Cherie Gough
Why to Develop a
GROWTH MINDSET in Kids
Is intelligence something you’re born
with or something that develops? Is failure an opportunity to learn and grow, or something that impedes success? How a parent answers these questions greatly impacts children. Their responses have everything to do with how kids see themselves—how they perceive the ability to improve and learn from mistakes. Over the past decade, educators and psychologists have been researching the effects of words and actions on a child’s problemsolving skills and resilience. The ideology (called “growth mindset”) is very popular in education right now. Here’s what you need to know.
What is Growth Mindset? Carol Dweck, Stanford University psychologist and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, found during her study of children that the most successful kids were those who were open to new approaches to problems
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and willing to continue learning in the face of failure. She labeled this resilience and willingness to overcome obstacles “growth mindset.”
“When we go over the students’ work, I’m not focused on the right or wrong answer. We look at the process that led to the answer and if the answer is wrong, where the understanding broke down. Students become very good at finding their own mistakes and knowing the difference between a careless error and a breakdown in understanding. When you don’t make mistakes, no learning is happening. I believe it is mistakes—and the analysis of those mistakes—that lead to success.” - Amy Jackson, fifth grade teacher, Green Elementary in San Carlos
Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset A fixed mindset is based on the belief that one’s abilities and talents are inherent or natural. Like many of my generation, I grew up with a fixed mindset. “I’m not a math person” runs through my head each time I try to calculate a tip at a restaurant. Why is this a problem? Those who adopt a fixed mindset are more likely to fear failure, give up and create labels for themselves. The idea behind growth mindset is that with practice, the right strategies, and a willingness to learn from mistakes, people can grow to become more intelligent. By adopting a growth mindset, kids see mistakes more as a challenge and don’t mind failure because they realize it’s a path to improvement when they persevere. When parents focus more on a child’s hard work, instead of how smart she is, it fosters growth. Failure doesn’t
