their growth in school. With students in Montessori asking for homework, I am ecstatic about the efforts our teachers have put in to develop our students.
With a euphoric sense of achievement, we in Ekya are walking into a year filled with optimism, filled with hope and most importantly filled with energy!
BACK TO OFFLINE SCHOOL
Teacher: “Sam, can you please turn on your video?”
And that’s how our two years have passed. Years 2020 and 2021 have been a challenge for the entire universe. As the memories continue to haunt us, the education sector was one area that was severely affected by the pandemic.
Today, after two long years, when the school gates have finally opened to welcome children, our effort has increased by two fold. The sanitiser station continues to be present at every corner of the school, everyone at school continues to wear a mask and take precautions when we are under the weather.
While we are excited to see the happy faces of our children, we are duly aware of the times they have missed being around their friends. Several ice breaking activities have been included to help children overcome their social bubble and get acquainted with the physical school environment.
Online teaching has not only compelled us within four walls, it has also given us ample learning strategies which we have carried over to the offline platform. Presentations, study-videos, visual imageries- have been beneficial in honing the speaking and logic and reasoning skills of students. While the threat of the virus continues to scare us, we, while holding the hands of our children, continue to bridge every gap, onward and forward.
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