Growth Mindset#

Comparing growth and fixed mindsets#

Campbell et al (2020, p. 29) offers the following comparison of behaviours characteristics of the two mindsets

Category	A growth mindset person will ...	A fixed mindset person will ...
Challenges	Choose or value challenges that will lead to more learning. ‘I like a challenge.’	Avoid challenges that may expose areas of weakness. ‘I like things I know I can do well.’
Persistence	Persist after setbacks, show resilience. ‘I’ll have to try harder or work differently.’	Give up easily after setbacks, or become defensive, or helpless. ‘What’s the point in trying? I don’t have what it takes to succeed.’
Effort	Put effort into academic work. ‘Worthwhile learning usually requires hard work.’	Avoid appearing to work hard as it suggests low ability. ‘Learning should be easy if you are intelligent.’
Praise	Give or value praise for effort over praise for talent. ‘Well done, great work.’	Give or value praise for talent rather than effort. ‘You’re a star, you’re a winner, you’re a top student.’
Success of others	Learn from and feel inspired by the success of others. ‘I can try that.’	Feel threatened by the success of others. ‘Will they make it harder for me to be seen as successful?’
Learning goals	See the goal of learning as improving performance. ‘What can I learn from the mistakes I made in the test?’	See the goal of learning as showcasing performance. ‘High performance in a test shows that I am learning.’

Growth Mindset activities and resources#

References#

Campbell, A., Craig, T., & Collier-Reed, B. (2020). A framework for using learning theories to inform 'growth mindset' activities. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 51(1), 26--43. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2018.1562118