Cultivating a Growth Mindset in Math
Cultivating a growth mindset in your math classroom is more than the cheerleading of "try harder, you got this!" While that is important, it's not everything. If you present a problem to a student, and there is only one right way to accomplish the problem with only one correct solution, and all you say is try harder, the student may hit a wall, and if they are truly stuck and they can't get over the wall, then there they will stay . Teaching math as one strategy and one solution promotes a fixed mindset.
Students need more than one path. Either another strategy to do the problem, which eventually will lead to the same solution. Or another path to do the problem, which eventually leads to a different (although still correct) solution. This promotes a growth mindset. I created this lovely visual to better explain.
Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset
Students need more than one path. Either another strategy to do the problem, which eventually will lead to the same solution. Or another path to do the problem, which eventually leads to a different (although still correct) solution. This promotes a growth mindset. I created this lovely visual to better explain.
Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset
If you are not sure which type of problems to give your students, I have some that I created with this in mind. These Back-to-School activities were created for students to problem-solve and be successful. They are back-to-school themed, but would work great for anytime of year. With a low floor and high ceiling, these would work for a 6th, 7th, or 8th grade classroom.
Here are some other great activities to incorporate a growth mindset in your classroom.
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Save these tips and ideas to your favorite classroom Pinterest board. Come back and reference this for ideas on how to cultivate a growth mindset in your math classroom.
