There’s a lot of chat about growth mindset in education. What is it, how can parents support it, and why is it so important to the holistic approach to education we have at LS Tuition?
As parents and educators, we all want our children to thrive – not just in the classroom and exam hall, but in their personal lives too, from friendships to confidence and resilience. Encouraging a growth mindset is one of the most powerful things a parent can do to support a child’s learning. So how can you encourage the development of a growth mindset at home?
Firstly, we need to establish what a growth mindset is. First conceived by American psychologist Carol Dweck, growth mindset is the belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed through effort, perseverance, and learning from mistakes. It’s the opposite of having a fixed mindset – where someone believes their intelligence, skills and personality cannot be changed.
Why Growth Mindset Matters to LS Tuition
Growth mindset is important to LS Tuition because it aligns with our holistic approach to education. As private tutors of primary school-aged children in Edinburgh, our team sees first-hand how growth mindset benefits children.
In LS Tuition’s Edinburgh tutor setting, we encourage children to explore different learning styles, ask questions, and take risks without the fear of failure. Our learning environment and tutoring style have been developed so children feel safe to make mistakes and know it’s ok to take risks in their learning. We offer engaging activities that encourage children to use critical thinking, problem-solving and collaboration. We find it really rewarding to see how the children we tutor embrace challenges, don’t give up when things get difficult, and see mistakes as opportunities to grow.
Why Growth Mindset Matters to Children
This approach to life has real benefits when it comes to learning and education. By adopting growth mindset, children become more resilient learners, who are less inclined to give up. And the impact goes well beyond school years. Growth mindset doesn’t just benefit children in the classroom – it builds resilience and confidence into their personalities, which they can take with them into high school and adulthood.
Thanks to LS Tuition’s holistic education approach, where we nurture curiosity and independent thinking, children develop creative problem-solving skills that serve them for a lifetime. Children with a growth mindset also feel more motivated to take on new challenges, and appreciate the value of effort over immediate success – they understand what it means to work at something, and know mistakes are all part of the journey.
Growth Mindset: Advice for Parents
So how can parents support the development of growth mindset in their children? To compliment what we do at LS Tuition, here are some simple but effective tips on how to help your child develop a growth mindset:
Reframe Mistakes
Many of us are scared of getting things wrong, but making mistakes is part of learning. You can reframe your reaction to your child’s mistakes by asking “What can we learn from this?” instead of telling your child “You got that wrong.” This encourages them to persevere and take a problem-solving approach, rather than placing importance on getting everything right first time.
Language Matters
Linked with this, use language that aligns with the growth mindset approach.
We’re big fans of “yet”, as in: “You haven’t mastered it yet, let’s keep trying!” or “You haven’t found the answer yet, but you’re getting there!” You can also use phrases like “Mistakes mean you’re learning.”
It’s also really important to praise your child’s effort, rather than the outcome of their efforts. We have written in the past about the importance of this shift – you can read that here. During individually tailored private tutoring sessions in our purpose-built learning facility, we focus on effort rather than results, so that children who learn with LS Tuition understand that trying and failing is more important that intelligence. This helps them understand that skills can be developed with persistence, practice and effort, helping them develop a love for learning that stays with them beyond the classroom. As Carol Dweck herself said: “Praise your child explicitly for how capable they are of learning, rather than telling them how smart they are.”
Get Thinking
At LS Tuition, we love it when parents of the children we tutor support our vision to encourage independent thinking and curiosity. These are key values of holistic education vs. traditional education. To make this work in the family environment, create an atmosphere where your child feels safe to ask questions, explore new interests, and maybe even push themselves out of their comfort zone.
Be the Change
We all know children learn by example. Within LS Tuition, we model growth mindset by highlighting learning journeys and sharing our experiences of making mistakes. If children see their parents and educators embrace challenges and keep persisting in the face of challenges, it’s more likely they’ll do the same. If the opportunity arises, it’s great to share stories with your kids of how you struggled with something but improved the situation through effort and resilience.
A Powerful Tool
Growth mindset is a powerful tool that, once mastered, can be carried with a child throughout their life. When you have a growth mindset, you understand that you, your intelligence, your skills and your knowledge can develop and change over time. Failure isn’t a worry, because you know each mistake is a learning opportunity, and that you can grow from life’s challenges. People who have a growth mindset are open to receiving feedback and can learn from criticism; seeing persistence and effort as part of the journey towards mastering something.
So you can see why supporting your child to develop a growth mindset can be one of the greatest gifts you, as a parent, can give them. By encouraging effort, reframing mistakes, fostering an environment that values curiosity, and using positive language, you can really help your child develop resilience and develop a lifelong love for learning.
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