“I’m not going to give up, Ms. Laura – if I keep practicing, I’ll get it!” What teacher doesn’t want to hear quotes like that from students? I am here to tell you, creating a growth mindset classroom environment really does work. There are so many growth mindset activities we can do to help our students improve their mindset and thrive.
Looking for the best growth mindset classroom ideas? Read on to learn the what, why, and how of all things growth mindset in the classroom!
Click to jump to…
- Why Growth Mindset For Students?
- Best Practices For Growth Mindset In The Classroom
- Growth Mindset Classroom Ideas
- Growth Mindset Classroom Activities
Why Growth Mindset For Students?
Using growth mindset in your classroom can be such a gift for your students. Growth mindset has been gaining momentum as an important tool for learning, and it’s valuable to people of all ages.
But did you know that even the developers of growth mindset were hoping it would be applied classroom learning? Carol Dweck, who first introduced growth mindset, has done several studies with classroom-aged children to find out if it can help students improve academically.
And guess what? It can. Read on for some growth mindset classroom inspiration you can start implementing tomorrow!
Best Practices For Growth Mindset In the Classroom
So how can we use the power of growth mindset for students? There are a few important tips to keep in mind as you start using these growth mindset classroom ideas.
- Growth mindset isn’t a one and done deal. For it to truly be effective, the principles need to be reviewed often. So finding ways to make growth mindset an integral part of your classroom is important. This can be done by weaving growth mindset into classroom routines, displays, and even the language you use. More on this further down the post.
- Want to know one of the number one factors in determining the success of growth mindset? If teachers have a growth mindset view of their students. Let that sink in for a moment… If we believe our students can reach higher levels of learning, they have a much better chance of doing so. So the way we talk about and even think about our students matters. A lot.
- Growth mindset takes explicit instruction. I think a lot of times, social emotional learning gets put to the wayside because we have so much to teach. But we need to set aside time to teach these strategies, allow students to practice, and then review them. (That’s why I created this Growth Mindset Curriculum!)
Growth Mindset Classroom Ideas
So how can we use growth mindset in the classroom? Ideally, we are weaving growth mindset principles into our classroom every day. And this doesn’t have to be hard!
Here are some of my favorite ways to create a growth mindset classroom:
1. Teach Fixed Mindset Versus Growth Mindset
If you’re trying to create a growth mindset classroom, this is a great place to start. Introduce this language into your classroom, and then use it repeatedly. This can help students start to notice their own thoughts, which is a huge part of being able to apply a growth mindset.
Easy ways to use these terms again and again in your classroom:
- Modeling: You can find times to say to your class “I was just thinking, this is going to be soooo hard. And then I realized – that’s a fixed mindset! Instead, I’m going to tell myself, it might feel hard at first, but if I keep trying it will get easier!”
- Reading Books: Whenever you’re reading aloud to your class, you can stop and notice when characters have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. Ask students to do this too!
- Notice Your Students: Whenever you hear a student saying something that reflects a growth mindset, celebrate it! Privately compliment them, or announce it to the whole class if they would be comfortable with that.
2. Use the Word “YET”
This simple word can be such an easy way to help students to latch onto the idea of growth mindset. Basically, instead of saying “I can’t do this” or “I don’t understand this”, students practice adding YET to the end… “I can’t do this YET” or “I don’t understand this YET”.
This can become an ongoing growth mindset classroom activity to enjoy. Students will have fun catching themselves and calling out “I mean… I can’t do it YET!” Encourage these types of comments, which help keep this growth mindset work playful.
You can also create a YET display in your classroom to help remind students of this powerful word. Students can post goals they’re currently working on the display. Or, you can let students add a sticker to the chart every time they use the word YET when they’re describing their own learning.
You can get this YET Crown for FREE right here!
3. Talk About Easy Versus Hard
Did you know that even the words “easy” and “hard” can be very charged for children? There’s nothing worse than when you’re struggling over a math problem and the person next to you says “Boy, this is so easy!”
One of the best growth mindset classroom lessons we can teach our students is that things will feel easy and hard at different times, and that’s okay. In fact, everyone will differently about different tasks. What’s hard to you might be easy for someone else, and something that’s hard for them might be easy for you.
It’s also helpful to point out to students that there are so many things that used to feel hard that are now easy for them. When they really stop to think about the number of things that they can do without difficulty now, the list goes on and on.
For example…
- Walking! I bet it took them a LOT of practice to walk, and now they can do it no problem. (Obviously, if you have students with disabilities, you’ll need to take that into consideration when having these conversations.)
- The ABCs. Chances are, they got it wrong a lot of times when they were little, but now they know their ABCs backwards and forwards.
- Brushing their teeth. They used to have to have a grown up do this for them, but not anymore!
You see you can have fun with that – help them think of all the games, routines, and physical abilities that they have mastered over the years.
4. Practice Positive Self-Talk
Helping students speak encouragingly to themselves can help them build the tools to face challenges independently. Part of a creating a growth mindset classroom is helping foster a positive and encouraging environment. But we want students to grow more and more independent with cheering themselves on.
Here are a few ways to help students get in the habit of fueling themselves with positive words:
- Model it for them. Coach yourself using positive statements so they can see what it looks like in action. You might feel silly, but it will encourage your students to dive in.
- Read books where characters learn to speak positively to themselves. I put together a list of my favorite growth mindset read alouds right here.
- Brainstorm together as a class to come up with positive phrases that students could say to themselves when they feel frustrated or challenged. Post these somewhere visible in the classroom for students to refer to.
5. Practice Setting Goals
Setting goals may sound like a simple growth mindset classroom activity. But the truth is, there is more to goal-setting than we typically think.
While setting goals is a wonderful way to practice growth mindset and perseverance, it’s important to help our students understand what goes into making goals. When you set goals with your students, try talking about these key points:
- Type of goals: We have goals in all areas of our life, and they are all important. Encourage students to think about personal goals, academic goals, fun goals, athletic goals, financial goals, friendship goals… the possibilities are so much!
- Difficulty levels goals: Not all goals are created equal. It’s important to discuss the possible challenges around goals, so that students aren’t setting themselves up for failure or frustration. On the flip side, we want to encourage students not to make goals that are too easy for them.
- Checking back in: It’s easy to set a goal and then forget all about it. If you do goal-setting with your students, make sure you circle back and have a time to reflect on the goals and the progress that students have made.
Growth Mindset Classroom Activities
I hope these growth mindset classroom ideas have given you some inspiration to try out some growth mindset activities with your students. Don’t be afraid to jump right in and see how it goes – after all, you deserve to give yourself a growth mindset attitude as well!
If you want more activity ideas, check out my blog post 10 Growth Mindset For Kids Activities Your Students Will Love.
What growth mindset classroom idea are you going to try out? Let me know in the comments! xoxo Laura
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