Growth Mindset
Growth mindset creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment and we are a growth mindset school. What is “growth mindset”?
Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement. Her research focused on why people succeed and how to foster success.
In a “fixed mindset”, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are fixed traits that can not change. Striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled.
In a “growth mindset”, people believe that their abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Brains and talent are just the starting point. “Growth mindset” people thrive on challenge and see failure not as evidence of unintelligence. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment and for success in life.
At Ecole Barrie Wilson, students are taught that their brain is “like” a muscle that grows. Students learn about their brain and how to build strong neural pathways. They are taught to build strong neural pathways by participating, practicing, and persevering. It takes time and effort to build strong neural pathways. Mistakes are part of learning. Students can ask an expert for help when building these new neural pathways. We also teach students the “power of yet”. Take a peek at what world-renowned psychologist Carol Dweck tells us about the word “yet”.
"Just the words “yet” or “not yet,” we’re finding, give kids greater confidence, give them a path into the future that creates greater persistence. And we can actually change students’ mindsets. In one study, we taught them that every time they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult, the neurons in their brain can form new and stronger connections.” Carol S. Dweck
