Reflections on Growth Mindset

I’m currently reading Carol S. Dweck’s book, Mindset: the New Psychology of Success. In this book, I love how Dweck emphasizes that we should never beat ourselves (or others) up over sometimes having a fixed mindset. It is inevitable that, as humans, we will always operate each day in both mindsets. We cannot totally eliminate the fixed mindset.

As a child, I worried so much that I worried about worrying too much! If I had been taught by my teachers to embrace a growth mindset and eliminate a fixed mindset, I would have, most probably, worried more over trying to get rid of a fixed mindset than developing a growth mindset. I love how Dweck encourages, especially, educators and administrators, to never berate anyone over having a fixed mindset. In fact, after reading Dweck’s book, I came away with the realization that no one can operate in the growth mindset 100% of the time.
Dweck’s book also allowed me to see the importance of creating within classrooms and schools encouraging, supportive learning environments where students are free to learn from their mistakes and are provided many opportunities to succeed. I created this growth mindset coloring journal to help inspire students to write about their goals, their learning processes, and areas where they want to develop a growth mindset. Hopefully, the inspirational quotations will motivate students to see that hard work and perseverance are keys to success.