Want to Grow Your Mind? Better Unfix that Mindset.
Location
Guzman 104, Dominican University of California
Start Date
4-20-2017 1:20 PM
End Date
4-20-2017 1:35 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Rosemarie Michaels, Ed.D.
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Growth mindset education is important because students learn how to confront difficulty with a positive attitude and see success as a process rather than an end goal. Mindset education and promoting resilience can begin from as early as preschool. Researchers such as Dweck (2006) have found that implementing growth mindset education in schools increases students’ self-confidence, whilst showing them that they are in control of their abilities to learn and face new obstacles. By teaching the students the tools to be their own agents of change, they can improve academic skills through effort and hard work. These changes in attitude toward learning results in higher achieving students. Research conducted by Pawlina and Stanford (2011) showed that promoting a growth mindset helped students address new and challenging situations, thus allowing them to develop a positive attitude toward difficulty. This study examined the various strategies and methods teachers can implement to promote mindset education. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers cultivate a classroom environment where students can develop a growth mindset. This study addressed one research question: “What can teachers do to instill a growth mindset in their students?” This study follows qualitative design using classroom observation. To answer the research question, I observed two classrooms in one San Francisco Bay Area elementary school during the fall and spring semesters, grades K and 3. Results of this study indicate that there are many strategies educators can use to promote the growth mindset, such as praising the process rather than the right answer, teaching that intelligence is not fixed, and carefully choosing vocabulary that will raise students’ self-confidence.
Want to Grow Your Mind? Better Unfix that Mindset.
Guzman 104, Dominican University of California
Growth mindset education is important because students learn how to confront difficulty with a positive attitude and see success as a process rather than an end goal. Mindset education and promoting resilience can begin from as early as preschool. Researchers such as Dweck (2006) have found that implementing growth mindset education in schools increases students’ self-confidence, whilst showing them that they are in control of their abilities to learn and face new obstacles. By teaching the students the tools to be their own agents of change, they can improve academic skills through effort and hard work. These changes in attitude toward learning results in higher achieving students. Research conducted by Pawlina and Stanford (2011) showed that promoting a growth mindset helped students address new and challenging situations, thus allowing them to develop a positive attitude toward difficulty. This study examined the various strategies and methods teachers can implement to promote mindset education. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how teachers cultivate a classroom environment where students can develop a growth mindset. This study addressed one research question: “What can teachers do to instill a growth mindset in their students?” This study follows qualitative design using classroom observation. To answer the research question, I observed two classrooms in one San Francisco Bay Area elementary school during the fall and spring semesters, grades K and 3. Results of this study indicate that there are many strategies educators can use to promote the growth mindset, such as praising the process rather than the right answer, teaching that intelligence is not fixed, and carefully choosing vocabulary that will raise students’ self-confidence.