Growth Mindset
What is a growth mindset?
Believing that your abilities can improve through effort, practice, learning, and effective strategies.
Specific
What is an obstacle?
Something that makes it difficult to reach a goal or complete a task.
What is a strategy?
A specific action or approach you can use to help solve a problem, overcome an obstacle, or reach a goal.
Complete the sentence: IF I become distracted while doing homework, THEN I will _________.
put my phone away, move somewhere quiet, or set a timer.
What statement demonstrates a growth mindset?
A. I'm just not good at math.
B. I can't do this.
C. I can't do this yet.
D. I'm giving to give up.
C. I can't do this yet.
What does the M in SMART stand for?
Measurable
Which is an example of an obstacle?
A. Having a goal
B. making a plan
C. getting distracted by your phone
D. practicing
C. Getting distracted by your phone.
Which strategy would best help someone who is easily distracted while studying?
A. keep the TV on
B. Put the phone away
C. wait until the last minute
D. give up.
B. put the phone away
To anticipate an obstacle and decide ahead of time how you will respond
True or False
Making a mistake means you are not capable of reaching your goal.
False. Mistakes can provide information that helps you learn and improve.
What goal is more specific?
A. I want better grades.
B. I will complete and turn in all of my missing assignments by Friday.
B. I will complete and turn in all of my missing assignments by Friday.
Name two obstacles a middle-school student might experience when trying to reach an academic goal.
procrastination, distractions, lack of motivation, not understanding the material, poor time management, fear of failure, peer pressure, forgetting assignment
A large assignment feels overwhelming. What strategy could make it easier?
Break the assignment into smaller steps.
Which is the best IF-THEN plan?
A. If I have homework, then i'll probably do it.
B. If I get frustrated with my homework, then I will take a short break and return to it.
C. If homework is hard, then I wont do it.
B. If I get frustrated with my homework, then I will take a short break and return to it.
A student studies for a test and receives a lower grade than expected. Instead of giving up, the student asks the teacher what they can improve and changes their study strategy.
What growth-mindset behavior is the student demonstrating?
Learning from mistakes/challenges and changing strategies.
Why is it important for a goal to have a deadline?
A deadline makes the goal time-bound and gives you a specific point by which you can measure your progress.
A student wants to complete homework every night but spends three hours playing video games before starting.
What is the obstacle?
Distraction/time management
True or False
If your first strategy does not work, a growth mindset means you should keep using the same strategy until it works.
False. A growth mindset means being willing to adjust and try a different strategy.
Why are progress markers important?
They help you determine whether you are moving toward your goal and whether you need to change your strategy.
Rewrite this fixed-mindset statement using growth mindset: I'm terrible at public speaking, so I'll never be good at it.
I may not be good at public speaking yet, but I can practice and improve.
Turn this general goal into a SMART goal: I want to get better at reading.
I will read for 20 minutes at least 4 nights each week for the next month.
Why is identifying an obstacle before it happens helpful?
It allows you to prepare a strategy for dealing with the obstacle instead of being caught off guard.
A student says, I do not understand the assignment, so I'm just going to leave it blank.
Name two strategies the student could use instead.
ask the teacher for help, ask a classmate, reread the directions, break the assignment into smaller parts, look at an example, or try one question at a time.
A student has been using the same study strategy for three weeks but their grades have not improved.
What should the student do?
A. give up
B. decide they aren't smart enough
C. Review their progress and try a different strategy
D. stop setting goals.
C. Review their progress and try a different strategy.