Jumpstart: Growth Mindset - Foundational
Objectives:
1. Identify and acknowledge his/her mistakes.
2. Identify a challenge and state how it is a time to learn something new.
3. Try up to 2 different strategies to meet a goal.
Definitions of Key Terms: Growth mindset is the belief that your brain can grow through hard work and dedication. It is believing a task that might be hard or challenging can be a chance to learn something new.
Discussion Points:
- What do you do when you make a mistake? Do you admit it to anyone?
- What do you do when you are trying something new or that might be hard for you? Do you give up or do you think differently about it?
- What is a growth mindset?
- What is a fixed mindset?
- Why is a growth mindset important?
- How can a growth mindset help you be successful in life?
Discuss these points or your own with students. The teacher may want to share their own examples of when he/she set a goal they wanted to achieve.
Activity: Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset
In a large group discuss what it means to grow (examples--develop, change, mature). Develop a list of things that grow. Record answers on chart paper or an interactive board, (such as plants, animals, and people). Explain to students that even our brains can grow.
- Chart Paper or Interactive Board
Explain that growth mindset is having the attitude that our most basic abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication.It is believing a task that might be hard or challenging can be a chance to learn something new. With a growth mindset individuals are always working to develop their skills. Discuss that people with a growth mindset admit when they make a mistake. Talk about a time you made a mistake and acknowledged it.
Talk about the opposite, which is a fixed mindset and what someone might say or think when they have that kind of mindset.
Discuss challenges that you have faced or other adults. Develop a list of challenges that the kids face. (Ex. learning to ride a bike, tying shoelaces by self, learning to add) Record the list on the board or chart paper.