View this material in a Google Doc: The Power of Believing That You Can Improve
Objective: To understand the importance of creating a growth mindset and develop growth mindset practices within a remote and hybrid learning environment.
The estimated time for this activity is 25–35 minutes.
Watch This Video
“Instead of luxuriating in the power of yet, they were gripped in the tyranny of now.”
— Carol Dweck
In the NYSED’s Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework, the second principle is high expectations and rigorous instruction. The bullet below is part of the student expectations for this principle (p. 21):
- Develop or sustain the mindset that having high expectations means caring about more than just a grade, but also personal growth and character development.
Take a moment to watch the video “The Power of Believing That You Can Improve” by Carol Dweck. In it, she describes the implications of developing a growth mindset in students when faced with difficulty and challenges. Research suggests that mindset, whether fixed or growth, can influence how one experiences school and handles adversity.
Stop and Think
(Key: T — Teachers, SL — School Leaders, DL — District Leaders)
Directions: After viewing Carol Dweck’s video on “The Power of Believing You Can Improve,” reflect on the following questions.
- What implications does Dweck’s research have on how teacher language can impact motivation and risk taking, particularly for traditionally marginalized groups of students? (T, SL, DL)
- In what ways do you demonstrate a growth mindset in your classroom/school practices? What are the motivators behind this mindset? (T, SL)
- In what ways are you challenged to exercise a growth mindset within your practice or with one or more of your students? What are some possible triggers? (T, SL, DL)
- How can you specifically model your own efforts to practice growth mindset before students in a remote or hybrid learning environment? (T)
- How can schools support teachers in developing and implementing a culture of growth mindset? What practices can be adopted or created? (SL, DL)
Brainstorm and Design
Educators have the ability to create environments that serve as mirrors where students can see their strengths and help them to recognize that they are capable of high achievement. The strengths you affirm and see in your students matter, and it is important that they recognize their strengths, accomplishments, and progress as well. Create a virtual Growth Center that allows students to participate in various challenges and activities. Then, have students self-reflect, monitor progress, and celebrate their growth along the way. Here are a few ideas to consider:
- Create a virtual gallery or slideshow of motivational pictures or quotes. Allow students to choose one for the week to keep them motivated and encouraged.
- At the end of the week, students can record their insights on how their motivational picture or quote helped motivate them.
- In your virtual Growth Center, link exercises for meditation and mindfulness on sites or apps such as GoNoodle or Smiling Mind. Mindfulness and breathing has been shown to provide clarity and aid in productivity while reducing feelings of anxiety and stress.
- Have students post daily tips for dealing with challenges or have students create a shared protocol or strategy for what to do when faced with a challenge.
- Post a daily challenge in your Growth Center with games or brain teasers, such as Prodigy Games, that students can choose from and use to practice perseverance. Afterward, use a digital whiteboard or collaborative document to have students to reflect on the activity.
- Crafts such as origami require students to focus on a task, follow a series of directions, and assess progress along the way. In your Growth Center, link how-to videos of rigorous activities that students can tackle.
Include links to music or videos that reflect a diversity of voices with motivational messages of achievement and growth.