Effort and hard work:
moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset
So I think it's really important to teach kids that their effort is what will help them succeed in school and in life. I have a wall filled with effort quotes in an attempt to inspire students to always try their best. I started this after reading Robert Marzano's research on his Nine Instructional Strategies for Effective Teaching and Learning. I particularly connected with his thoughts on effort.
This summer, I started reading about moving students from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. It's an idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck. It's the thought that a fixed mindset- things are the way they are and we can't change them- stands in our way of success. A growth mindset is the belief that we can develop our brains and our talent through hard work and effort. That's what I was trying to teach my kids with the effort quotes but I didn't have a name for it. So my first step was to create posters on moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. They're on TeachersPayTeachers for $1.50. Adults (district visitors) really liked them but I wasn't sure I was getting through to the kids.