The growth mindset

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In the previous activity, we learned that our brains can grow and that you have the power to grow your brain. An important part of growing your brain is understanding common obstacles that can get in your way or throw you off track when learning and how to overcome them.

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

• Identify negative self talk
• Differentiate between growth mindset and fixed mindset
• Jumpstart your brain growth by changing the voice in your head and your actions

##Meet Sam and Mia.

Think back to when you first started learning how to solve equations. Now, read the cases of Mia and Sam who have different approaches to learning in math class.

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##The first week

Mia and Sam’s teacher was teaching single-step equations.

Case A: Sam has always felt that he was a math person. Learning math has come easily for him, and he has been quite the show-off about it.

Case B: Mia has never felt confident about math. One time, she told her teacher and her best friend, Liz, “I’m just not a math person.”

##The first test

Sam and Mia had a test on equations at the end of the first week.

Case A: Sam passed with flying colors. He thought to himself, “Of course. I’m a math person.”

Case B: Mia, on the other hand, didn’t do super well. She thought to herself, “That confirms it. I’m really not a math person.”
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##The second week

The next week’s lessons were on multi-step equations.

Case A: On the first day of the second week of class, Sam said to himself, “I am a math person, and this is going to be easy for me.” But, it wasn’t. He started struggling, and then he started thinking to himself, “Maybe I am not meant to do multi-step equations; maybe I am not actually a math person. This is too hard for me.” When his teacher started to give him encouragement, he turned to her and said, “I’m going to fail the test at the end of the week, so why bother trying?”

Case B: Mia was discouraged from the week before, and the second week’s concept was building on the first week’s. There was no way she was going to do well. She wanted to skip class, but as she was walking the other direction, her friend, Liz, stopped her and dragged her to class, saying, “Let’s learn together!"
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##The myth of the math person

Liz told Mia there is no such thing as a math person. Our brains can always change and grow if we give them the right kind of practice. Some things are harder and take longer to learn than others, and that’s OK.

Sam and Mia took the test at the end of the second week and both Sam and Mia barely passed the test. The teacher offered a retake the next day.

Case A: Sam went home and told his parents, “I know I failed the test, but it’s not like anyone in the class passed anyway. Equations are way too hard.” He beamed as he said, “I am still the smartest one because everyone failed worse than me.” He didn’t study that night.
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Case B: Mia went home and told her parents, “I know I failed the test even after all that studying, but I can tell I’m learning. If I practice a bit more I think I can get this.” Mia went up to her room, practiced, and went to tutoring with her teacher in the morning. She even invited her friend Liz over to review problems she had missed on the first test together.
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##Pause and reflect

• Who do you think passed the retake the next day?
• What do you think could have happened differently if Sam changed the way he thought about equations and himself?

You have completed part 1 of 3 for this activity: Connect!

##The growth mindset

In part 1 of this activity, Sam and Mia showcased different mindsets and strategies when learning a difficult concept in math.

A professor at Stanford has been observing students like Sam and Mia from all walks of life learn for years. As part of that work, she developed the idea of growth mindset and fixed mindset.

This researcher’s name is Carol Dweck. She has challenged the common belief that intelligent people are born smart; instead, this is what she found:

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Let’s breakdown what Carol Dweck said in the video.

The growth mindset is the belief that you can grow your brain and that your intelligence grows with effort.

“The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome.”

A fixed mindset is the belief that you are born a certain way and cannot change.

“In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted.”

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Singer and songwriter John Legend has a strong growth mindset.

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##Which voice will you hear?

It’s normal to have both a fixed mindset and a growth mindset talking to us and competing for our attention.

Sometimes we listen to our growth mindset. We say to ourselves, “You can do this!” and think, “I’m not giving up!”

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Other times, our fixed mindset shows up. It might be triggered by a mistake, a failure, or criticism from someone.

Our fixed mindset voice says things like, “I'll never be good at this.”

How do we start to challenge our fixed mindset voice so that we can adopt a growth mindset?

We can use both our language and our actions!

##We can use our language.

We can use our language to combat the negative self talk that comes with a fixed mindset.

**1. The power of yet: **Add yet at the end of your fixed mindset statements.

Example: “I can’t do this.” → “I can’t do this YET!”

**2. Say stop:** When your fixed mindset voice is getting out of hand, tell yourself to stop and clear your mind before continuing.

**3. You instead of I:** It’s easier to pump yourself up and give yourself crucial advice using the word you instead of I.

Example: "I got this." → "YOU got this!"

##We can use our actions!

We can also use our actions to conquer the fixed mindset when it shows up.

**1. Ask for help.** Let your teacher know that you are struggling so that they can put you back on the right path.

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**2. Make a study group.** Talk and work together with different study strategies.

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**3. Revisit your mistakes.** Look at your mistakes, and review what you did wrong. This will help you avoid making the same mistake again later.

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You have completed part 2 of 3 for this activity: Learn!

At the beginning of this activity, we shared how an important part of growing your brain is understanding common obstacles that can get in your way or throw you off track when learning and how to overcome them. In this reflection, do your best to think about the challenges and obstacles you face in your own life. Use these reflection questions to piece together a plan for overcoming them using strategies shared in this activity.

##Let's reflect.

- If someone you knew said, “I am just not a good writer and never will be”, what would you tell them?

- How did Sam’s fixed mindset prevent him from succeeding when the material got harder?

- What was John Legend’s response to struggling to get a record deal?

- What is something you have struggled with recently? What do you tell yourself when you feel like giving up? What keeps you going?

- Some common fixed mindset triggers are life transitions, failure, or discouraging things said to you by your peers. What are your fixed mindset triggers?

- What is a transition or an event that you anticipate being hard in the future?

- What can you do when your fixed mindset thoughts creep in during the transition or event you identified?

Congratulations, you have completed all 3 parts of Activity 2: Connect, Learn, and Reflect! These activities are part of the LearnStorm 2019 program.