
Please find below our daily SolBe Family update letter containing helpful resources and exciting projects to explore while we all do our part to stay home during this pandemic. Subscribe here to receive updates. June 23, 2020 SolBe Families, Making mistakes can be great! Today, we are exploring the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) benefits of fostering a growth mindset in our children. This has been a popular concept in recent years. Professor Carol Dweck is considered the “mother” of the “Growth Mindset” movement. She states “A growth mindset is when students understand that their abilities can be developed,” (Dweck, 2014). This is in contrast with a “fixed mindset,” which insists that intelligence and ability are inherent and cannot be developed or grown. Help your child learn how to change “I can’t do it” into “I can’t do it…YET!” A growth mindset is a wonderful launching pad to encourage continuous change and learning. If we are successfully able to steer children away from a stagnant or “fixed mindset,” we will be able to more easily share, learn, and implement all aspects of SEL. Now, more than ever, openness to change, learning, and growth is absolutely essential.
How do we introduce Growth Mindset in Social-Emotional Learning? Change or adjust your language! Fill your vocabulary with growth mindset-related words and phrases. “Make mistakes!” “Embrace the challenge!” “Feedback will help me grow and learn.” Use “yet” statements…”I can’t do it…yet” or “I am not good at this…yet!” “I am making progress!” There is an element of self-talk that is also valuable here. Try to push that little voice in your own head to use a similar vocabulary. If we are treating ourselves kindly and approaching the adult world with a growth-mindset lens…our kiddos will imitate our words and actions and will develop a similar outlook.
Praise the Process! This one can be tricky! It is ever so important to focus your praise on the process, not solely the outcome. Here are two examples Annie Brock uses in her book “Phrases for Growth Mindset:“ “Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset You’re so smart vs I like how you used different strategies to figure out these problems You’re wrong vs That didn’t work out for you. How could you approach the problem differently?”
Books to Pair: The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) by Dan Santat
Helpful Resources: In Other Words: Phrases for Growth Mindset: A Teacher’s Guide to Empowering Students through Effective Praise and Feedback (Growth Mindset for Teachers) by Annie Brock Dweck, C. (2014) Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve One of my favorite Instagram follows: @DrBeckyatHome More resources to follow in the coming days. Feedback and more ideas welcome! Above all, be well and stay healthy! The SolBe Team
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