Growth vs Fixed Mindset Praise

Using praise with students is a great motivator. It can be exceptionally motivating if it is done correctly. Teachers should motivate their students to work hard no matter what the challenge is, and teach that even if they fail at something it doesn't define them as a poor worker but it should push them to try harder. Developing a growth mindset in your students makes them focus on working hard to reach a goal and to not be afraid to stumble along the way.

I could 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.  

We as teachers can use praise to help our students develop a growth mindset by, praising their efforts. By emphasizing that we like how hard they are working, this will encourage them to keep trying more difficult tasks and to work hard. Students will not be as afraid to fail with this form of praise versus praising students for their intelligence. My students often struggle with reading and writing, so I usually do tend to praise them for working hard and trying their best. I have found that students that I praise this way are more likely to keep trying throughout the school year. So many of these kids are not praised enough for their efforts, so they tend to give up. This is an important thing for teachers to do throughout the school year.

You can develop a growth mindset with praise by praising the effort put into the work not the outcome. If you praise the outcome they don't want to expand their growth because they want to do great all the time. Instead of reaching for higher goals they remain in a comfort zone to keep getting a praise. But if you praise the effort they keep reaching for higher goals because you are praising the effort of the process. They know that no matter what the outcome is they will be praised for the effort they put into the task and process. They are more confident that they have the skills to master a task.