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This is a testament to my growth mindset.

"While she was really excited and happy to receive recognition as the district’s top teacher, Andress knows she still has areas to grow as a teacher.

'I recognize that I’m valued here but there’s more to be done,” Andress said. “It’s not like what I’m doing isn’t good enough. I just want to continue to do better. I want to keep growing. I’m not letting an award stop me.'"

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R-II announces district-wide awards - Warren County Record

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Wright City High School math teacher Hanna Andress and early childhood paraprofessional Bill Talley were recently named district teacher and support staff of the year.

Andress was named district teacher of the year in her fourth year teaching math at Wright City High School. Andress came to Wright City after one year stops in Galena and Winfield in Missouri and Omaha, Nebraska. She has been a teacher for the past seven years.

Andress said teaching was on her mind at a young age and was solidified in high school.

"We had a dry erase board. We had an easel. And my sisters would be the students and we would play with books and I would teach math and all that," Andress said. "So it kind of started there. But then it really became solidified when I was a senior in high school. I was in my calculus class and it just hit me. I really want to do this for the rest of my life."

Andress thinks her career development took off after arriving at Wright City. Just two years prior, Andress was considering changing careers while teaching in Omaha. Five years later, she was named the Wright City R-II district's top teacher.

"Once I saw the results of my hard work, that really paid off and it made me want to continue to work hard for good results," Andress said. "And then I saw how I was valued here and I am trusted with responsibilities, like being an Impact team leader. Being able to help newer teachers grow the way I was grown when first coming here as well has been really fulfilling."

Andress' main focus at the high school is teaching Algebra II. Wright City High School Principal Matt Brooks noted 73% of her students were proficient or advanced last year. This is one of the best scores the high school has achieved.

"She's led a young group of math teachers to improve our Algebra I and our Geometry across the board," Brooks said. "It's amazing. They all kind of respect and revere her. There's good reason for it because she's a great leader in her own right. I'm really proud of the things she does in that role."

While she was really excited and happy to receive recognition as the district's top teacher, Andress knows she still has areas to grow as a teacher.

"I recognize that I'm valued here but there's more to be done," Andress said. "It's not like what I'm doing isn't good enough. I just want to continue to do better. I want to keep growing. I'm not letting an award stop me."
Talley receives support staff award
Four years into working as a school paraprofessional, Bill Talley was named the district's support staff of the year.

Talley is in his second year as a paraprofessional at the Wright City early childhood building. Prior to working in the Wright City R-II district, Talley was a paraprofessional for two years at Rebecca Boone Elementary in the Warren County R-III School District. Despite being content and happy working at Rebecca Boone, Talley applied for the paraprofessional job at the urging of his wife, Sadie, who is also a paraprofessional in the early childhood building. After turning the job down once, Bill Talley later accepted the position.

"I actually applied and interviewed once and I turned the position down because I loved my coworkers where I was working at," Talley said. "And then it came up again and I was like you know what, alright, I'm going to try it... And you know what, working with preschoolers is so fun. I can't see myself working with any other age group now."

As part of his role as a paraprofessional, Talley dresses up in different costumes for the children at the Wright City early childhood building. This is something he also did at Rebecca Boone Elementary. He has dressed up as the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, among other costumes. With his gig on the side as a professional wrestler, Talley already had the costumes to fill this role at the schools.

"He's dressed up as numerous things throughout the year and everyone loves Mr. Bill over at the early childhood center," Wright City early childhood principal Kelly Brooks said.

Talley was surprised to receive the district-wide award, especially considering he has only been at the district for two years and the early childhood building had not previously won the district-wide award. Even though he was excited to win the award, Talley was more thrilled the building got the award for the first time.

Talley credited the administration for the support they provide him as a paraprofessional.

"I can't say enough about the administration, the superintendent of this district. They're very supportive," Talley said. "They could look at me and go we don't need you dressed up as a seven-foot tall leprechaun. They can say that. But they don't because they see how much the kids enjoy that stuff. They are just so supportive of all the staff here."

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R-II announces district-wide awards - Warren County Record

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Wright City High School math teacher Hanna Andress and early childhood paraprofessional Bill Talley were recently named district teacher and support staff of the year. Andress was named ...

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How educators react to change varies greatly. Some educators are open-minded and are willing to try new things if it's for the betterment of the student. Other educators are comfortable with what they've been doing and don't want to change. I think the biggest component to why many educators don't want to change is fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. I believe that teachers who have already lived the majority of their life embracing difficulties and challenges are more likely to embrace change in the world of education and try new things.

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I think students are much more willing to try new things and embrace change. From my experience, when I try something new in the classroom there may be a couple groans in the beginning, but by the end of the activity, the students are smiling and have had great conversations. As the year progresses, my students have experienced so many learning opportunities that were once new to them, that they embrace anything I throw at them.

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How can we guide students through change and nurture their growth?

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How can we guide students through change and nurture their growth?

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In this video, the speaker talks about how children are afraid of change and growth when they feel threatened. Maybe they will be embarrassed in front of the class. Or maybe they will be "punished" for answering incorrectly. I think by making the learning atmosphere as encouraging as possible will help guide students through change and help them to push past their perceptions of threats. I say "it's ok to be wrong" all the time in class and encourage students to share their thoughts whether it's "wrong" or not.

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How can educators seek out opportunities for growth?

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How can educators seek out opportunities for growth?

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This more than attending professional development. According to this article, teachers must be willing to reflect on their practices to make change, seek out help from other educators (or even a mentor), and use research-based teaching strategies. Teachers are stuck in a bubble all day, which makes it easy to stay isolated and not change. But there are so many ways to increase effectiveness, efficacy, and efficiency. The first step is desiring it.

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10 Tips for New Teachers to Grow and Develop Professionally

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Being a new teacher can be intimidating. Follow this advice for first year teachers as you grow into your new role in education!

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Here is an example of a teacher who has written a blog about her experiences in changing. She didn't want to have to "just deal with it" -referring to wiggly students or disruptive behaviors- she sought out ways to change. She experimented, asked other educators for help, and even asked the students what they needed.

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A growth mindset is not only important for students, it is important for teachers too!When I first started teaching, my vision of being a teacher involved me being the center of the classroom. The children would look to me to provide them with the lessons they needed to succeed and move forward to the next grade. There was always time to get to know the students but what was more important then, was that they make friends; I had curriculum to teach. I had all the information and I would share that with my students in very organized and efficient lessons to ensure maximum understanding. I knew that to keep their attention, I had to add some element of "drama" or curiosity to the lesson. I was in charge of that and my classroom management depended on it. I had high expectations of my students and they always rose to the challenge. That's a good thing, right?

Then things in the classroom started to change. Kids started changing. Behaviour problems increased. It wasn't just one student in the classroom, it was now multiple students. How could my efficiently run, happy classroom full of kids be changing this much? What was I doing wrong? Did I suddenly lose all my creativity in preparing great lessons, effective classroom management skills and routines? I discovered what was happening but it was a process of powerful discovery for me and I needed a growth mindset.

So what exactly WAS happening?

One thing that was happening was technology. Lots of technology. Not in the classroom necessarily but in our students' worlds. School was trying to catch up. I was trying to catch up. I love technology and so I was cycling through my new phones and playing on the newest computers when I could. I had to make sure I was up on the latest so that I could then teach my students all about technology. That's a good thing, right? But there were so many new things happening all at once. There was a new app out every day. Which ones should I learn and teach to my students? How on earth was I going to do this when the internet in my classroom was not strong or the teacher next door had the computers signed out when I needed them? I felt a bit overwhelmed so I slowed it down and took a step back from technology...until later.

A teacher's growth mindset has to involve understanding that change is okay. I noticed that kids were getting so darn wiggly. How was I supposed to teach them about technology or anything else when they can't sit still? My classroom management was being put to the test. Luckily I was good at it. I had great training, I was now a Mom and that sometimes helps (especially to understand the struggles of parenting and the triggers for misbehaviour). But all those tricks of the trade did not seem to have the same effectiveness as they used to. Hmmmm. My instant urge was to tighten up my management and get more strict. Instead, I moved schools for a change of scenery. Surely my magic teaching skills will reappear at the next school.

I moved schools a couple of times over the next few years due to enrolment etc. That really helped. It gave me new colleagues to collaborate with and fresh new surroundings. It was nice to be able to try a few new things. I really grew as a teacher and highly recommend that teachers step out of their comfort zone and move to a new school every once in a while. Things though, have their way of staying the same. These new kids were very similar to all of the students in my previous school. Why? It was because times were changing. So, my students were still learning well but I was working harder than I had ever worked. I was tired.

Then I began to notice. Noticing doesn't take any particular skill, it just requires you to step back from what you are doing and watch, pay attention and reflect. It's very difficult to do that when you are busy at the front of the room teaching.

So, after about 10 years into teaching, I began to evolve in my thinking and my teaching. I always sat my students in groups, I always did student led conferences with them. I had a very "student centered" classroom. But that student centeredness was constructed, designed and managed by me. Of course it was, you say. YOU are the teacher!I may be the teacher but that doesn't mean I know every little idiosyncrasy of my students and how each one learns best. Only they can really know but it may not be something that they can express. Learning, socializing and growing in self, requires deep reflection. It requires an environment which encourages safe and developmental learning. Using the curriculum content as a vehicle, I started planning units of learning WITH my students.

I also started to think about all those things we as teachers do because "that's the way it always has been done" or this is what is coming so you better jump on the wagon.

For example:

Learning is always done with a pencil and paper.

Evidence of learning must be captured with a test.

We go to the gym to get exercise. In a big school, we get gym once a week for 30 minutes.

Learning should be done at a desk.

Recess is when you have a snack.

If the class is quiet, learning is happening.

Technology is here to stay and we should be replacing our activities with technological versions.

I started changing my own learning and learning more about how students learn; especially in these new times.

The gradual release of responsibility model worked nicely to help scaffold my students' learning in a facilitation model without directing them too much if they didn't need it. Now I taught less teacher directed lessons, and provided students with more mini lessons in a coaching model and then set them off to construct their own learning and understanding of the concepts. This freed me up to check in on them more often and do a bit of formative assessment so I knew where I was going next. I didn't need a test to tell me that.

I changed my seating around to accommodate all kinds of learners. My students always wanted to go out into the hallway to sit and work. When I would go and see their learning (half expecting them to be fooling around) I would see collaboration and lots of comfort in learning. Being able to sit in the hallways was a "treat" for responsible learners. So I started bringing that seating into the classroom. I always had a small love seat and some bean bag chairs but I started using tables rather than desks and allowed more freedom in where they chose to sit as long as they were engaged. I realized that dynamic teaching is great but it is not necessary to be "on stage" for a great length of time in order for students to be learning. Much of their learning is done with shorter lessons, interesting topics and lots of choice.

My students talked a lot. "What a chatty bunch." "My class talks so much." are things I often hear and certainly would describe many of my classes. Yes, I surely had THOSE classes and it's tough. I started to utilize their need to talk by teaching communication skills and collaborative and cooperative learning. This really helped my students to have a focus for their discussions.

As I began to change things, I noticed that my wiggly students were getting a little less wiggly. I knew that having gym only once or twice a week was not enough so I began taking breaks in class and going outside for some exercise more regularly. What a difference! Luckily in my school district, daily physical education was implemented so it became a requirement. Luckily, also, #gonoodle was also created giving teachers and students a nice outlet within the classroom for those "in" days. (It was one way to use technology too.) I noticed that with the new, more open ended seating that I had created, I didn't need to offer up those "wiggle" cushions that I used to provide. I liked that students were learning to make good decisions in their seating choices based on what they knew about themselves. They didn't need me to tell them and they didn't need some THING to help them. They needed to be able to move where they felt comfortable.

After a while I noticed that kids were being silly or losing interest in their work very early in the morning. Part of developing a growth mindset is to start noticing more without judgement. I started paying attention to students and whether they might be hungry. Some students, sadly, were arriving to school without eating breakfast. While you might think that left them with no energy, often it did the opposite AND they were grumpy! You know that saying about being "hangry"? So what started out as me and sometimes the school providing snacks for a few students turned into me asking myself - maybe more children would like to have a snack while they work? Why is it that students are "not allowed" to eat until recess? I'm sure many of you have students wanting to eat their sandwiches at recess time. Why was I as their teacher, restricting them from eating a snack if they were hungry?

I think part of it was that was how it has always been done, and part of it was that I wasn't sure if they could eat and work at the same time. I decided to try it out and in conjunction with a unit on nutrition, I introduced the healthy snack morning. After being in school for an hour or so, I tell students they can have a "healthy" snack of fruits or vegetables. It's something that they can eat while working. Viola! What a difference. Students started chomping on apple slices and carrots and working like busy bees. If we increase their exercise, they are going to be hungrier. Many students took another snack out 45 minutes later for recess. Students wanting to eat all of their lunch at recess stopped. As I was developing my growth mindset and making significant changes, my students seemed happier.

So you see, as educators, we need to take a step back and notice. Times are changing. Kids are changing. We need to change too to accommodate all learners and new ways of learning. You can't promote a growth mindset in your classroom when you direct all the learning instead of having kids construct and personalize their own learning. You can't expect kids to be fully engaged when they are sitting in desks and listening to long lessons just like you can't change your classroom to flexible seating effectively without changing the method by which children will be learning. It all works together. It all works if YOU have a teaching growth mindset.

My technology use began to change to realizing I needed to use it for a purpose. I realized that I really didn't need to try to "keep up" with all the latest and greatest apps. It was so overwhelming. I realized that technology is there to serve a purpose. It needs to be embedded into our teaching and not become just a "thing". I got myself a document camera several years ago and started using that to not only demonstrate teaching but to have students come up and show others their learning and explain their thinking.

One school I was at had a microphone system for teachers so that they didn't lose their voice. Since there were two microphones, I started using that to allow my students to share their writing aloud. It was great for students to learn more about effective communication and speaking skills. I ended up buying an inexpensive one for myself when I moved to a new school. I found websites that allowed me to bookmark great learning sites for quick future reference. I developed my own set of skills and familiarity and then I began using iPads with the students. We used the iPads to research for our project based learning and Genius Hour projects and to support learners with reading and ELL learning. Technology supplements our learning, it isn't separate.

So back to the beginning of my teaching journey when I knew that kids should be making friends in school but that my job was to teach content. This is the way school was designed when I started. After many years teaching and lots of the changes that I began to make, there was a new shift in my thinking. I realized that teaching the whole child was much more important than content. I began to introduce mindfulness and character development into my classroom along with the other changes. This was a magical way of putting it all together for the whole child. There seemed to be a whole new mutual respect between the students and I and the students and each other.

While others look at and research The Evolution of Education, I notice and reflect upon The Evolution of MY Education. I grow each day in my learning with students and I help other teachers do the same. That is teacher growth mindset! I feel proud to say I am a public school teacher and I include and teach all students. The only thing these days is that sometimes, the students teach me more than I teach them. That's a good thing, right?

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Growth Mindset for Teachers: Change is Good

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Developing a growth mindset as a teacher is a powerful way to keep your classroom running smoothly. Students learn more and you are happier.

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This creator of this video goes a great job explaining growth vs. change in learners and what educators can do to guide students away from failure mentality and more toward a growth mindset.

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This is something I can show as an example to my students when they get stuck in their fixed mindset. I can encourage them to show effort or accept feedback with a growth mindset.

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This video highlights how I, as an educator, can grow. It is applicable to students as well, but I think many educators, specifically, can be encouraged with this video and inspired to be better for their students. "By embracing failure as part of the learning process, you open yourself up to the endless learning possibilities and opportunities for growth." Many teachers are afraid of failure, but embracing failure is how we grow.

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Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset: Learning to Embrace Change

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"If you’re trying a new guided reading technique, you might tell your students how excited you are about something new you’re trying and that even though they might not notice, you are learning and growing just like they are. Then go for it, welcoming any mistake is an opportunity to learn."

This article provides practical strategies and examples for educators to try to boost their confidence and overcome the fear that cripples them to change.

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Center for the Professional Education of Teachers

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Approaching change as if you're training for hurdles is a practical way to address and overcome any fears that may surface.

Fear of change is real and challenging.

Fear manifests itself in different ways for each of us, whether it means becoming defensive in the middle of a coaching conversation, avoiding a colleague you're paired with, or becoming paralyzed at the prospect of dealing with conflict directly and openly. As Roberta Lenger Kang noted in Don't take it personally: de-escalating conflicts in the classroom, "The more fear we have, the more likely we are to become hyper-vigilant micro-managers in the classroom, which can sometimes magnify small issues and escalate conflicts..."

Whether you're affected by a change taking place or you're implementing change that will affect others, treating the process as if you're training for hurdles is a practical way to address and overcome fear of change in yourself and as you lead others.

This training can be broken into three parts.

Before change: flexibility and preparation

Before enacting a change, stretch, practice, and count.

Stretch: Whatever the change, find where you already have some flexibility and elongate it.

Example: You're tasked with finding a new way to address the social-emotional learning (SEL) needs of your students. Even though the task is daunting and feels far outside your content area, you locate your own practice of writing for full presence before you start the day and connect to that as a healthy investment you make in your own SEL.

Outcome: You find you're not actually starting from scratch after all.

Practice: When preparing for a change, implement small steps on your way to the starting line or implementation date.

Example: The announcement is made that your grade level team is going to implement an advanced literacy plan and will start by incorporating I used to think, but now at the end of each unit. You're anxious to implement another new idea and aren't sure how your students will respond. Instead of waiting for the end of a unit to jump that hurdle, introduce the I used to think, but now tool after a lesson. Frame the idea as a practice for your students and solicit feedback so you can customize the experience at the unit's end to be most helpful for your class.

Outcome: You get to practice and the added bonus of an additional formative assessment built into your lesson plan.

Count: When leading change, you know teachers will have some level of anxiety or fear of change. It's normal.

Example: Instead of asking teachers to ignore their fear or push down their resistance, consider what their reasons may be and count them up. Name them. Name them for yourself and for others. Ask your colleagues to add any other reasons they are experiencing discomfort around the change ahead.

Outcome: Teachers can express their concerns and you'll know exactly what you'll want to address prior to and during the shift ahead.

During change: keep moving forward, but pace yourself

During a process of change, speed up toward the first hurdle, run steady through the middle, and finish strong.

Speed up: After laying the foundation for the change ahead, consider taking the first hurdle of actual change with excitement, energy, and speed. With a little extra energy, you can leap through the discomfort and make it over the first goal.

Example: If you're trying a new guided reading technique, you might tell your students how excited you are about something new you're trying and that even though they might not notice, you are learning and growing just like they are. Then go for it, welcoming any mis-take is an opportunity to learn.

Run steady: After the initial hurdle, move forward steadily, pacing yourself as you go. You've already entered into a new way of teaching, so keep the changes to a minimum.
Example: Consider a simple cycle to help you stay focused when shifting from asking students questions during a discussion to students asking one another questions. Notice that changes aren't the focus here, but staying steady, encouraging students, and making observations keeps the process moving forward.

Finish strong: As you round the corner toward a natural check-in point, gather some energy.

Example: If the change you've been working toward is implementing weekly formative assessments, what about adding them daily during the final week? At the beginning of the week, have your students start a Know, Want to Know, Learned chart, completing the first two columns (Know, Want to Know) only. Then, each day during the last few minutes of class, have students add to the third column (Learned). This will allow you to get daily information, as well as an overall look at the end of the week.

After change: celebrate and reflect

After implementing change, allow yourself time and space to reflect on your experience and celebrate your successes.
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Celebrate: Pick a finish line. The finish line may be obvious, like the end of a unit or the semester. It may be decided by administration based on an outside deadline. It could be ongoing, like making a change that lasts the entire school year and beyond. If that's the case, choose a check-in as your finish line. When you get to the finish line, celebrate. You did it! You engaged in change.

You may or may not feel like it went well, but that doesn't affect the celebration. To celebrate, you simply share with yourself, and others if possible, that you made it to a finish line! Find a way to concretize the celebration, whether in writing, capturing your success using social media, or sending an email to people who care about you. If you're leading change, consider making a well-deserved certificate for your teachers or students to commemorate their progress.

Reflect: To make the most of your experience, find the time to reflect. Find ways to adjust your practice going forward, and ask more questions about what is possible. What went well? What would you like to see more of? What questions came up that you'd like to explore? Journal, use a template (create your own or download our What, So What, Now What tool), or make a list of what you want to talk about with your academic coach or colleagues.

Hurdle after hurdle, make a habit of attempting your jumps. Whether you sail over them, tip them, or knock them over, you'll give yourself the opportunity to learn from every leap and fall.

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​​​​Fear manifests itself in different ways for each of us, whether it means becoming defensive in the middle of a coaching conversation, avoiding a colleague you're paired with, or becoming paralyzed at the prospect of dealing with conflict directly and openly.

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"A student with a growth mindset sees the value in the effort as well as the outcome. The skills gained when trying are just as important as achieving a particular goal."

This article reflects a lot of what George Couros has been talking about in The Innovator's Mindset. This is especially helpful for me as I need to work on valuing effort in my students instead of just congratulating them on getting the correct answer.

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When a student enters a classroom, looks at an assignment, and instantly says, "I can't do this," they're exhibiting what's known as a fixed mindset. When a student is in this state, there's little a teacher can do to motivate them. So what is the solution? Switching from this fixed mindset to a growth mindset can be the key to encouraging students to be open and willing to take on new challenges and helping them understand the impact their attitude has on their ability to achieve.Here's a closer look at what a growth mindset is and how you can encourage your students to embrace it in your classroom.

What Is a Growth Mindset?

What does it mean to have a growth mindset? Growth mindset can be defined as believing that people's basic qualities and abilities can be improved and increased through dedication and hard work. This belief indicates that brains and talent are just part of the picture of success. Someone with a growth mindset believes if they work hard, they can attain what they want to, even if their natural talents are not the same as someone else's.

A person with a growth mindset also believes intelligence and basic abilities can change over time with the right effort. These are not fixed entities, but they can grow. In education, this mindset encourages students to value the effort they put into their education and the skills they gain rather than focusing only on the output or success.

A growth mindset for students involves four key components. These are:

1. Embracing Challenges

Someone with a growth mindset isn't afraid of challenges. Instead, they view them as an opportunity and with hard work they can grow their skills and abilities.

2. Working Through Obstacles

This embrace of challenges allows someone with a growth mindset to push through obstacles or setbacks. In a school setting, students are empowered to keep working even when they don't fully grasp a concept or understand the task at first.

3. Valuing Effort

A student with a growth mindset sees the value in the effort as well as the outcome. The skills gained when trying are just as important as achieving a particular goal.

4. Learning From Criticism and Finding Inspiration in Others' Success

Finally, a growth mindset teaches someone to embrace and learn from criticism. When someone else is successful, a person with a growth mindset does not view others' successes as negative things but rather as a place to find inspiration.

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

A growth mindset is in stark contrast to a fixed mindset . In a fixed mindset, the person believes intelligence and talent are part of who they are and do not change or grow over time. These are fixed traits, so they don't spend time developing them. For example, a student who is not reading on grade level will decide that means they are a "bad reader" and shy away from reading.

In contrast, someone with a growth mindset believes their talent and intelligence can grow. This inspires them to keep working, even if they aren't successful at first. This makes the learning experience more positive, even for students who may struggle, because the goal becomes progress and growth, not a particular success metric. Since the growth mindset says everyone has the capacity to develop their basic abilities through hard work, students feel inspired to put in the effort, and effort will create more learning.

Why Having a Growth Mindset Is Important in Education

In the education setting, a growth mindset changes a student's attitude toward learning. The student begins to believe they are capable of learning and developing their basic abilities, and this causes them to work harder.

Hard work leads to increased productivity in the classroom, regardless of the age of the student. When students embrace a growth mindset, their harder work and positive attitude lead to better academic performance. The focus changes from reaching a particular score or grade to making progress instead, and progress will lead to academic achievement . Teachers spend their time encouraging students and modeling learning processes, and an overall positive mindset keeps them moving forward and pushing past their comfort zones.

Benefits of Embracing a Growth Mindset for Students

Embracing a growth mindset in your classroom benefits your students in several ways. You may notice the following gains:

Improves Communication Skills

Kids with a growth mindset want to learn from others. This naturally sparks better communication skills because the best way to learn from others is to communicate. In addition, students have more positive peer-to-peer interactions as they seek to help the entire class grow their talents.

Builds Greater Resilience When Faced With Failure

In a growth mindset, failure is viewed as a chance to learn and develop talents. It's something to be embraced, not feared. This attitude makes students more resilient when they face failure in their academic pursuits.

Increases Open-Mindedness

Open-mindedness is the willingness to consider new information or ideas. It becomes a natural offshoot of having a growth mindset. Since the goal with a growth mindset is to grow talents and intelligence, students will want to learn ideas that work for others to see if they will work for themselves.

Boosts Academic Performance

Students with a growth mindset perform drastically better than those with a fixed mindset, according to research. In fact, it can be more impactful than other important factors, such as socioeconomic background, when predicting academic success. When students believe they can achieve better, they keep working at their academics, and they then more easily meet their goals.

Promotes Greater Creativity

Creativity is praised and rewarded in a classroom that has a growth mindset. Teachers and students alike realize that creative thinking is a great way to grow intelligence. Students are taught that brains are like muscles, and the more creative thinking we utilize, the stronger that muscle will grow. This emphasis helps develop creative thinkers.

Encourages Better Relationships With Adults and Peers

In a classroom that has a growth mindset, teachers are not the enemy. They are the encouragers who help the student push harder to grow their abilities. Peers are not the competition. They are the people that students learn from and grow with.

The Connection Between a Growth Mindset and Reading Comprehension

Reading is often an area that students feel they can't excel at, especially as they get to higher grades in elementary school, middle school, and high school. Yet adjusting students' mindsets can change this.

When students embrace the philosophy behind a growth mindset, they see reading improvement, specifically in reading comprehension . In other words, when they believe they can increase their intelligence through effort, students are able to gain the skills they need to read and understand text and remember what they have read.

Strategies to Foster a Growth Mindset in the Classroom

So what can teachers do to encourage a growth mindset in their classrooms and see these types of gains? Here are some strategies to incorporate into your classroom.

Become a Model

You must model a growth mindset for your students. If you make a mistake, tell your students why you are happy you made it. Is there an area you struggle with, like math or spelling? Share this with your students and explain how you overcame roadblocks. When you face an obstacle, talk through your solutions to overcome that obstacle with them.

Celebrate Imperfection

When students make mistakes and can view those mistakes as a part of the learning journey, they celebrate imperfection! If this is part of your classroom culture, students won't feel embarrassed, but will learn to celebrate imperfection as a way to grow. After all, there's a reason Bob Ross referred to mistakes as "happy accidents."

Teach Self-Evaluation

Students need a model to evaluate and reflect on their work, both on their successes and on their failures. Craft lesson plans that give students an opportunity to reflect on constructive feedback from you and from their peers. Provide opportunities and model ways to self-evaluate and praise students when they can reflect on their efforts. Encourage curiosity not just about the world around them, but also about their own learning styles and talents.

Teach Students to Say "Yet"

A fixed mindset says, "I can't read this book." A growth mindset says, "I can't read this book yet, but I will be able to." This small word makes a big difference in a child's internal dialogue, so model using it and teach students to use it. Think of changing these words as a mindset intervention that will help your students as they are developing a growth mindset.

Encourage Cooperative Learning

A growth mindset teaches students to ask for help and work with others to create a positive outcome. Foster this by developing cooperative exercises that encourage students to work together to solve the problems they face. Cooperative learning also takes an emphasis off of individual outcomes-which makes students compete against each other-and places the focus on helping each other develop their individual abilities while working together.

Embrace Challenges

Overcoming obstacles is an essential part of the growth mindset, but in order to do this, students must face obstacles. Don't shy away from giving students complex problems or assignments to solve, and give them opportunities to grow their abilities and work on problem-solving.

Use Beanstack in Reading to Encourage Growth Mindset

Finally, consider adding a tool like Beanstack to your classroom to encourage a growth mindset. Beanstack encourages students to keep going by rewarding minutes spent reading, regardless of the number of pages read in that time. This allows all students to achieve and rewards them for their effort, which is in line with the growth mindset.

How Does Beanstack Support a Growth Mindset?

Reading abilities and a growth mindset are directly connected; one study found that students who have lower reading comprehension achievement at the end of fourth grade also tend to have a fixed mindset. Not only does having a growth mindset help improve reading abilities, but more reading encourages the development of skills, which further supports the growth mindset. The two work hand in hand.

Beanstack uses unique gamification features that strengthen kids' intrinsic motivation to read and improve their reading skills over time. Students build healthy reading habits as they keep working to achieve rewards like digital badges and reading streaks. Teachers and school librarians can boost positive motivation with reading challenges that offer students prizes and rewards for meeting and exceeding goals. Beanstack's robust reporting features help identify when students meet a benchmark and help target interventions for students who may be falling behind. As part of a classroom or school that's embracing a growth mindset, Beanstack can be a valuable tool.

Learn More About Beanstack

Interested in seeing how Beanstack can help your students embrace a growth mindset? Contact our team today for a demo or request pricing for your school building or district.

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Why Is a Growth Mindset Important for Students | Growth Mindset

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Discover why embracing a growth mindset is important for students. Learn what a growth mindset is, how it applies to education, and more.

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When I moved to my 3rd district in 2019, I was confronted with a choice to grow. There was a lot of internal tension between doing what I've always done and meeting the expectations and goals of the new district. The new district had lofty goals- achieve above state average on all 5 EOCs and increase collective teacher efficacy through Impact Teams. I was scared because I didn't think we could do it. I decided to push through the fear and work extremely hard on what I had control over. I became an effective leader in not just my classroom but in the school as a whole. Change happened and after just 3 years, the district's goals came to fruition. I truly believe if I had let my fear cripple me from becoming better and more effective, we would not have met our goal.