Improve life outcomes

Jumpstart: Growth Mindset - Basic

Basic

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.

Materials Needed:
  • 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.