Growth vs Fixed Mindset Praise

The research that was presented in the video supports that praise is a good thing, but it needs to focus on the process and effort the students put forth. When a child has a growth mindset, the impact on them goes above and beyond the classroom walls.

Use the mindset of focusing on the effort put into the work/task vs. their overall intelligence which the effort/grit which will help them grow in the end. 

I will use this growth mindset by not focusing on praising my students intelligence and abilities but by focusing on praising the process they took and their efforts across their day.

Using praise  for growth mindset is a great motivator for the kids to want to do better kind of a reach for the stars attitude start early while they are little sponges wanting to learn   

This video showed that their study of student praise really had an impact. Focusing on student effort and perseverance encouraged them to use skills in the future to tackle more challenging tasks, rather than avoiding the possibility of failure. 

When we reflect on what is the best gift we can give students, I totally believe that using authentic encouragement and targeted praise to be the best personal support we can use towards students to encourage hard work and dedication towards a goal and also to discourage negative and /or unwanted  behaviors when trying to accomplish a goal of academics or social interactions.
I teach 5th grade math and many times the students are so hard on themselves when they know they are not doing as well as their classmates. I try to walk around and discuss quietly with them the items they are doing well and things they can work on, I feel much more reciprocal respect when struggling students are approached this way.

As a special education teacher, I see the value in praising students for their effort year over year.  The incredible impact of praising effort over intelligence inspires students to work hard and value their effort over innate (that may or may not be) ability.  Telling a kid they are intelligent "limits the growth of their talent".  Praising effort can inspire increased motivation and academic performance; whereas, praising intellect can stifle children.

Praising students for their efforts and praising them for the processes they use to complete a task or an activity or solve a problem will help them develop a growth mindset. If a student hears, "wow! You must have worked really hard" they think "my teacher likes when I work hard, I'm going to continue to work hard". The student who is praised for their efforts are more likely to take on hard things because they know it's about the process, not proving how smart they are.  They will continue to try new things, and to work hard, therefore developing a growth mindset.

In a study, several hundred students were given a test and after the test, half were told they were very intelligent, and half were told they had given great effort. Surprisingly, when the students were given another exam, the children that were told they were intelligent did not want to take the chance of working on a harder test as they felt like they were going to disappoint their teacher. Those told they were giving great effort - 92%, chose the harder test. This shows that when used effectively, praise can be a truly amazing tool in motivating students. 

The takeaway from this video and this study are that it is better to praise effort in both students and athletes. By praising intelligence it is setting a student up to feel that they will disappoint if they don't score high on a test. 

A great way to encourage growth mindset in a child is to provide praise.  When you praise a child, it rewards them and makes them feel good about themselves.  The best way to use praise with a child is to praise their process and their efforts.  This encourages them to realize that even if they make mistakes, how they go about it and how they stick it out is what is important.  If you praise a child's intelligence or abilities, they begin to tie that in as a conditional feeling and will worry about making mistakes and not being worthy of praise. 

Developing a growth mindset in students by using praise can happen in several ways. It is important to focus praise on the effort put forth and the process it took to do something as opposed to praising their intelligence. Praise students for working diligently, not giving up, taking their time, reviewing their work, asking for help when appropriate, and collaborating with others, to name a few. This encourages students to keep doing their best, increases their willingness to be challenged, and reduces a fear of failure in all areas of their lives. As a result, a child’s state of mind will continue to positively grow.

you can develop a students ability to have a growth mindset using praise involving use of effort and the process they try.  It increases the students willingness to work harder and enjoy the task more.  Avoid praising ability and intelligence. creating the risk for disappointment and fixed mindsets.

Ways to promote this is using positive reinforcement in the classroom.  Point out the student who is doing the correct behavior in a specific unconditional manner.  Hi student I like how you are prepared for class today by having your note book and pencil ready I'm glad your here.