growth mindset

‘A growth mindset is about believing people can develop their abilities.  It’s that simple.’

Dr Carol S. Dweck 

The messages we impart to children can sculpt their attitudes and thinking process in later years.  Researchers have concluded that parents who told their children that they were not good at maths, impacted their performance in school as the children approached this subject from a negative starting point (see link for more info).  A parent’s own perceived limitations with aspects of their life can be adopted by their children.  In such situations, children often decide that they will take a back seat, as they believe that, like their parents, they won’t excel in those fields so don’t see the point in applying themselves.

When I was younger, my mum told me that she really struggled with public speaking.  Unbeknownst to her, this had a profound and lasting impact on the way I approached speaking in public.  It started with difficulties speaking up in class and culminated in a difficulty attending certain meetings at work, due to fear of participation.  After training to teach and assess children with learning difficulties, I was asked to be a tutor on the course that I had just completed.  I felt really honored and excited to be asked, but a fear immediately set in because the role involved delivering lectures.

After a few months of losing sleep the night before each lecture, I made a decision.  I decided that this was not going to dominate my thoughts anymore.  I was going to enjoy and work hard at this aspect of my role.  I adopted the ‘fake it until you make it’ approach and after a few weeks, this part of my job didn’t seem so daunting; I actually started to appreciate it.  The power of a growth mindset and believing in myself had changed my attitude, which had not served me for years.

It is important to plant the seed in the minds of children that talents and abilities can be developed through effort and practice.  This can be instilled by rewarding effort and not inherent talents.  Start by implementing the following:

• Use specific praise such as, ‘It was really positive to see you experiment with a few different ways to solve that problem.’ 

• Model using the word ‘yet’ to encourage powerful self-talk e.g. ‘I don’t know how to do this yet.’ 

Start this journey with your children today by watching this short animation by Cameron Lisney and John Rankin-McCabe.