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For educators, parents and learners Carol Dweck's research on the benefits of a Growth Mindset is naturally appealing. Those who have a growth mindset achieve better results than those who don't, are more resilient and accept challenge willingly. After two years of incorporating a growth mindset philosophy we are finding that the reality of shifting a student's disposition away from a fixed mindset and then maintaining a growth mindset is significantly more complex than at first imagined.

Having the right mindset is alone not sufficient for growth. I might talk the talk about a growth mindset and believe I can learn a new skill but unless I back that belief with action, it is just talk.

Looking at math as reasoning and not just answering questions builds a growth mindset

"growth mindset for teachers and students"

Jackie Gerstein's growth mindset infographic with reflective questions for students.

"Metacognition or 'thinking about thinking', as I like to call it, forms the basis of the Growth Mindset theory. As a society we seem to have moved away from the truth that no matter what your starting point you can always make a huge amount of progress if you apply the right kind of effort over time. Struggle is a natural part of learning, take a shortcut and you don't learn as much; why then do we equate struggle with failure?"

Recently I read 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins a book that describes the processes and structures that allowed eleven companies to transition from good to great and outperform the market by a factor of three for sustained periods. One story stands out as a metaphor for a growth mindset.

Growth mindset

Now, the task is to get educational institutions to accept ......yet as a measurement of progress.

record growth in profits (from failing public schools and from charter schools) despite bad NYT press and class-action lawsuit by stakeholders

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck conducted the groundbreaking research showing that praise intended to raise young people's self-esteem can seriously backfire. When we tell children, "You're so smart," we communicate the message that they'd better not take risks or make mistakes, lest they reveal that they're not so smart after all. Dweck calls this cautious attitude the "fixed mindset," and she's found that it's associated with greater anxiety and reduced achievement. Students with a "growth mindset," on the other hand, believe that intelligence can be expanded with hard work and persistence, and they view challenges as invigorating and even fun. They're more resilient in the face of setbacks, and they do better academically. Now Dweck has designed a program, called Brainology, which aims to help students develop a growth mindset. Its website explains: "Brainology makes this happen by teaching students how the brain functions, learns, and remembers, and how it changes in a physical way when we exercise it. Brainology shows students that they are in control of their brain and its development." That's a crucial message to pass on to children, and it's not just empty words of encouragement-it's supported by cutting-edge research on neuroplasticity, which shows that the brain changes and grows when we learn new things. You, and your child, can learn to be smarter.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi I am an advocate of change. Change to me is about growth and learning. Change to me is about getting better. The hard part for many is that change is also about reflection. Taking a hard look at what you are doing and wondering if it is good enough is a tough practice. Taking the next step and CHANGING the practice is even harder as some take it as a sign of things that were not done right. I see it as growth. Although there is the type of DRASTIC change that happened in Rhode Island where all the teachers were fired, but that is not what I am talking about. I can ALWAYS get better and so can you. That is how I want to change.

This is an excellent example of a web portfolio showing the professional learning, growth, and accomplishments of a practicing educator. The emphasis is on technology, but it's important to note that the educator is not a technologist by nature. The longitudinal nature of the portfolio, showing past accomplishments in the context of her regular work, demonstrate the growth of the educator in both her coursework and regular job.

We send our students many messages about learning, growth, ability, potential. . . Sometimes we are sending these messages deliberately, such as when we talk about growth mindset and the rewards of effort, persistence and risk taking. At other times the messages we send are accidental, incidental and unplanned; these are often the strongest messages we send. 

"A new study co-authored by researchers at Michigan State University and Case Western Reserve University found that "growth mindset interventions," or programmes that teach students they can improve their intelligence with effort - and therefore improve grades and test scores - don't work for students in most circumstances."

"If we believe that someone's talent is fixed-including our own-we are effectively writing off any options for growth. But if we believe that talent, or intelligence, or any other ability, evolves as a result of how much effort we put in, the opportunities are endless."

PBL and students