Nurturing the Growth Mindset

Mrs. Tischler, Learning Specialist shares some tips and tricks on how you can help motivate your child to keep trying. 

 
 
"If at first you don't succeed, try again." But how do we get our kids to try again? Most young students seem to go by the lesser known moto, "if at first you don't succeed, whine, complain, and give up." What most students don't have yet is the growth mindset. The idea that challenges, obstacles, and failures should be embraced and present an opportunity for learning and growth. As teachers, we work hard to show our students the bright side of mistakes and failures. Whether it be on tests, in social situations, or on the sports field, we try and help our students recognize that in our weaknesses comes the opportunity for strength and growth.
 
A student's time spent at home is vitally important to improving their growth mindset. Below are some ways parents or other adults can help students continue to grow:
 
  • Praise the process, not the result: Students need to be shown that the hard work and effort they put into a task is often more important than the product itself.

  • Show your own growth: Adults make mistakes as well. Pointing out one's own mistakes and how they were overcome is a great model for what students should be thinking and doing. 

  • Try new things together: Taking on new challenges together helps the students to understand that trying new things is not only okay but also can be fun and exciting.


  • Add the word "yet" to their vocabulary: "I can't do this yet," "I don't know this yet," "This doesn't work yet." The word "yet" shows students that anything can be achieved, but they have to flex their brains and work their way through it.
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Woodlynde School is a private, co-ed college prep day school located in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that serves intelligent, talented students with learning differences in grades K - 12. Woodlynde provides a comprehensive, evidence-based Kindergartenelementarymiddle and high school program in a challenging yet nurturing environment for students with average to above average cognitive abilities (IQ) who have language- or math-based learning differences (such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia), Executive Function Challenges, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or Auditory Processing Disorder. Even for those students without a diagnosed learning disability (LD), Woodlynde offers expert and caring teachers in small classroom settings that support academic success. Woodlynde School also offers a post-graduate (PG) program in partnership with Rosemont College as well as a regional Summer Camp for students who learn differently.