How can Teachers promote a Growth Mindset in the Classroom

Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is a mindset of increasing the intelligence levels, productivity, abilities of an individual or an organization. Introducing a growth mindset in the classroom is one of the most important skills that should be implemented and it can add great value to the overall personality of a student. A student can develop a growth mindset with regular practice and effort and it can lead to lifelong success. 

Fostering a growth mindset is not easy for teachers since it is completely new for the students and it can time and effort for the teacher to introduce a growth mindset in the classroom. However, a teacher can use certain strategies which will help them promote a growth mindset in the classroom. Some strategies and techniques for promoting a growth mindset for teachers are given below.


Teach the Benefits of Challenges

Normalizing the challenges can be helpful for the students. A teacher can explain to the students the value and benefits of challenges to students and it could develop a growth mindset in students when they know how various challenges can help them in their lives and teach them various life lessons. The teacher can teach students how the brain progresses when we face and compete for various challenges and difficult situations.  As the students face challenges and see the positive results, the urge to face difficulties arises and hence promotes the growth mindset in the classroom.


 Learning from Failures

Failures are constant in everyone's life but people often get disturbed after a failure that prevents them from thinking positively. A teacher should normalize failure in front of students and ask them to learn from failures instead of getting demotivated from them. A teacher should teach the students how failure can be someone’s best teacher, not only our failure but failures of others also teach us many things. Teaching the class about how one can learn from failures can be very helpful in developing a growth mindset in the classroom.


 Introducing One-to-One Learning

Introducing one-to-one learning in the classroom can help students in developing a growth mindset in students. One-to-one learning allows the students to work together and teaches them to be the speaker as well as the listener and hence learn many things from each other. One-to-one learning helps a student to know different perceptions of different students and promotes a growth mindset in the classroom.


Reward for Success

A teacher should reward the students for performing the tasks positively. It can increase the engagement of the students and motivate them to do the task with interest. A verbal phrase can be very helpful for a student doing hard work and doing many efforts for his assigned tasks. A reward for the effort can be very motivating for the students and help in developing a growth mindset in the classroom. 


Reading Non-Academic Books

A teacher should promote reading fictional, biographies, non-academic books in the classroom as it can promote a growth mindset in the classroom. A student should be comfortable with topics that are not even related to academics like philosophy, psychology, and so on as it develops the growth mindset of students and helps students explore every concept. The teacher can recommend different books and can even gift books to students on special occasions like birthdays. The teacher can recommend the biography of someone who has achieved success after a lot of struggles in their lives, like the biography of Nelson Mandela,  which can help students to have a learning and growth mindset.


Goal-Based Journaling

Teachers should promote goal-based journaling in the classroom as it is a great habit for anyone that can develop a growth mindset in the classroom. The teacher should teach students how they can set goals for themselves, how they can select their short-term as well as long-term goals and implement them honestly. 


Reforming Co-Operative Activities 

The teacher can arrange different group activities in the classroom by which students can learn new things from each other and a student can learn many important things like communication skills, the art of listening and so on from such activities. A teacher can ask every student to showcase their talents in front of the class and can ask a group of students to rehearse and perform a play. Such activities can open up students’ minds and help in promoting a growth mindset in the classroom.


Avoid Simplifying Task

Teachers should promote hard work in the classroom as it can be really helpful for the students if they become hardworking at an early age. A teacher should not simplify the tasks for students as it can make them weak and when the difficult tasks come in front of them, they tend to not do that as they would build the habit of doing only simple tasks. The students should be comfortable with difficult situations and it can help to promote a growth mindset in the classroom.


Contributed by:
Kevin