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Our students deserve to be shown the importance of embracing change. We must teach them how to face the challenges that may arise, while also choosing to grow stronger from them.

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This article is a short piece focusing on the importance of a teacher's mindset in relation to their students' resilience. We, similar to their parents, are a direct reflection of how students react to change. If they know we are stressed and afraid, they will mimic the same behaviors. If they enter a calm and accepting classroom environment, they will project a similar emotion. We set the vibe for our classrooms. We have a huge impact on how they feel, no matter if we notice it or not.

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Moderating your behaviour, emotions and thinking in the face of change is not easy - but can it be taught? Emotion image from www.shutterstock.com

Across a student's lifetime, their world will change and change again. They're likely to see industry reshaped, medical advancements, and huge changes to technology.

In their own life too, they will begin school, transition to further education or work, move out of home, begin or end relationships, maybe have children, and retire from work.

To navigate this ever-shifting world, young people will need to be adaptable. But is this something you can teach? And what kind of difference can being more adaptable make?

The times they are a changin'

Whereas much research and discussion has focused on young people's resilience, very little has focused on their ability to adapt. Resilience refers to individuals' capacity to deal with adversity, while adaptability refers to their capacity to respond to uncertainty, change, and novelty.

In our recent research published in the Journal of Educational Psychology, we looked at the adaptability of 969 high school students from nine Australian secondary schools. Adaptability was assessed through a series of questions in a survey. These questions revolved around uncertain or changing situations and asked students to rate how effective they were in responding to those situations.

We found there are three parts to adaptability: behavioural, cognitive, and emotional.

The behavioural part involves adjusting one's actions or behaviour in response to uncertainty and novelty, the cognitive involves adjusting one's thinking and the emotional involves adjusting one's positive and negative emotions.

We found that young people who are more adaptable were more likely to participate in class, enjoy school, be more satisfied with life, have higher self-esteem, and have a more concrete sense of meaning and purpose in life. In addition, we included a measure of resilience in the study and found that adaptability was a better predictor of these outcomes than resilience.

The effects of adaptability also went beyond any effects of personality and prior achievement - two factors also included in the study. Adaptability, therefore, emerged as a potent factor in academic and non-academic outcomes.

Teaching adaptability

The results of the study have implications across the school community - for teachers, school psychologists and for parents and caregivers - and for the advice we give students.

But how can we help students become more adaptable?

At school, students will often be faced with changing lessons, a different teacher, new work groups, new academic skills and tasks, fluid social group dynamics, new sporting or creative challenges - and so on.

One advantage of unpacking adaptability into its three components (behavioural, cognitive, emotional) is that advice and guidance can be developed in specific and concrete ways.

When it comes to students behaviour for example, we can encourage students to seek out new or more information or take a different course of action when faced with a new situation. This can be as simple as asking a teacher for some good reading on a new topic or reorganising their study timetable based on a test announced that day.

Even just something as simple as thinking about the opportunities a new situation might create or not assuming that change is a bad or undesirable thing can make a big difference.

Students can also be encouraged to learn to minimise disappointment and maximise enjoyment when circumstances change. Or indeed, keep a level head when in a winning position.

There might also be opportunities to explicitly draw students' attention to some new tasks as they arise and guide them through the behaviours, thoughts and emotions essential to succeed on those tasks. For example, as students make the transition from one year group to another, or embark on a new subject, teachers may identify ways students can adjust their behaviours (such as increasing effort, asking for help), control their thinking (challenging pessimism, self-doubt), and manage their emotions (keeping fear or anxiety in check).

Like most skills, young people greatly benefit from clear and direct guidance from competent and caring adults.

Tomorrow's opportunities

Change, uncertainty, variability, transition and novelty are a reality of life. The extent to which young people effectively respond to this reality will have a significant bearing on their life course - beyond the influence of other important factors such as resilience and personality.

Encouragingly, research and practice show that young people can successfully adjust their behaviour, thought, and emotion - with some at-risk or underachieving youth perhaps requiring more intensive and sustained support to do this. Young people can be taught how to be more adaptable, and then in turn better embrace the opportunities of their ever-changing world.

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Coping with change: teaching adaptability will help kids grow

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Across a student's lifetime, their world will change and change again. They're likely to see industry reshaped, medical advancements, and huge changes to technology. In their own life too, they will begin...

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I feel educators fear change more than any other group of people. We must wake up and realize that the world is changing and we must change with it or be forgotten.

Almost everything a student can learn from an educator, they can learn from the internet.  We must embrace this and face this challenge. How do we rise up to this?  We must shift our mindset to one of an Innovator and be flexible in all seasons of change.

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Even though necessary, many people run from the idea of change.  Perhaps it is the fear of too much work or the fear of being uncomfortable, but the average person has a flight response to the concept of change.

Although scary, many times change in life is inevitable. It then depends on how the person responds to change.

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We need change, may that be for students or educators. Many times, we avoid any type of innovation due to the fear of being uncomfortable, but perhaps being uncomfortable is exactly what we need. We must experience new in order to find the world we did not realize existed before.

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This video does a great job of explaining the growth mindset and how it benefits students. Growth mindset should be taught and carried with students throughout their life. Possessing a growth mindset is important in school and at your workplace.

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So many students have similar experiences as Simon. We must shift our focus and create a new and better learning culture for our next generation.

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How people perceive change is extremely important. It is interesting that many people are afraid of change because often times, change is exciting and has a positive outcome. Change is also typically inevitable and if we do not embrace it, we will be left behind as the world progresses forward.

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Why We Are All Afraid Of Change - Overcoming Fear & Resistance

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Here is a supporting chart of examples of the two mindsets. It provides clear examples of both fixed and growth mindsets.

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Growth mindset is extremely important and has extreme value within the classroom and in life. A person cannot expect to gain all there is to life with such a fixed way of thinking. There is scientific evidence that supports the credibility of Growth Mindset. This is an additional article to support the idea of Growth Mindset.

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Emotional Intelligence (EI) Executive Coach at InLight Coaching. Let EI enhance your career and relationships with EQi-2/360® Assessments!
Dr. Carol S. Dweck, pioneer in the study of fixed versus growth mindsets, demonstrated that in predicting success, it doesn't matter whether someone is gifted or not. What matters is a person's belief that they can succeed and prevail.

The person who doesn't succeed is often blocked by a fixed mindset - that is, a mindset that assumes abilities and talents are given, limited and minimally subject to improvement. This person believes they were born with certain qualities, both positive and negative, and that they are largely fixed throughout life. While they usually recognize the value of training and education, when it comes to raising their horizons and imagining a bold and strikingly different future, it's often just beyond them.
Benefits Of Having A Growth Mindset
A growth mindset, on the other hand, is one in a constant state of flux and at work improving, expanding and honing all inherent talents and gifts, as well as adding to and improving those acquired along the way. Those of us with a growth mindset can, with time, effort and practice, acquire and improve skills and abilities to accomplish things previously thought impossible. With a real growth mindset, you don't just believe this, you live it. As Henry Ford is thought to have said, "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right."

Ford recognized there's nothing that will hold you back as much as the belief that you can't do something. He didn't call it a "fixed mindset," but had that term been around back then, he certainly could have. He also might have recognized a fixed mindset as an unhappiness trigger.
Drawbacks Of A Fixed Mindset
Those with a growth mindset are more likely to embrace challenges, use feedback and learn from failures and mistakes rather than dwell on them. Someone with a growth mindset will enjoy learning new things. They will, therefore, accept challenges, persist and be driven to achieve their goals. This can help people be more creative because they are more likely to persistently pursue solutions.
A Growth Mindset For Freedom
With a focus on bettering oneself rather than protecting oneself, someone with a growth mindset will not feel threatened by the intelligence and success of others. Instead, they will be more likely to admire others, learn from them and find inspiration in their successes.

Those with a fixed mindset are more likely to avoid learning situations because they're a direct challenge to the ego. With the stakes of success and failure dramatically heightened by the ego's drive to protect itself, attending a class, for example, becomes less about learning and more about looking for an opportunity to show that they already know all the answers. Someone with a fixed mindset is more likely to avoid challenges, give up easily and see little point in making effort toward a goal.
Practical Steps To Develop A Growth Mindset
A growth mindset offers more freedom to reach your full potential and stay in alignment with your values instead of being held back by limiting beliefs. With this freedom, everything is possible. And it brings with it the courage and motivation to strive, fail and strive again.

People who experience this type of freedom believe they have the ability to change not only their own lives but also the lives of others. They don't see things as static.

Both mindsets are the products of lifelong experiences, observations and education. But with practice, determination and effort, you can develop a growth mindset. Here are some practical steps:

1. First, you must believe you can do it. Use a daily mantra or a similar device. Convince yourself you're capable of all the change you need. It might take some work to instill this in yourself, but by reminding yourself of the payoff - growth and accomplishment - you can do it.

2. Avoid blaming circumstances or others for your shortcomings. You have to recognize you're responsible for your own future and for making the most of your innate talents and abilities. So the next time you hear yourself blaming something or someone, take a step back, own up to your responsibility, identify the lesson and move on.

3. Those seeking change must also be curious. Marvel at how much you don't know. Get used to this feeling. Not knowing is not a reason for fear or shame, but for excitement. Follow up on it by asking questions and seeking more information.

4. Allow yourself to fail. As uncomfortable as that may be, it's essential that you try and fail, and try and fail again. Every failure is a stepping stone on the path to success. I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the many famous people who at first failed miserably and then went on to become leaders, influencers and role models.

5. Leave your comfort zone and become at home operating outside it. For many of us, the comfort zone is a refuge, a place to go to be free from challenges. However, "free from challenges" also means "free from growth." Push yourself and grow.

6. Don't place undue emphasis on results. Sure, it's often results that count, but don't forget to reward yourself for your efforts. Well-earned self-praise for a valiant attempt can sustain you over the long haul. When the going gets tough, process is critical.
Next Steps
7. Be aware of the green-eyed monster, envy. When faced with another person's success, think, "I'll use their success as a model for what I want to achieve," not, "Boy, do I wish I had achieved what they have." The former spurs you to success; the latter limits you. Use admiration as a tool to guide you along the road to success.

8. Lastly, don't let the protection of your ego get between you and the changes that could make you happier and more successful. A growth mindset will push you into areas where you feel less comfortable, less accomplished and more afraid. The ego doesn't like this, but listening to it leads to the path to mediocrity. If you want to shine and excel, you have to be prepared to challenge your ego, limiting beliefs and assumed limitations.

Developing a growth mindset can be aided immeasurable by improving your emotional intelligence. Read further about using emotional intelligence to remove the unhappiness trigger of a fixed mindset, thereby opening paths to successes in every area of your life.

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?

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Council Post: The Value Of A Growth Mindset, And How To Develop One

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Emotional Intelligence (EI) Executive Coach at InLight Coaching . Let EI enhance your career and relationships with EQi-2/360® Assessments! Dr. Carol S. Dweck, pioneer in the study of fixed versus growth mindsets, demonstrated that in predicting success, it doesn't matter whether someone is gifted or not.

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2020: COVID. Educators were forced to changed and many ran from the opportunity. For those of us who stayed, it has become a challenge of how do we transition into this new and potentially permanent world of education?

Technology became a core piece of education and online education is more prevalent than ever.

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This article provides various techniques for innovation within the classroom. Teachers, especially now post-COVID, have been tasked with a great deal of duties (such as finding the best way to close the learning gap) and we must be willing and open to this new way of teaching.  If willing, educators not only accept this change but will also grow and learn from it as well.