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There are three different categories I like to use to keep students engaged and motivated when in the classroom. First, I like to use relevancy and creativity in a topic, meaning if I am going over a lesson how can I make it more relatable to them and or more creative? The second one being adding participation in by group work, by allowing mistakes to happen. The third area to have students engaged and motivated is to have more inquiry and inductive reasoning when it comes to learning new content. The final area is to have lesson whole group discussion time.

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Depending on the lesson, having relatable content can look different based on the lesson you are on. In mathematics, having relatable content inside questions (such as word problems) where students can identify an everyday problem that in mathematics has a solution for it. This also adds a feeling of importance to different mathematics lessons students learn. In the one above, I found a model about a value of a car in dollars and over time it becomes a decreasing value. This is a good relatable representation as students in the future will think similarly about something like this since they will have a car (if not already).

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When students are allowed mistakes in class, students respond better to understanding content and trying again. Letting students have times where they get a problem wrong can build off of what they already know and what they are trying to master in the new lesson. I think of it in the same ordeal as sports, when athletes fail and or lose in games they must practice harder, practice more, and try new things to succeed in the future it is like anything else in life in which that if we were all perfect there would be no reason to grow.

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Have students inquire/inductive reason more

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Have students inquire/inductive reason more

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Building and inductive reasoning to the problems in a classroom can help with two things. First, it builds a better understanding to what we are learning about. If we can justify what we are learning easily then we can use the new knowledge learned in HW or on a test in the near future. The second area is critical thinking. Think about anytime you had a problem you didn't understand beyond the original foundation questions you tried, if you were able to inquire and try the problem even if you messed up you got a chance to see if you could understand the content in a different form. Once students are given this chance, and then learn how to actually do a certain problem it helps the new lesson stick more.

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Have students spend more time in small group discussions or working together on problems rather than spending so much time on lots of extra whole group discussion. When you lecture too much in a class, students do not always have the entire lesson stick compared to splitting up the lecturing and reducing it at certain points.

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Giving more types of ways to learn a lesson in which you can give students more choices to learn new content goes a long way when keeping students on task. When students are given choices based on how they want to learn, they feel apart of the environment and more respected with given a choice. I also see it as a way where students can express their own creativity path given with some bit of guidance through constructed choices to choose from.

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Thinking back to about allowing mistakes, this is a part of the foundation for a growth mindset. Students need more of a growth mindset to learn lessons better and also stay on task because if students do not have a growth mindset, then they become distracted and off task. Here is a website I found dedicated to different strategies and phrases to say to students to keep them in a growth mindset state.

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Of the many challenges educators face, one of the most formidable-and least obvious-is student mindset. Teaching students to comprehend, absorb, and apply new material and concepts is challenging under any circumstances. The undertaking is much greater, however, when students doubt their ability to learn.

Can simply believing you have the ability to learn increase your ability to learn? According to growth mindset researchers, the answer is yes.

A more detailed look at mindset theory, as well as some of the ways that teachers can foster growth mindset in the classroom, illustrates mindset development's importance in education.

What Is Growth Mindset?

One theory of intelligence holds that people can be categorized according to their implicit beliefs about ability. People with a fixed mindset believe that abilities are innate, while people with a growth mindset believe that they can acquire abilities through effort and study.

Carol Dweck, a psychologist, developed the fixed versus growth mindset theory. The Stanford University professor's pioneering research, as well as her 2006 book, Mindset:The New Psychology of Success, popularized the concept of fixed and growth mindsets.

To gain a better understanding of what growth mindset is, compare the differences between fixed and growth mindset outlooks and behaviors.

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

Fixed and growth mindsets profoundly affect the way that individuals respond to failure. People with a fixed mindset view failure as a result of their lack of ability, while people with a growth mindset see the opportunity to expand their abilities and to work harder and smarter.

The fixed mindset vs. growth mindset dichotomy can also be expressed in terms of goals. People with a fixed mindset wish to appear intelligent because they believe that failing to do so reveals a weakness. People with a growth mindset are much less apprehensive about how their intelligence is perceived because they believe that knowledge and ability can be improved through effort. These outlooks produce almost diametric goals related to learning: a person with a fixed mindset wants to avoid appearing unintelligent; a person with a growth mindset wants to overcome challenges.

While the basic concept of fixed mindset vs. growth mindset is simple, mindset designations are much more nuanced in reality. An important factor of the mindsets is that they can be different in different domains. For example, a person may have a growth mindset in athletic or artistic endeavors but have a fixed mindset in academic endeavors.

Furthermore, mindsets aren't absolute, immovable states. The fixed or growth mindset exists on a spectrum, and even those positions can vary. A person may have a predominant growth mindset in one area-math, for example-but an especially challenging problem may trigger a response that's more consistent with a fixed mindset.

Dweck has described the growth mindset theory as a response to the self-esteem movement, which held that lavishing students with praise builds confidence that leads to improved achievement.

Mindset researchers propose a different approach. Instead of giving students general praise or praising outcomes-an ineffective practice in Dweck's view-teachers should focus on praising students' efforts and the steps they take to overcome challenges and make progress. By doing so they reinforce the simple but powerful idea that ability can be improved.

Benefits of a Growth Mindset in Education

Dweck's early research demonstrated multiple potential benefits to encouraging a growth mindset in education. One of her studies showed that praising students' efforts rather than their intelligence made them more likely to pursue more difficult challenges. Another study demonstrated the influence of simple mindset interventions. Her research showed that students who were taught about developing intelligence went on to perform better in school and exhibit more motivation in the classroom.

Growth mindset has been widely embraced inside and outside of education. (Growth mindset has become a popular topic in the business world, for example.) However, the concept isn't without its critics. Skeptics point out that few researchers have been able to replicate Dweck's results, and much of the corroborating research that's been done has been done by Dweck and her colleagues. Still, mindset research continues to advance, and evidence of the benefits of a growth mindset in education continues to mount.

How to Foster a Growth Mindset in Students

Learning how to foster a growth mindset in students requires time and practice. The approach requires consistent instruction that reinforces and demonstrates the idea that students can improve their ability. At the most basic level, mindset techniques involve shifting emphasis away from outcomes and toward efforts and process. Rather than praising an accomplishment, the instructor praises the efforts and learning steps that led to the positive outcome.

Looking at examples of how instruction and language can be altered to encourage a growth mindset illustrates how teachers can change the way that students perceive the learning process:

Fixed mindset statement: "It's OK if you're having trouble. Maybe algebra isn't one of your strengths."

Growth mindset statement: "When you learn how to do a new kind of problem, it develops your math brain."

Another example stresses the importance of encouraging students to work through problems:

Fixed mindset statement: "Great effort. You tried as hard as you could."

Growth mindset statement: "The goal isn't to get it right immediately. The goal is to improve your understanding step by step. What can you try next?"

Teaching students to be encouraged when they experience difficulty can also reinforce growth mindset:

Fixed mindset statement: "Don't worry, you'll get it if you keep trying."

Growth mindset statement: "That feeling you're experiencing of algebra being hard is the feeling of your brain developing."

A growth mindset approach still demands optimal performance from a student-simply rewarding efforts isn't effective, and, in fact, it can be harmful if the student's efforts are ultimately fruitless.

Part of growth mindset instruction is teaching students to ask for help and to use any resources that can assist them. Just as students are still responsible for learning the material, teachers are still responsible for giving them the tools they need to learn.

10 Strategies for Fostering a Growth Mindset in the Classroom

Helping students develop a growth mindset requires deliberate effort from teachers, but many of the methods can be easily integrated in their existing practices. The following strategies and tips can help educators foster a growth mindset in the classroom:

1. Normalize struggle. Struggle is part of the learning process, and emphasizing and reinforcing that idea helps students react positively when they feel challenged.

2. Encourage engagement with challenges. Portray challenges as fun and exciting, and easy tasks as boring.

3. Embrace the word "yet". If someone makes the statement "I'm not a math person," adding a simple qualifier will signal that a process exists for gaining ability. "You're not a math person yet."

4. Tout the value of hard tasks to the brain. Promote the idea that brains are malleable "muscles" that can be developed. Research on brain plasticity supports the idea of neural growth, and mindset research has shown that believing the brain can grow has a demonstrative effect on behavior and achievement.

5. Demonstrate mistakes and celebrate corrections. Mistakes should be viewed as learning opportunities. Teachers can model this outlook in reactions to their own mistakes and steps they take to correct a mistake.

6. Set goals. Having students set incremental, achievable goals demonstrates the attainability of growth and progress.

7. Develop cooperative exercises. Working together to solve problems emphasizes process and reinforces the importance of getting help and finding solutions. It also deemphasizes individual outcomes.

8. Provide challenges. Part of developing a growth mindset is teaching students to overcome obstacles. A particularly hard math problem or complex writing assignment that stretches their abilities can provide opportunities for growth and further instruction that emphasizes problem-solving.

9. Avoid praising intelligence. This may seem counterintuitive, but praise for "being smart" reinforces the idea that intelligence is a fixed trait. This can be demotivating for the students being praised ("I'm smart; I don't have to try harder"), as well as for those who don't not receive the praise ("That student is smart; I'm not").

10. Don't oversimplify. "You can do anything!" may feel like harmless encouragement, but if students aren't put in a position to overcome challenges, they'll conclude that such statements are empty, and the educator will lose credibility.

How to Foster a Growth Mindset in Teachers and Administrators

Extending the concept of growth mindset theory to teachers and administrators is critical. Research suggests that growth mindset approaches are more effective in supportive environments. However, individuals interested in promoting growth mindset initiatives can encounter resistance. Cultural changes in any institution or system are difficult, but understanding those challenges is the first step to finding common ground and moving forward.

Overcoming Challenges

Changing the instructional practices and policies that teachers and administrators have established can be difficult for many reasons:

Teachers and administrators who have invested time and effort in their current methods of instruction and classroom culture may resist change, particularly if their methods have been successful.

Teachers and administrators who are routinely asked to make changes or adopt new teaching methods may feel skeptical about a new method's benefits.

Teachers and administrators commonly work under tight time constraints that make it difficult to learn new methods or implement new policies.

Teachers and administrators may have fixed mindsets themselves and discount the mindset theory's validity.

Efforts to overcome resistance to growth mindset initiatives should focus on the demonstrated benefits to students. A shared goal of helping students can ease the challenges of culture change.

Five Tips for Creating a Growth Mindset Teaching Culture

Working together to reframe their shared challenges and goals can help both teachers and administrators develop growth mindsets and culture:

1. Value the process over the result. Valuing the process over the result can be difficult in a results-driven environment, but teachers and administrators who value the growth mindset and its long-term benefits are more likely to stay the course.

2. View challenges as opportunities. Students aren't the only ones facing challenges; teachers and administrators can benefit just as much from an outlook that celebrates the process.

3. Experiment with different teaching methods and learning strategies. Helping students build the skills they need to improve is a key element of the growth mindset approach. Teachers and administrators who embrace a growth mindset shouldn't be afraid to experiment.

4. Celebrate growth. Finding teaching strategies that reach students and help them learn should be celebrated with the students, as well as with other teachers and administrators. This reinforces the emphasis on effort and process. It also provides opportunities to share valuable learnings.

5. Communicate about your growth mindset. Sharing successes and failures among teachers and administrators helps to establish a culture that values challenges and a growth mindset.

Providing Tools for a Lifetime of Learning

A growth mindset's defining characteristic-the belief that intelligence is malleable-provides a powerful formula for improving student outcomes. Students who believe that they can get smarter and that effort makes them smarter will put in the effort that leads to higher achievement.

The understanding that they can always learn new skills and overcome challenges through hard work is a lesson students can carry well beyond their school years. As the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, many of the learning challenges that students will face can't be foreseen. By helping them develop a mindset that doesn't shrink from challenges and teaching them learning methods that can be applied to any subject or obstacle, educators prepare students for increasingly dynamic work environments and an increasingly complex world.

Educators interested in how education and learning can be life changing should explore American University's School of Education degree programs, including its online Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) and online Master of Education (MEd) in Education Policy and Leadership. Preparing teachers and policy makers to transform the education system to benefit all learners is a core principle of American University's School of Education.

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How to Foster a Growth Mindset in the Classroom | American University

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Embracing a growth mindset can help students learn more and overcome challenges. Explore strategies for fostering a growth mindset in the classroom.

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Another thing you can have is a hint jar or hint cards, where students can get a hint what to do next in a lesson on different problems they might be working on. This is a better idea rather than walking a student through an entire problem unless it is necessary as many students lack confidence in different math lessons and thrive in others. Here is also some more ideas of what differentiation could look like in your classroom from prodigy.

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20 Differentiated Instruction Strategies and Examples [+ Downloadable List]

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As students with diverse learning styles fill the classroom, many teachers don't always have the time, or spend additional hours to plan lessons that use differentiated instruction (DI) to suit students' unique aptitudes.

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Out of anything in this lesson, classroom structure has to be one of the most important things. I have seen some of the worst classroom structures and some of the best both being a student and a future teacher and if your classroom structure is bad it makes it harder for students to be comfortable in their surroundings and be ready to learn.