The Power of Building a Growth Mindset

The aim of this research was to investigate the role of growth mindset in elementary classrooms and identify strategies educators are using to promote this behavior. The primary research question that guided this study was: How is a sample of educators fostering a growth mindset in their students and what outcomes do they observe from their efforts? Data was collected through two semi-structured interviews with one principal and one teacher. Through the data collection process, four main themes were identified. First, the manner in which educators define growth mindset influences how they conceptualize intelligence in students. Further, these personal definitions of intelligence impact teaching and assessment strategies through the consideration of various learning styles. As such, teachers can assess students using a growth mindset through descriptive feedback and by valuing student effort. Finally, embracing challenges and mistakes was regarded as imperative in the individual growth and progression of students. The implications suggest that in order for growth mindset to become prevalent in more classrooms, teachers must adopt this mentality and embrace how it can influence their teaching. It is recommended that more professional development and resources become available so that teachers are able to imbed growth mindset into their classrooms