#TchLIVE: Growth Mindset

In the last couple of years, the topic of growth mindset has been buzzing about in my district and, it seems, everywhere else. Much of the professional development offered in my district as well as the professional development I've sought, has at least touched upon the issue of student mindsets. Carol Dweck, the pioneer in the field, has explained the importance of having a growth mindset. But the burning question is: How do we teach that to our students, all of them?

I've been giving some thought to the ways in which my mindset is fixed about certain things, yet malleable regarding others. How do I work with my struggling students to increase their perseverance and improve the effectiveness of their effort? How do I let students know that I will never give up on them, even if they themselves give up? How do I teach my high-achieving students that when something is hard, that doesn’t mean you’re not good at it, it just means that you haven’t figured it out yet? These are my questions and my challenges.

I know many teachers are asking themselves these same questions, as well as others related to growth mindset. If you're one of those teachers, I hope you'll join the #TchLIVE Twitter conversation Thursday, January 21st, at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET. We'll be discussing growth mindset as a guiding principle in teaching, and ways to incorporate growth mindset lessons and activities into our instruction. I hope to hear what you're trying, what has had a positive impact on your students, and where you're still looking for ideas.

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Marion is a kindergarten teacher in Oak Park, Illinois. She has been teaching since 1992, most of that time in kindergarten. Marion is a member of the Illinois Writing Project and the Collaboration for Early Childhood. She currently teaches full day kindergarten at Longfellow Elementary School. Connect with Marion on Twitter: @Mrs_Ivey_says.