 As humans, we all have beliefs about the individuals in our life. These beliefs have a huge impact on how we interact with and respond to each other. The specific beliefs that we hold upon ourselves and other people are known as mindsets. Mindsets can be about personality, intelligence, talent, skills, potential, and any other number of traits. Mindsets are important when we think about working with students. For instance, if Sammy gets a poor grade on a test, there are different ways he can respond that will impact his actions and thoughts in the future. If he thinks, I don't have the skills for this, I'll never be able to learn and do well in the future. He is likely to have lower self-esteem, reduce his effort in the future, and be less motivated to study for his next test. However, if he thinks, that's too bad, but I really didn't try my best for this test, I'll study harder and get a good grade next time. He is likely to maintain his self-esteem, put effort into his studying, and stay motivated in this class. These perspectives reflect different mindsets that Sammy might have. The mindsets of others also impact future performance. If Sammy's teacher says, math just isn't your subject, Sammy, maybe you'll do better in English. He may feel unmotivated to put effort into math tasks in the future. However, if he hears, Sammy, let's talk about how you prepared for this test, and maybe we can come up with some helpful strategies for next time. He is likely to stay motivated and study harder to improve his grade. The purpose of this video is to explain what it means to have a growth mindset. In doing this, we will one, explain what a mindset is, two, explore links to brain science, and three, discuss how it impacts our use of strategies. Overall, our goal is to explore ways in which we can support success in all children with the right perspectives and supports. So, what is a mindset? Researcher Dr. Carol Dweck studies mindsets. She has stated that there are two different types of mindsets we can hold, fixed and growth. A fixed mindset is very much the way it sounds, fixed as an unchangeable. People with a fixed mindset think that setbacks mean lack of ability, and that practice and hard work won't make a difference. They might say, if I fail, it's because I just can't do it. Practice and hard work won't make a difference, and this is just the way it is. This type of thinking makes it hard to motivate ourselves, recover from setbacks, or achieve in school or at work. For Sammy, this would mean believing he can't do math, and therefore be less willing to even attempt math tasks. Growth mindset views human traits as capable of changing in many different ways. This could be through effort, hard work, different strategies, understanding that everyone is different, and receiving support from other people. With this mindset comes the belief that all people are capable of achieving success if they and others believe it is possible. It also involves an understanding of what is an appropriate goal and how to get there. People with a growth mindset are typically focused on learning, are more willing to confront challenges, and use effort and strategies to achieve their goals. They might say, if I fail, I can work harder next time. Practice and hard work will help me improve. I just need the right strategy and support. I can do it, and I won't give up. People with this mindset are also more likely to stick to difficult tasks because they view abilities as something that can be improved. Failing is a part of learning, and that is okay. For Sammy, this means believing that with a new strategy, he could have success in math. A growth mindset requires innovation, flexibility, and creativity in pursuit of success. Applying this perspective allows us to learn from trial and error, persistence, and teamwork. Both the student and their support system believe that working together can help achieve goals. Supporting students to develop growth mindsets helps them establish a framework for problem solving that persists through failure. Together, we can move from asking if a child can succeed to how a child can succeed. Let's talk a bit about the brain. Brains are wired for a growth perspective as they are constantly growing and developing. Think about developmental milestones, like learning to talk and walk. This learning was possible because our brains changed, and this growth does not stop at any age. A large part of this is because of experience-dependent neuroplasticity. This means that with experience and lots of practice, our brains continue to evolve. With the right focus and strategy, our brain can change as we use it. We add new connections to allow for new communication, as it would if we were to learn a new language. Now we can change existing connections to alter our pattern of brain communication, like learning to stop chewing our fingernails. We are essentially exercising our brain, just like other muscles in our body, so that the connections become stronger and greater in number with use. It doesn't matter what our brain looks like at the beginning. Anyone can grow their brain. Let's use an example to illustrate how new learning and brain flexibility work. The growing brain is similar to an individual's experience driving in a new city. In the old city, we knew how to get around, so it was comfortable. The new city, however, is not very comfortable, just as learning something new can feel uncomfortable. We might get lost, we might need more time to get places. However, as we begin to move around this new city more frequently, we will gradually go further distances, move more rapidly, and gain confidence. This is similar to what is happening in the brain when we try something new. At first, we may feel uncomfortable, work slowly, and make frequent mistakes. These are not familiar pathways in our brain. However, as our skills increase, we experience greater success and efficiency, as the connections associated with these new skills are getting stronger with use. Let's think about Sammy again, who has just started a new lesson in math. The last lesson he did really well on and understood the concepts. The new lesson, however, is not comfortable. It does not feel good in his brain. But Sammy and his teacher have a goal to learn the new material, just like he did last time. The first time he tries the new math problems, he might struggle. His teacher can then ask him what he did. They can help him identify the strengths of his approach and any shifts he might make. This will allow Sammy to gradually evolve his strategies to experience success. As Sammy begins to practice the new math concepts more often, he may gradually be able to do more complex problems, complete them faster, and feel more confidence in his ability to master the new math unit. In his brain, this means that new connections are being formed and strengthened due to the continual practice. By using and strengthening these new connections, Sammy is able to achieve success on this math unit test. He will also be more open to trying new strategies for harder math units in the future, as he believes he has the potential to learn and grow his brain with the right supports. The take-home message with the brain is simple. It can change and grow in response to strategy, use, and practice, even if this may be uncomfortable at first. However, this can only happen if we support others towards growth and believe in growth ourselves. When working with students, we often ask ourselves, how can we influence development and support growth? What strategies work and what goals are appropriate? To begin, we need to first understand that all behavior has a function. If a student knows that a specific and familiar behavior will meet their goal, they will take that road, even if others don't like it. For example, when Sammy struggles with multiplication skills, he might goof off with his peers and refuse to do the work. This may reflect an underlying belief that he is unable to do math and he would rather be seen as unwilling than unable to do the work. If we recognize that he may simply be avoiding the task due to his discomfort, we could begin to explore strategies to address this discomfort and ways to build success. In other words, adopt a growth mindset through a revised goal that responds to the needs of each student. So how can we adopt a growth mindset with our students? First, by understanding the goals or functions of a behavior. Then, by applying different strategies to elicit change. With effort and strategies, there was always an opportunity for growth. This is true for all students. We simply need to set goals that are appropriate for our students and then seek out feasible strategies. With practice, they may strengthen the ability to use these strategies and in doing so, accomplish their goals. Let's go back to our driving example. The roads in a city are what allow people to move around. In the example we just discussed, we were new to a city and this was uncomfortable. In these situations, we have two options. We can have a fixed mindset where we say there is no way we will ever learn our way around and never try to. Our goal in this situation may be to reduce our fear of the city and we can meet this need by simply staying home, much like your student who refuses to do their work. Our fixed mindset gives us no alternative way to reduce this feeling of discomfort. Alternatively, we can have a growth mindset. This means that rather than seeing no option, we would ask how to conquer our challenges. To do this, we might want a friend to drive with us and direct us or use a GPS. However, after we put an effort to learn our way around, we get more comfortable and efficient. The reason we get more efficient is because we think of ourselves as capable and use strategies to make sure we achieve our goal. Imagine that Sammy is having difficulty paying attention in class. If his teacher has a fixed mindset, they may view Sammy as an inattentive student who will not respond well to strategies to help him focus. Therefore, they might not feel as motivated to put in the effort to support Sammy. In this case, they are not thinking about the goal of Sammy's behavior. Alternatively, his teacher could hold a growth mindset. This way, they view Sammy's inattention as an area that he can improve. He just needs strategies and support to make it happen. This involves recognizing that Sammy's behavior is functional and communicates an unmet need. For example, they may allow Sammy to take movement breaks, modify his lessons, or see him close to the front. With the growth mindset, the teacher believes that Sammy can achieve success and as a result provides strategies and support to help him achieve this success. Eventually, Sammy may be able to use his strategies for paying attention in class and start believing that he's capable. It is important that Sammy creates a toolkit of strategies to adopt as opposed to always going back to the same one. This way, Sammy will know that there are always options for when he has trouble paying attention in class. Sammy has also learned that he can be successful if he works hard, which encourages a growth mindset. In other words, a positive belief in himself about his ability to learn and grow. Now of course, it is not possible for all people to have a growth mindset all the time. It can be difficult to constantly think about the goal of a behavior and come up with strategies to target that behavior. But with practice, applying a growth mindset can become more second nature. What is important is that someone is using the growth mindset and providing alternative strategies. For example, maybe Sammy shows up to school and he didn't have a good sleep. Maybe he is acting out, having difficulty with completing tasks and he starts saying things like, I'll never be able to do this. Even though Sammy is using his fixed mindset, he can be met with a growth mindset from his teacher or anyone else in his support system. For example, his teacher can continue to remind him that even trying one strategy is a success and that they are there to support him. The fact that at least one person was using their growth mindset is what is important. It is possible that as the day goes on, Sammy may be able to switch to his growth mindset. The important thing is that Sammy was supported and provided with strategies for supporting his success. The purpose of this video was to shift our interpretation of many concepts that we already know. The reality is we can make a huge impact on our own lives as well as the lives of our students, simply by shifting to a growth mindset. When we believe that everyone is capable of changing, learning and growing through hard work and effort, amazing things can happen. We need to shift our focus away from only looking at the challenges and move towards an area where strengths are emphasized and opportunities for learning are encouraged.