Mindset Works’ Blog

I really can't do this.

This is never going to make sense!

I'm just not good at science, okay?!

These phrases, and many others like them, were all too familiar in Mrs. Kochan's eighth grade science classes at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts in Buffalo, NY. Each new unit, challenging assignment and/or test would elicit the same statements from students who struggled to complete their work. It was becoming clear as the school year went on that the students had internalized a set of beliefs and attitudes that prevented them seeing their science coursework as an intellectual challenge rather than a pathway to inevitable failure. They even experienced difficulty connecting to one another, as their conflict resolution skills suggested that they subscribed to a fixed mindset in their social interactions.

Determined to find a solution for her students, the University at Buffalo Liberty Partnerships Program (UB LPP), a dropout prevention initiative in the Buffalo Public Schools, teamed up with Mrs. Kochan to address the students' fixed mindset behaviors both socially and academically. UB LPP introduced students to the concept of a growth mindset, and began implementing specific interventions by which students' moods could be measured and monitored. On a weekly basis, Liberty Partnerships staff took over a class period and used the following strategies to help students transition from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset...

The new name for this dynamic online professional development reflects the goals and outcomes of educator participation. Educators will learn how to adopt a growth mindset for themselves through reflective activities and collaboration with peers. In addition, educators are empowered with the knowledge, tools, and resources needed to become agents of change in their classrooms, in turn becoming "Growth Mindset Makers" of their students. Learn more about the MindsetMaker™!

A Principal Learns With Staff and Brings Growth Mindset Practices to Students

One of the greatest challenges any educational leader can model for her staff is her own vulnerabilities – that is publicly sharing what one doesn't know. This willingness to not only share in the struggle and confusion that comes with learning, but to actually foist it into the spotlight at a staff meeting takes a great deal of courage.

Karen Barker took such a tenuous leadership proposition and turned it into an opportunity to lead - in her first year as principal no less.

Barker is the leader of three schools within the Dickinson Elementary School building in Lake Washington School District just north of Seattle, Washington. In addition to the elementary school there is a pre-school and a community school. At the time of her appointment four years ago, Barker was the fourth leader in three years when she moved from the teaching ranks into the principal's office. She found a fractured school culture.

"I was eager to build a really healthy school," she said. "And success is rooted in the teachers. They're the ones who are behind initiatives and who run with them. Change cannot be driven by the principal only."

Growth Mindset Posters? What a great idea!

Now you can display some of Carol Dweck's growth mindset messages in your classroom and around the school.

James Anderson has created these beautiful images of quotes to remind students, parents and teachers of key growth mindset messages. Capturing lines directly from Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Dr. Dweck, these posters will help support the development of a Growth Mindset culture at your school.

Price starts for a set of 7 posters at $55.00 US + $15 shipping (discounts for multiple sets).

size 11.7 x 16.5 inch, no watermarks

Order now!

Share this graphic with your students!

Talking to Students About Intelligence

Research shows that a critical intervention for improving motivation, is explicitly teaching a growth mindset - we can grow our intelligence through effective effort. Use this graphic in classrooms to communicate a growth mindset and have conversations with students about how they can grow the neurons in their brains.