Helping Struggling Students Build a Growth Mindset

In one of our Edutopia posts, Marcus and I talk about the importance of helping struggling students build a growth mindset.

Our research aligns with Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset—acting on the belief that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.

As we explain in the post, a positive mindset focuses on the gains that are possible when students persevere through learning challenges. It’s important to maintain a positive mindset, even when school can be difficult, and for teachers to help students remain motivated to work hard to persevere through those difficulties.

In the post, we present five strategies to help struggling students develop a growth mindset. They include:

• Encourage optimism about learning. You can do this by modeling practical optimism, sharing examples of how you overcame learning obstacles, and maintaining a positive learning atmosphere.
• Teach students to learn more effectively. We like the metaphor of teaching students how to “drive their brains” through the use of cognitive strategies.
• Maintain success files. This contains evidence that helps students internalize and remember their learning successes.
• Use growth assessments. This will help students identify their strengths and areas of weakness that need further practice and reinforcement.
• Let students choose. Giving students the opportunity to choose topics of personal interest to study helps them maintain interest and motivation.

For more information about how a growth mindset helps struggling students, read the entire post at Edutopia.