As mentioned at the Parent Information evening last night, as a school, we are focusing on developing a culture of Growth Mindset. Growth Mindset looks at the power of our mindset and looks at how you can fulfil your potential. Dr Carol S Dweck is a leading authority in this area and it is her literature and resources that we will be utilising throughout the year to develop a Growth Mindset culture at Peak School.
The approach believes that there are two different types of mindset, one being fixed and the other being a growth mindset. The table below illustrates the difference –
Key messages you can give at home to support the growth mindset culture
Around the concept of making mistakes
“Make mistakes as you can learn from them”.
“Everyone makes mistakes and the key is to learn from them”.
“If you make a mistake think about what you could do differently, why did it not work”?
“What can you change or do differently next time”?
What to do when your child talks negatively about their ability or skill set
“You don’t know how to do it YET”
“You can’t do it YET but if you continue to stay focused and learn from your mistakes you will be able to do it”
“You don’t understand it YET, think about why you don’t understand it, what information is missing? What do you need to know?
All our staff are currently reading ‘Mindset, How You Can Fulfil Your Potential” by Carol Dweck. It isn’t just for educators as it also relates closely to business, parenting and relationships as well. I would highly recommend the book as I got just as much out of it on a personal level as I did on a professional level. Our School library have a copy should you want to borrow it.
My next blog edition will look at encouraging our children to get outside their ‘comfort zone’ to ‘stretch’ their learning and to build resilience.