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By now, the sense of newness and excitement that comes with the first few weeks of school may be fading. Days are getting shorter and colder, paperwork is piling up, and students are starting to test boundaries. The honeymoon may be over, but this is the perfect time for teachers to reinforce routines and procedures, cultivate strong student work habits, and continue building classroom community by using mindset strategies.
Mindset is a set of attitudes and beliefs about abilities, such as intelligence. Psychologist and author Carol Dweck coined the terms fixed and growth mindsets to describe the attitudes and beliefs people have about learning and intelligence (2006). Students with a fixed mindset believe that they are born with their abilities and that they are unchangeable. In contrast, students with a growth mindset believe that their abilities can be developed and improved over time with practice.
According to Dweck (2006), students' mindsets influence their learning behaviors. For example, students who believe their intelligence is predetermined are less likely to embrace challenges and are more likely to give up. When students believe their intelligence can be improved, they are more willing to put extra time and effort into their learning. Building a classroom culture of growth mindset changes how students approach learning and helps them develop strong work habits that lead to achievement and success. The following tips can help teachers promote a community of growth mindset learners in the classroom.
Teach about brain development and neuroplasticity
Teachers can help students develop growth mindsets by explicitly teaching about the brain and how it changes during learning. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to form and reform new neural connections in response to experiences and changes in the environment. Students become more interested in learning when they find out they can get smarter by rewiring their brains through study and practice.
An excellent resource for teaching about the brain is the interactive 3-D brain map from the Open Colleges website (see Resources). Students can click on various parts of the model brain to learn about different structures and how they function. The brain map also includes case studies and strategies for accelerating learning.
Create study tools that incorporate active learning methods
Peter Brown, one of the authors of Make...