Post on 22-Sep-2020
GROWTH MINDSET
A growth mindset means believing talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and feedback and support from others. Di�erently, if you have a �xed mindset, you believe you’re born with the talents you have and that
doesn’t change. When learning something new, and especially something challenging or something you have never experienced, a growth mindset can support you in persevering. Supporting participants in developing a growth mindset
can be impactful in them developing skills and pursuing IT/coding opportunities in the future. Below are examples of what a growth mindset looks/sounds like versus a �xed mindset.
FIXED MINDSET GROWTH MINDSET
Challenges are an
opportunity to grow
EFFORT IS ESSENTIAL
This may take some
time to �gure out
I won’t give upI ’m going to learn from them
EFFORT IS UNNECESSARY
Challenges should be avoided
Feedback makes me defensive
This is too hard
I QUIT
They are better
than I am
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“Great improvement on x; you’re ready to move on,”
“Good progress; you need some more practice with x.”
“I expect you to try your hardest, and I know your hard work will help you achieve your goals!”
“I am con�dent you can learn this with e�ort and persistence.”
“What did you learn from that?”
“What are di�erent strategies you could use?”
“How did you keep going when things were challenging?”
“What can we learn from each other?”
“I really appreciated your e�ort today.”
“It is OK to make mistakes and take risks, that is how we learn.”
This may be challenging, and I believe you can get it.”
“I noticed you didn’t give up when you felt frustrated, keep it up!”
“I loved your creative solutions when working on that problem.”
“There is a place for you in IT/coding/computer science.”
“It’s great you have that down–let’s �nd something a bit more challenging for you to work on, so you can grow.”
“I struggled when I was �rst learning this, too. Here’s how I stayed committed to learning it...”
“We are strong as a team, as a community, and we can learn from each other.”
FEEDBACK TO SUPPORT A ‘GROWTH MINDSET’
The feedback participants receive from you, your team, and from other participants is important to supporting them in developing a growth mindset. Focus feedback on participants’ progress, strategy, persistence, and e�ort. You want to
avoid comments that imply a participant is doing well because of their ‘natural’ ability–it is because of the quality of their work on the quality of them. Communicate high standards and express your con�dence in them reaching those
standards. Below are examples of feedback that will support a growth mindset:
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