Growth Mindset

What is growth mindset?

Having a Growth Mindset is having the belief that you can improve - at anything!!  That people aren't born great at things, they acquire skills and knowledge which makes them great - with practice!!

It is being able to acknowledge when you aren't great at something, but having the confidence to know that with effort and practice, you will get better at it, and maybe even master it.  It sounds simple, but it can be very hard to sustain when you are faced with challenges that put you out of your comfort zone.  Children face these situations much more than adults, in fact every day in their learning.  If we can support them to see these experiences as positive opportunities to get better at something, rather than a negative that "they can't do it" or "they will never get better", then we are equipping them with strategies that will help them long after they have left MOSPS.

This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Our greatest scientists, sportspeople and academics all have these qualities.

Some key aspects of Growth Mindset:

• It’s always OK to make mistakes – we learn from them

• Never give up! Try a different approach, or use a different strategy

• Try to learn from each other – our peers can often make the best teachers!

• Try not to compare yourself to others, at least not demoralise yourself but to see how we can learn from them

• Challenge yourself – if you want to get better, you have to move out of your comfort zone

• Take risks – don’t limit yourself by taking the easy option

• Join in as much as possible – we learn much more by being an active participant

• We remember that mastering something new feels so much better than doing something you can already do

• We remember that the brain is making new connections all the time – you can literally learn anything!