How the growth mindset is a powerful form of pedagogy

Camilia Ghajar, Biology Teacher at ICS London, explains the difference between the "growth" and the "fixed" mindsets and how a growth mindset can be a powerful form of pedagogy.

Sometimes I like to play a game at the end of our silent reading sessions called ‘30 second book review’. Recently, one student’s mini-review inspired me to write this article.

The student gave a charming and motivational review about You Are Awesome, by Matthew Syed. The principles of the growth mindset underpin the book and examples of successful people, from Mozart to Serena Williams, are used to show that the power of self-belief, determination and practice can help you achieve anything (Syed and Totriumph). I praised this student for a) giving an excellent book review, but above all for b) having the courage to believe that they could do anything they put their mind to. It is this way of thinking that generates successful students and they should be praised for having the drive to learn, not for having a perfect exam result (as mistakes and challenges are necessary for progress [Hamblin]). 

While it might seem innocent to praise a child as being ‘smart’ or ‘gifted’, this can in fact be detrimental because it sends the message that their intelligence is ‘fixed’ and not of their own making. Instead, it would be better to praise kids for their efforts, motivation and attitude toward learning according to Professor Carol Dweck, who developed the ‘growth mindset’ theory. According to Dweck, praising talent or intelligence leaves children vulnerable and does not teach them that resilience is important in learning. This is not to say that having talent or innate gifts are wrong - but that it is not enough. Author Stephen King says it best, ‘talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.’ It is also worth noting that praising effort alone is not effective, the effort has to be tied to an effective strategy that leads to learning progress. For example, it takes a lot of effort to run in the same spot for one hour, but it does not lead anywhere. So in this instance, praising the effort does not work. Dweck says it’s important to praise both the effort and outcome (Gross-Loh).

WHAT ARE THE GROWTH AND FIXED MINDSETS?

The fixed mindset is believing that you are born with set abilities that cannot be changed, hence the term ‘fixed’. The growth mindset, on the other hand, is the belief that talents and abilities can be developed by overcoming challenges. When a student faces a problem, they can either let it define their ability level, or decide to overcome it. This therefore dispels the stereotypes that some people are ‘either good at maths or art’. You can be good at both, if you try effective strategies and consistently work hard. Sure, doing calculus or sketching a self portrait may be more difficult for some than others, but just because something is hard does not mean you are ‘not good at it’ full stop - more that you’re not good at it ‘yet’ (Dweck).

HOW DOES THE GROWTH MINDSET APPLY IN A SCIENCE LESSON?

As a science teacher, I often empathise with students with how difficult many concepts can be when learning them for the first time. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed and resign to the idea that they’re ‘not good at science’ and give up. However, this is when I like to remind students that science is a cumulative endeavour built upon the work of countless scientists and failure is a big part of discovery. For example, our understanding of light has taken over a thousand years to reach.

One of the first theories was put forward by the Ancient Greeks who thought that light emerged out of our eyes, but this theory could not explain why we could not see in the dark. It was only until the Arab scientist, Alhazen, put forward his theory that our knowledge of light evolved more closely to what we understand today (Daneshfard et al.). He suggested that light entered our eyes, rather than exited it. Although this seems obvious and is taken for granted, understanding how light and vision works is a challenging idea when you are exploring it without prior knowledge. In this way, students often have to think like earlier scientists, with their limited understanding of the world, to help explain their observations. Is it wrong to think like these scientists because their theory was later proved wrong? Does this then make them ‘bad at science’? No - and that is why inquiry based-learning is an important process. It equips students with the skills to investigate problems by taking an active role in their learning. This way of learning therefore promotes the growth mindset because students learn that scientific investigations can be developed, much like their minds.

In conclusion, enduring setbacks and having an attitude to bounce back are powerful skills for students to help them progress. This mindset is also integrated in the IB philosophy; as the learner profile advocates risk taking, being open-minded and reflective. These traits are essential in developing the growth mindset. When giving praise, it’s important for both parents and teachers to also adopt this way of thinking so that children don’t limit their aspirations by putting themselves in boxes.

SEARCH REFERENCES

“A Quote by Stephen King.” Www.goodreads.com, www.goodreads.com/quotes/76668-talent-is-cheaper-t.... Accessed 23 May 2022.

Daneshfard, Babak, et al. “Ibn Al-Haytham (965–1039 AD), the Original Portrayal of the Modern Theory of Vision.” Journal of Medical Biography, vol. 24, no. 2, 15 Apr. 2014, pp. 227–231, journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0967772014529050, 10.1177/0967772014529050.

Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York, Random House, 2006.

Gross-Loh, Christine. “Carol Dweck Explains the False Growth Mindset.” The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/how-...

Hamblin, James. “Don’t Call Kids “Smart.”” The Atlantic, The Atlantic, 30 June 2015, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/06/the-....

Syed, Matthew, and Totriumph. You Are Awesome. London, Wren & Rook, 2018.