This months’ School Administrator Virtual Mentor Program blogging/discussion prompt is on Growth Mindset.
I feel that I have always had a Growth Mindset by nature, which I credit for having the drive to learn how to do many different things and have a hard-working ethic. It was only once I read the book Mindset by Dweck that I fully understood this mindset and the incredible impact it has on students, educators and everyone.
After I read the book I shared my reflections with my staff in these posts:
- Mindset (sharing what I learned)
- Encouraging Growth Mindset (sharing what I saw teachers changing in their classrooms to encourage growth mindset)
Knowing what I know now about growth vs fixed mindset has impacted me in so many ways: as an individual, as a parent and as a leader. It helps me to realize that, at times, I do have a fixed mindset and need to change my thinking. It has helped me change the way I give feedback to my children, students and staff. I have also seen students who had struggled for years make a complete 180 change when their teacher took time to discuss mindset with their class and have individual conversations about mindset.
As a school leader, I feel it is essential for myself to have a growth mindset:
- I get into classrooms and give feedback with a coaching hat (vs evaluative).
- I admit when I don’t know about or how to do something and seek to learn more/how.
- I don’t hammer down on mistakes made (unless they affect student safety or are ethically wrong), rather I focus on growing from the mistake.
- I share with staff what I am reading (in my email signatures and staff blog) and what I am learning.
I also cannot help but make the connection between the concept of growth mindset and the new qualification criteria for a Specific Learning Disability/Response to Intervention process…time and time again we are finding that when students are given intensive intervention and frequently progress monitored, most students do make growth.
How do you lead with a growth mindset? I can never get enough of reading about Growth Mindset and how to share it with staff, students and parents and look forward to reading more posts.
Jennifer Kloczko wrote a great post that is filled with video clips to help promote Growth Mindset HERE.
Leading with a growth mindset has really helped to build trust with my new staff. They see that I am genuinely interested in growth versus immediate perfection in myself and in them. I have challenged my staff to incorporate the growth mindset concept into all aspects of the school. It really helps to build perseverance in our students.