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There are two types of mindsets in relation to intelligence and learning: Fixed Mindsets and Growth Mindsets.

People with fixed mindsets believe that intelligence is just an innate trait in which they "only have a certain amount of--and that's it."

Students who have this type of fixed mindset about learning may not show great effort with their work, may give-up if learning tasks are deemed as challenging, blame others for shortcomings, or fail to handle setbacks with resilience.

A person with a growth mindset understands that they can develop their intellectual knowledge over time.

Creating a culture of growth mindset in your classroom allows for risk-taking with challenging concepts, welcoming mistakes, using goal-setting techniques to progress and grow in learning, and promoting the most positive types of praise for students.

Encourage progress above perfection; teach students that the key to becoming successful is acknowledging the fact that they should always strive to be better.

The power of "YET" should be a mantra in every classroom. Empower students to use the word "yet" when they are learning a skill or concept they have not yet mastered.

By promoting the power of "YET" in a classroom centered around the growth mindset, students will be more successful long-term. Students who are constantly self-aware of progress will be well-prepared to self-regulate and self-assess next steps in their learning.

Source: "Even Geniuses Work Hard" by Carol S. Dweck

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How do I support students with perfectionistic tendencies?

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How do I support students with perfectionistic tendencies?

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Talk about perfectionism with your student so they understand how it can be beneficial to them...encourage the principle of “dare to dream” so that students can be motivated by their high standards

Model appropriate responses by knowing positive and negative aspects of perfectionism so that you can help the student pursue excellence in a healthy way...expect excellence rather than perfectionism because no one is or can be perfect

Recognize the manifestations of perfectionism when things become stressful so that you can help your student work through situations--i.e. a delay in starting a task, unwilling to share, refusing to turn an assignment in, being impatient with others, the inability to tolerate mistakes

Teach the following skills so that your perfectionists can understand the value of more manageable steps: task analysis, time management, and setting goals

Use specific criteria for assignments

Provide opportunities to fail so your perfectionists are introduced to new experiences in a safe environment and become more willing to take risks

Encourage and/or reward improving rather than being perfect

Focus on strengths and successes rather than mistakes made...watch your criticism because it can trigger the students’ self-criticism

Know that females put more pressure on themselves and that males are easily harmed by being teased about being smart and/or perfect

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The potential drawbacks of the “Perfectionist” State of Mind for Gifted Students are:

Underachievement

Withdrawn

Depression

Procrastination

Internal self talks that they should be able to do everything well

I’m never good enough no matter how hard I try

If I make a mistake something is wrong with me

Angry with themselves when criticized

Angry if routine is interrupted

Afraid of being incompetent

Anxiety- concerns over mistakes

Suicidal

Judgement of being a perfectionist:Fear/Control/Doubt/Pressure

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Identifying an unhealthy perfectionist - A Super-kid, Workaholic, Type A, Straight A's, Procrastinator, Overachiever, ...

Perfectionism is a "phobia" of making mistakes

Exhibits/Signs of:

All or Nothing - Dissatisfaction with anything other than a 100%

Compromise on your acceptance level. Set a thresh hold.

All or Nothing - Excessive NTI assignments

Chunking

Associated Self-worth

Understanding that self-worth is NOT equal to your score

Obsessive-Compulsive tendencies like revising the revision

Know when to move on

Don't Ask Questions - Don't want to look imperfect!

Gradual EXPOSURE

Extra Curricular Interests?

Encourage extra-curricular interests, hobbies & interactions

Famous person

Share bios of famous people that students can relate to

One Goal

Choose ONE goal to overcome over a reasonable period of time

Gradual Exposure
Realistic Comment sentences (note cards)

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IDEALISM:

IDEALISM is a product of the gifted intellect: a vision of what is possible, what could be

Idealism is a positive quality - the driving energy that propels a gifted person forward towards achievement.

An idealist is a dreamer or a person who has "ideas" about how things might be in a perfect world.

An idealist has goals or beliefs about the world s/he would consider to be the best, however s/he might never act upon those beliefs.

Idealists can be very philosophical or very intellectually inclined.

Idealists are likely to have "causes" or a higher purpose to whatever work or hobbies they choose to do.

An idealist wants things to be perfect, but doesn't know how to go about doing it.

An idealist dreams of things going perfectly well, but doesn't know how to steer things towards the perfection he envisions.

To be effective in life, gifted people need to understand that it is OK to be an idealist but that resources, including time, are not unlimited and therefore perfection is not possible.

PERFECTIONISM

Perfectionists are people who are concerned with the details of a task to the point where they spend an extreme amount of care to get the details precisely right.

Perfectionists can be so compulsively concerned with perfection that they can never be satisfied with the outcome of any work they do.

Perfectionism demands the impossible: Get to the destination without taking the journey! (“If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all!”)

A perfectionist sets about making things perfect, regardless of whether it is situationally perfect or not.

Problems arise when idealism becomes perfectionism: when what could be becomes what should be - an imperative!