5 Tips to Develop Growth Mindset in your students

The concept of a growth mindset is pioneered by Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University. The growth mindset has had a huge positive impact in the field of education and slowly rising to the forefront of pedagogy due to recent advances in neuroscience.

In Montessori centers, educators are preparing to not only address learning gaps in students but also drive student engagement and restore self-confidence after many unanticipated changes due to the pandemic. To achieve this objective, the concept of a growth mindset can assist the teachers.

So, what is Growth Mindset?

A growth mindset is a concept in which people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication. People who believe in this concept think that intelligence and talents are just the beginning point. It is largely associated with positive attitudes towards learning – motivation, self-efficacy, less fear of failure, setting achievable learning goals, and appreciation of the available resources. Anyone with an optimistic outlook towards learning can achieve his learning goals without much struggle.

Important Ideas to Develop Growth Mindset in your students:

• The main thing to establish a growth mindset in the La Puente, CA preschool classes is believing and accepting the concept wholeheartedly. As a teacher or parent, you need to take some time to reflect on your attitudes about learning. Is there any subject or activity that you always try to avoid because you are not very confident about it? Someone with a fixed mindset can easily think that if he is not successful in the first attempt, there is no point in putting forth any effort in the future. This type of mental block does not allow people to be open-minded and successful.
• Always encourage your kids to work hard as there is no alternative to it. No one can achieve anything great with some tricks or cleverness. They need to be optimistic and dedicated to the task. Although the growth mindset concept does recognize that all students do not have the same IQ and the ability, acknowledging the work they put forward to learn something new is important. Your appreciation and acknowledgment will instill a sense of positivity in your kids.
• Sometimes, despite giving the full effort, students fail. Take this as an opportunity to help them understand that winning and losing are the unavoidable parts of learning. Failure and mistakes can lead to anxiety, depression, or bad mood especially when they occur in a negative environment. Fear of failure can even stop your students from exploring and trying something new, they feel scared to take any challenges. Let them learn from their mistakes and keep on trying until they achieve their goal.
• Nowadays education has become more and more innovative. So, most Montessori educators try to train their students to become risk-takers so that they do not feel scared to come out of their comfort zone. You should always encourage your kids to explore the space around them. You can also try different teaching methods with your students so that they get the opportunities to explore their full potential.
• According to Childcare experts, formative assessment is an important strategy mainly designed to foster a growth mindset in the classroom. These assessments are helpful to keep track of the students’ progress. Teachers can plan their next classes depending on their performance in the formative assessment. Exit slips, journaling, and there are many other ways to build a feedback loop in the classroom that would foster continuous improvement.

It may sound easy but developing a growth mindset in the classroom requires thoughtful planning and patience.

Walnut Montessori-Preschool Academy offers quality and affordable preschool and daycare services in Walnut, California. We accept infants from six weeks up to Kindergarten.