When Mindset Isn’t Enough, What Else is Needed?
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As English teachers, we are always asked about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of any story. As a teacher who enjoys looking at stories and learning the motivations of the main characters, I think that I would do the same with the people around me. Try and figure out what makes them tick. When I created my original growth mindset plan, I laid out a plan for the who, what, when, where, and how; however, I paid no mind to the “why.” Why do students have the fixed mindset to begin with, and why are they fighting the growth mindset? Here is a breakdown to better explain:
The Who: When I created my original growth mindset plan, I considered the teacher and the student in the scenario. It is important to consider both when developing a growth mindset plan. However, as educators, we must consider each student individually rather than the class as a whole. Each student has different experiences, different motivations, and experiences that have led them to our classrooms.
The What: Creating a growth mindset environment for the students to prosper. As a high school teacher, posters were not a part of my growth mindset plan. Regarding the growth mindset, the starting point is starting a dialogue. When modeling the growth mindset, instead of simply modeling the positivity, we should model what Dweck says is talking back to the fixed mindset. Dweck states, “Now give your fixed-mindset persona a name” (Dweck, 2016). My growth mindset plan states, “If the teacher can model what the growth mindset voice looks like without falling into the false growth mindset, the students can learn their own growth mindset” (Marin, 2024).
The When: As educators, we should ideally model the growth mindset daily. However, part of modeling the growth mindset is showing students to have grace with themselves by allowing themselves to be human. We also model the growth mindset by showing students that we also make mistakes and apologizing for those mistakes. Allowing students to give us feedback as well also models the growth mindset. When educators show that feedback allows for growth, even from students, students will slowly begin to accept feedback. “Not worried about measuring—or protecting—their fixed abilities, they looked directly at their mistakes, used the feedback, and altered their strategies accordingly” (Dweck, 2016). If students see that educators are not allowing feedback to define them but instead improve on the educators’ abilities, students may take that as a queue to do the same.
The Where: We often believe our job of modeling the growth mindset ends once we step outside the classroom. The problem with this thinking is that if we believe the growth mindset ends at the classroom door, we don’t believe in the growth mindset. “Adults’ overt actions speak far louder, and this is what children are picking up on. Unfortunately, these actions often don’t align with the growth mindsets in adults’ heads” (Dweck,2016). Dweck cautions educators against creating a false growth mindset in the name of a growth mindset atmosphere. Posters with positive phrases were not a part of my growth mindset due to teaching high school, and high schoolers often don’t look at posters. My plan involves dialogue and inquiry and ensuring I believe in the growth mindset, not just portraying it.
The How: My original growth mindset plan was based on inquiry-based learning. If the mindset plan were weaved into my teaching style, students would see the growth mindset as a part of the learners’ mindset. Dweck gives a four-step journey in her book on how to change your mindset. I plan on weaving step 3 into my teaching style: “Now give your fixed-mindset persona a name” (Dweck, 2016). In this step, Dweck details how speaking to your fixed mindset can help you get past the fixed mindset. As an educator, I can model how to speak to our fixed mindset through inquiry. “Why do you believe this project is difficult?” ” What could have worked better?” “What is causing you difficulty getting started on this project?” These questions directly relate to the students’ fixed mindset; as the educator, I could model the correct questions.
The Why: In my original mindset plan, I didn’t account for “why” students have a fixed mindset or “why” they oppose the growth mindset. As educators, we should give students the benefit of the doubt, that they are not simply ignoring us. We, as educators, are the facilitators, not combatants against the students. In her book, Carol Dweck gives this example: “Bruce looked up at the paintings on the wall and said, “Who made those ugly pictures?” His mother rushed to correct him: “It’s not nice to call pictures ugly when they are so pretty.” But his teacher knew exactly what he meant. “In here,” she said, “you don’t have to paint pretty pictures. You can paint mean pictures if you feel like it.” Bruce gave her a big smile. She had answered his real question: What happens to a boy who doesn’t paint well?” (Dweck, 2008).
As with every other aspect of education, we must remember the why when thinking of the growth mindset. Why is the growth mindset important? Why are students so opposed to it? And why are students currently in a fixed mindset? My original growth mindset plan considered the who, what, when, where, and how, but not the why.
Creating a Holistic Growth Mindset Plan.
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The constructivist learning theory believes that students come to the classroom with their own experiences and will take in a lesson differently based on these experiences. The same can be said about how the student will perceive the growth mindset. As stated, students could have been sent into a fixed mindset for various reasons. As educators, it is our job to consider these factors when modeling our students’ growth mindset. We also have to ensure that we don’t fall into the pitfalls of the false growth mindset, as this can be mistaken for toxic positivity if a student is having negative mental health days. Dweck states that three misunderstandings often lead to a false growth mindset. Two of them can cause students to lose trust in their teachers: “Misunderstanding #2. Many people believe that a growth mindset is only about effort, especially praising effort” (Dweck, 216) and “Misunderstanding #3. A growth mindset equals telling kids they can do anything” (Dweck, 2016). If we simply praise every student and tell them they can do anything then we become disingenuous. It is better to give honest feedback and feedforward than to give a student empty praise.
“Scientific thought, then, is not momentary; it is not a static instance; it is a process.”
–Jean Piaget
“There are stops and starts, progressions and regressions, and sudden surges and regressions are expected as an individual moves toward higher levels of functioning” Cohen, Waite-Stupiansky, 2023). While Carol Dweck’s idea of “yet” isn’t new, it simplifies the ideas routed in constructivist teaching philosophy. Jean Piaget believed that students learn in a series of progressions and regressions based on their environment. While one student may be advanced in social studies, another may be more advanced in math and vice-versa. Teaching the students the idea of yet will also help show them that their peers are another source of information. Just because the student better at social studies isn’t good at math “yet” doesn’t mean that the student will never be good at math. These two students, the math wiz and the social studies wiz, can help each other in their respective subjects if we, as educators, show them that they are not experts yet, but they can be.
I teach the idea of yet in my classroom by having students take diagnostic tests at the beginning and middle of the year. When they take the one in the middle of the year, we place their results aside, giving the students a visual representation of how far they have come in their learning journey. Between these two major diagnostic tests, I model the growth mindset by giving students feedback in the form of discussions as often as possible. I model speaking to one’s fixed mindset by asking questions they would normally ask themselves. “Why do you find this assignment difficult?” “What about the assignment that makes you avoid it? Be specific.” With my subject area being English, my subject in general is a constant work in progress. I always tell students that “when they think they are done with their essay, they are halfway there.” We are constantly working on how to improve our writing, myself included. I ask the students for help with my writing by asking questions such as, “Why is what I wrote confusing?”
“When organizations put the premium on natural talent, then everyone wants to be the superstar, everyone wants to shine brighter than the others, and people may be more likely to cheat or cut corners to do so” (Dweck, 2016.) In this example, Dweck was talking about employees in a company. However, she also had examples of students cheating because they felt there was no point in trying. The interesting aspect of the students is whether the student had the natural ability, and if the fixed mindset was present, the student was more likely to cheat. Either because they felt like they couldn’t complete the assignment or because the student felt there was no point in trying on it. The growth mindset would remove students’ preoccupation with cheating and grades because students would be more preoccupied with learning. If the growth mindset is built on inquiry-based learning, it will go hand in hand with reigniting the learners’ mindset. Stanford University states, “Growth mindset, simply stated, is a learner’s belief that their intelligence can expand and develop.” So, by definition, if we can shift students into a growth mindset willingly, then the learners’ mindset will be kindled. All that will be left will be helping students find the subject they want to learn about. If students learn through inquiry-based learning, are encouraged to learn through their mistakes instead of seeing mistakes as detriments to their education, and are given feedback and feedforward, students and teachers can work together. Collaboration is key, with teachers being facilitators. The motto in my class is “It’s not my job to fail you; it’s my job to help you; that being said, it’s your job to try. If you’re trying, we will get through this year even if it takes a million retries and a million reteaches because that’s my job.” If a student is not trying, then I try to figure out why they are not trying. Is it because they have been told that they can’t? Is it because they’ve gotten away with not trying?
Regarding the growth mindset, grit may play a role in students completing assignments despite not wanting to. In 2020, Yale’s research team surveyed 21,678 schools to see how students felt in the classroom. Students were given a set of emotions and a scale of 0-100. Zero means they never felt that emotion, and 100 means they often felt it. The results showed that “the most common emotion students reported was tired (58%). The next most-reported emotions — all just under 50% — were stressed, bored, calm, and happy. The ratings scale supported the findings, with students reporting feeling stressed (79.83%) and bored (69.51%) the most” (Belli, 2020). Students must use grit to get through classrooms created through common misconceptions of rigor. The most common misconceptions that arose when looking into rigor and even when speaking to many teachers are:
- More homework=more rigor.
- Rigor means difficult
- Rigor means more work
- In order to be rigorous, one cannot be supported
- Rigor is not for every student
These common misconceptions about rigor are causing unnecessary stress on students. While in a classroom that creates a significant learning environment (CSLE) well, grit can be an added tool to students’ toolbox to get through a particularly difficult lesson. Grit should not always be present due to a misconception on the educators’ part about one of the puzzle pieces in creating CSLE. If educators are not careful in creating a significant learning environment, they could be responsible for inadvertently creating a fixed mindset in a student. If used correctly, rigor and grit can enhance student learning. Grit can help students make it through a discussion and lesson while working through the feedback and mistakes. While rigor on the other hand should be educators “supporting students so that they can learn at high levels” (Blackburn, Williamson, 2010).
The Growth Mindset: Another Piece of the CSLE Puzzle
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“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
-Maya Angelou
Before starting this program, I created the best learning environment I could. In January, I created my first growth mindset plan. Five months later, I continued to improve it. As Maya Angelou states, I did what I knew how, but now that I know better, I must do better. The growth mindset plan is not enough to change students’ mindsets; it is simply a piece of a larger puzzle in creating our significant learning environment. While it is important, it is a piece of the bigger picture. We as educators must look at every aspect of our learning environment, teachers, and students for the growth mindset to grow effectively and become a lifestyle and not simply a fad. Creating a realistic growth mindset plan is meant to help create a significant learning environment for current and future students in my classroom. If I create a plan that cannot be implemented, I risk becoming an educator who uses the growth mindset as a fad or buzzword.
References
Image created by Samara Marin using Copilot 2024
Belli, B. (2020, January 30). National Survey: Students’ Feelings About High School Are Mostly Negative. YaleNews. https://news.yale.edu/2020/01/30/national-survey-students-feelings-about-high-school-are-mostly-negative
Cohen, L. E., & Waite-Stupiansky, S. (2023). Theories of Early Childhood Education: Developmental, Behaviorist, and Critical. Routledge.
Dweck, C. S. (2016). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance: Angela Lee Duckworth. YouTube. (2013, May 9). https://youtu.be/H14bBuluwB8?si=P8PDkhkU13OzNbOB
Growth Mindset and Enhanced Learning. Teaching Commons. (n.d.). https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-guides/foundations-course-design/learning-activities/growth-mindset-and-enhanced-learning
Lee, M. (2024, April 4). How to Build Commitment to Learning in Students in the Classroom. Teacher Clarity. https://educationblogdesk.com/seven-misconceptions-of-rigor-and-depth-of-knowledge/powerful-learning-strategies/stud-ccs/
McDowell, M. (2021, November 23). How School Leaders Can Support Enhanced Rigor in Instruction. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-school-leaders-can-support-enhanced-rigor-instruction
Staff, T., & About The Author (2022, January 22). 7 Myths About Rigor in the Classroom. TeachThought. https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/7-myths-about-rigor-in-the-classroom/
Thompson, J. (2023, December 13). The Importance of Adding Rigor and Relevance to Instruction. Learning Forward – The Professional Learning Association. https://learningforward.org/2020/10/07/the-importance-of-adding-rigor-and-relevance-to-instruction/
U.S. Department of Education. (2016). Unit 3: Engaging the Three Components of Rigor – lincs. https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/ccr/Math_Unit_3_Materials/Math_Unit_3.pptx
Wexler, N. (2022, April 4). Why High School “Rigor” is Often Just a Facade. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2022/04/01/why-high-school-rigor-is-often-just-a-facade/?sh=2d00486d5d02
Williamson, R., & Blackburn, B. R. (2010). 4 Myths About Rigor in the Classroom. https://static.pdesas.org/content/documents/M1-Slide_21_4_Myths_of_Rigor.pdf
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