In this space, we’ve been exploring the growth mindset. This idea is based on Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. (Amazon affiliate link)
A quick review on the growth mindset:
What is a growth mindset? A growth mindset is the belief that our skills and abilities change over time with practice as we try new tasks. So, we may not be good a drawing when we start, but our skills can improve with practice. The growth mindset philosophy suggests that by continuing to practice a task, we get good at it. How? By believing that your skills will improve with practice. By putting hard work into a skill, we improve and then excel.
Using The Growth Mindset: A Script To Provide Specific Feedback
In previous posts, we’ve discussed and defined the growth mindset versus the fixed mindset. Also, we’ve listed helpful tips for encouraging the growth mindset. Today, we are going to make this process even easier by proving you with a script.
In my last post, we discussed how to give specific feedback. For example, instead of saying “good job,” we can say “I could tell you worked hard on that!” Giving this type of feedback praises effort instead of ability. The goal is to praise effort because it is through effort and practice that we improve and excel.
So, what does this specific praise sound like, exactly? How can we use specific praise in real-life situations? Read on for a few ideas.
1 | “I like the way you kept trying even when those problems were difficult”
Instead of more generic praise (such as “good job”), this encourages effort and the hard work it takes to keep doing a task when it gets harder.
2 | “I like how you went back to check your work, what a great idea!”
Instead of using more generic praise such as “great, you finished the assignment,” this praise acknowledges your child for a specific step they took to finish the assignment.
3 | “All that practice made a big difference!” Or, “Doing those extra practice problems paid off!”
When your child gets a good grade, instead of praise for the grade alone, notice a step they took to get there. Acknowledging specific effort helps your child remember to do that step next time for success as well.
4 | “That is so interesting! Tell me more.” Or, “That’s such an interesting idea. How did you learn more about that?”
This feedback is ideal for when your child wants to tell you something about what he or she has learned in school or about an area of interest. By showing your interest (instead of praising your child for being smart), you are encouraging their curiosity. Also, you are and letting your child know that you are interested in what interests them.
5 | “If you catch yourself saying I’m not good at math, just at a yet to the end of the sentence. Maybe you aren’t good at math yet. But, we can get good at math by practicing.”
This is good for when a child feels like giving up in an area. Reminding your child practice is the magic ingredient to getting better at a task and offering help can make a big difference.
6 | “When you learn a new spelling word, it grows your spelling brain!”
This encourages your child that their intelligence isn’t fixed, but can grow in areas with practice.
7 | “That feeling of math being hard means your math brain is growing!”
Whereas the last example talked about praising effort, this one takes an extra step. This example acknowledges the task is difficult and offers encouragement. This is an another important part of reminding your child that his or her intelligence isn’t fixed, but will grow.
I hope reading these ideas for giving specific feedback was helpful. This is a skill I’m still practicing, and having a script can help. Eventually, I hope using specific feedback becomes automatic. Until then, seeing examples helps me to get started. Have you tried using specific feedback (including any of the above)? If so, how did it go?