It’s all in the mind!

Much of our understanding of the world around us, our perception and our interaction with it is defined by our mindset. The two mindsets – fixed and growth – determines our behaviour and subsequent fulfilment of aspirations. The whole world population can be broadly divided into two categories of people– one with a growth mindset and the other with a fixed mindset. People with a growth mindset believes, as Carol Dweck, the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, has said, “Talent is not passed down in the genes, it is passed in the mindset.” How a “fixed mindset” differs from a “growth mindset” is the belief that character, ability and intelligence are fixed statics. This affirmation of inherence of talent pushes a “fixed mindset” to always look for external validations for their choices and also exhibits a risk-averse tendency. People with a “growth mindset”, on the contrary, are risk-takers, believe in making efforts and do not depend on external validations.

Our mindset is moulded in our early childhood but the good news is that it can be re-moulded again. Educators are the prime movers who can create an impact by helping the budding minds acquire a “growth mindset”. It is important as our mindset determines our behaviour, our ability to sustain relationships on both personal and professional contexts, and also our capacity to attain success and happiness. As facilitators, the onus falls on us to train students to thrive in a fast-changing world where mindset would matter most.

1. Allowing students to fail: An aversion towards failure gears children to stick to safe choices. Not explore boundaries out of fear goes against the basic tenet of the evolution of the mind. It should be made clear to students that failure in doing a task is just a learning experience, and with repeated efforts, one can succeed. Designing classroom activities where efforts and tenacity are praised rather than the inherent ability will allow children to develop the growth mindset.

2. Word-choices: Educators should choose their words well while praising students. “Smart”, “intelligent”, “talented” etc. should be linked to the efforts of the child rather than the child itself. “That was a smart way of doing the calculation” is a better way to praise the child than to tell her/him “you’re a smart kid”. When we attach smartness to the child, the child feels like a failure when s/he is unable to solve another task and feels her/his smartness is at stake. In such a situation, the child will always try to stick to easy choices and treat setbacks as sentences. On the other hand, when the effort is praised, mistakes are treated as challenges by the child and it develops his ability to persevere.

3. Providing students with opportunities to reflect on their learning: Students should be encouraged to reflect on their learning at the end of lessons. The reflection should contain the challenges they faced during learning, the ways they devised themselves to overcome those challenges and the final learning outcome. This way, the students will be instilled with confidence to chart their own roadmap to learning and not be solely dependent on teachers. A self-motivated learner will definitely be geared to have a growth mindset.

4. Constructive criticism: Educators should teach students to accept criticisms in a positive way as sweet-talking does more harm than good. But criticisms should be constructive in a way that students find a way forward by working on themselves. They should also be provided with proper feedback regularly.

5. Promote “Genius Hour” in the classroom: In the traditional setting, a teacher maps out the content and plan units and lessons for the students. “Genius hour” is a strategy where students are in control what they want to learn, how to learn and what they create at the end of the lesson. It is inquiry-based learning which promotes research, creativity and self-directed learning.

Therefore, educators play an important role in cultivating the growth mindset amongst students. This would enable students to take control of their own learning and be accountable for their work. Not only managing their academics but having a growth mindset would also enable them to handle their personal and professional challenges later in their life. After all, it is all in the mind!