We’ve all by now heard about growth mindset, an aspect of the theory of intelligence offered by the Stanford University professor, Carol Dweck. If you haven’t, you can find plenty of details about the difference between growth mindset and fixed mindset in our series, Why You Need to Know about Growth Mindset.
Briefly put, according to Dweck, all of us sit on a continuum between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. These poles are characterised by a fundamental difference in beliefs about the origins of intelligence – and in the attitudes to life and learning that these different beliefs produce.
If we believe that we intelligence is something that is innate and unchangeable, Dweck would say we have a fixed mindset. If we believe that intelligence, rather, is something that can be grown and developed, we have a growth mindset.
And whilst we might think we believe one or the other, this doesn’t really mean anything: the important element of mindset is that it can be seen primarily through our actions, our reactions to things like failure, and our larger behaviours in educational contexts. Not in our conscious beliefs.
See our definition of growth mindset!
Why We Educate for a Growth Mindset.
For educators and for teachers, particularly in the UK, the theory behind the fixed and the growth mindsets has become incredibly important.
This is because, in Dweck’s studies, the growth mindset emerged as one of the most important elements that increased the chances of student success. According to the theory, by inculcating into students a growth mindset – rather than a fixed mindset – student outcomes are more likely to improve.
If you believe that intelligence is something that can always be developed further, if you believe that effort is more important than ‘natural talent’, and if you reckon that challenges are just opportunities for further growth, you are more likely to strive to achieve your goals. The alternative, the fixed mindset, is to set limits upon yourself due to your belief in your innate, unchangeable ability.
And so, from classroom to classroom and curriculum to curriculum all over the country, the growth mindset is informing lesson plans and resources for teachers. And from instructional strategies to teaching tips, the internet is full of teaching materials to help the educator to bring the growth mindset to student learning.
Yet, you don’t need to be a school-teacher yourself to benefit from the teaching resources and classroom resources that focus on the growth mindset. Rather, if you are looking to develop your growth mindset for purposes of professional development, adult learning, or just because, you can benefit from these research-based pedagogical tools, these teaching resources, and these classroom strategies.
Here are some of the resources to develop your growth mindset – no matter where you are in life. Because that, after all, is the whole point in Dweck’s theory.
Do you know the difference between growth mindset and fixed mindset?
What Can Online Resources Do to Help Your Growth Mindset?
Learning is not just about an accumulation of information. It’s not just about learning new practical skills, theories, or ideas.
No, learning is about developing yourself – and teaching about developing another – into a fully-fledged, competent person who is able to learn continually by themselves.
This is what the resources on the growth mindset can do for you, whether you are learning maths and literacy in the classroom or whether you are aiming for professional growth at work or more broadly in life. These growth mindset resources can help you to change the way you think – and can help you move away from a fixed mindset.
But it is not about just convincing you that you are not determined by your innate ability. Rather, it is about changing your attitude to learning, to success and failure, and to your ability to take risks.
Mindset is not the easiest thing to change. However, these resources will support you in every aspect of your development of a growth mindset. Now, let’s take a look at the best resources out there – so that you can get started.
The Best Resources to Develop Your Growth Mindset.
So, here are the internet’s best resources for growth mindset development. From quick videos to resources for the classroom, from strategies with which to reach your learning goals to webinars – and a host of other resources besides – we hope you find them as useful as we did ourselves.
Good luck in developing your growth mindset!
First, Watch Carol Dweck’s Ted Talk on Mindsets.
The best place to start when looking into the world of the growth mindset is Carol Dweck’s TED Talk, ‘The power of believing that you can improve’. Watched by nearly ten million people, Dweck’s video is the perfect introduction to the theory of the mindsets – and it will get you understanding what is at stake in its application and growth.
She frames the question under discussion in the most simple of terms: if you have reach a problem, what will you think about its difficulty? Are you just not smart enough to solve it, or have you just not managed to yet?
This difference is the fundamental difference between the mindsets – and it is to embrace the latter perspective that all of these resources will aid.
Head to Mindset Works for Lifelong Learning Resources.
Mindset Works is one of the biggest dedicated suppliers of growth mindset resources online, offering free teaching resources – and paid subscription plans – for early childhood teachers, for school programs, and for the development of a growth mindset in later life too.
They have resources on goal setting, the best way to introduce topics in the classroom to best engage students and get the best out of them, and for effective teaching more generally.
Check Out Mindset Kit for Heaps of Resources on Growth Mindset.
Whilst Mindset Works is the more famous of the mindset centres online, Mindset Kit has been developed by the Project for Education Research that Scales, a centre for research at Stanford University.
The underpinning elements of their pedagogy are three: a growth mindset, belonging, and purpose and relevance – the three formative elements to be developed to ensure student engagement and attainment. These elements are all developed through their education resources and teaching strategies.
Mindset Kit have quite a considerable library to which many people can upload educational resources. From blog posts on different types of mistakes to strategies for formative assessment, from engaging animations to scenarios and handouts – there is plenty to learn from.
Find Growth Mindset Resources at Big Life Journal.
The Big Life Journal is a blog run by two American parents. And when it comes to sharing secret resources for teaching and for learning the growth mindset, they do a really excellent job.
They have a page on their site crammed full of different resources for growth mindset education and professional learning. They’ve actually done an incredibly good job of scouring the internet and the real world beyond for all of the best sites and texts for mindset theory.
Whether you are interested in the child mind and its neuroplasticity, or you want to know about the best ways to praise and receive praise, this may be the best place for you.
Explore Edutopia’s Massive Collection of Growth Mindset Resources.
Founded actually by George Lucas, Edutopia is a hugely effective online education portal that offers training in everything from classroom management to school leadership.
It also has a considerable selection of resources for learning about and cultivating a growth mindset – with resources on Dweck’s theory of growth mindset itself to plans and strategies for subject-specific problems.
It too gives a lot of attention to the problem on praising – a key element in growth mindset theory – and offers a load of resources on facing challenges, perseverance, and grit.
Find good personal development courses here on Superprof.
Take Courses, Workshops, and Tutorials on Growth Mindset from Inner Drive, Udemy, and Coursera.
As we have seen, the internet is full of different opportunities and resources for turning a fixed mindset into a growth mindset. And whilst the overwhelming number of these are for teachers and students, everyone else can use them to develop their own ways to improve their growth mindset too.
However, there are plenty of resources for people outside of the educational system to learn about the growth mindset too. With all sorts of online courses and workshops, there is no excuse for anyone to stick with their fixed mindset for too long.
The big professional development and online learning platforms – such as Udemy, Coursera, and Inner Drive – have many courses and tutorials on growth mindset. So, if you’re looking to change your mindset a little, this is the best place to start.
The platform that connects tutors and students