A few mind shifting tips for cultivation a growth mindset at home:
1. Help children reconnect with a time when they learned something new that was a stretch or a challenge. Point out the developmental nature of "getting good"- we all go through the process of making a lot of mistakes, practicing, and then getting better.
2. Help children get curious about mistakes. Help them reframe a mistake as new information or as a step in the process of learning. In addition, help them incorporate self-correction in their own learning process.
3. Help children learn to hear their own fixed mindset "voice". Capture and, in a gentle and appropriate way, share their own statements with them. Most children are unaware of this self-talk because it has gone on so long and is subliminal. (ex. " that guy is brilliant; he never tries and he get it" or "I got it wrong again, I'll never get this."
4. Help children talk back to negative self-talk with a growth mindset voice (i.e. give them language):
5. Model growth-mindset at the table
6. Avoid labels and give growth mindset praise
7. Get curious about your child's work through questioning
How did you figure that out? What's another way you could have done that? How many times did you try before it turned out that way? What here was challenging and how did you figure it out? What do you plan to do next time?
1. Help children reconnect with a time when they learned something new that was a stretch or a challenge. Point out the developmental nature of "getting good"- we all go through the process of making a lot of mistakes, practicing, and then getting better.
2. Help children get curious about mistakes. Help them reframe a mistake as new information or as a step in the process of learning. In addition, help them incorporate self-correction in their own learning process.
3. Help children learn to hear their own fixed mindset "voice". Capture and, in a gentle and appropriate way, share their own statements with them. Most children are unaware of this self-talk because it has gone on so long and is subliminal. (ex. " that guy is brilliant; he never tries and he get it" or "I got it wrong again, I'll never get this."
4. Help children talk back to negative self-talk with a growth mindset voice (i.e. give them language):
- "I am willing to learn new skills to improve, and I know it will be hard sometimes."
- "I get better and better with practice, this is hard, but it will get easier."
- "Practice makes permanent."
5. Model growth-mindset at the table
- At dinner: Tell your child about a time when you didn't know the answer to a recent question. Who did you ask for help? How did you learn the answer?
- At breakfast: Ask questions about their opportunities for learning and growth in the coming day or week. What questions do they need answers to? What do they want to learn, practice, and/or get better at today/this week?
6. Avoid labels and give growth mindset praise
- Don't label yourself in ways the model a "fixed-mindset" (e.g. I'm a terrible cook, I was never good at math.)
- Shift your child's attention to process that led to outcome (i.e. cause-effect)
- Praise and value effort, practice, self-correction, and persistence.
- Don't shelter your child from a failed task. Ask "What can you learn from this experience? What could you try differently next time?
7. Get curious about your child's work through questioning
How did you figure that out? What's another way you could have done that? How many times did you try before it turned out that way? What here was challenging and how did you figure it out? What do you plan to do next time?
BOOKS:
Mindsets: The New Psychology of Success (2006) by Carol Dweck, Ph.D. |
Online Resources:
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