The Growth Mindset
How did you feel about your recent math test on addition and subtraction?
Notice that the question did not ask, “What was your score?”
Regardless of whatever number was stated on your paper, I hope that you
felt proud. I hope that you felt proud because you studied hard - that you gave up on
playing for an hour or two over the course of the week and dedicated your time
instead to studying for your test. I hope that you did not say, “I’m just not good at
math.”
Saying, “I’m just not good at math,” is a terrible attitude and it simply is not true.
It’s a lazy answer and it is horrible in a so many ways:

First, let’s start with a tale of two students, Elsa and Olaf. Let’s say that Elsa
got 13/40 on her test and Olaf got 38/40 on his test. Who do you assume
would say, “I’m just not good at math”? Most people would probably say Elsa
because of her score. But, WHY did Elsa get that score? Is it because she is
just not good at math? Or, is it because she completely disregarded the test
despite having a week’s notice ahead of time? Did she take any time to study
at all? And, maybe she did study for an hour every day, but what does
‘studying’ look like to her? Did she just hit play on the video tutorials while
her mind wanders dreaming about Movember?
So, is Elsa just not good at math or are there other reasons for her score?

Second, “I’m just not good at math” is a terrible attitude because a person
with that mindset might think that he or she will never improve. This is
termed a fixed mindset. A person with a fixed mindset thinks that people like
Elsa will never receive a good score on a math test because she’s just not a
math person. In comparison, someone with a growth mindset believes that
Elsa can grow in her mathematical abilities and perform better and better
over time.
So, do you believe that with hard work and extra effort, Elsa will receive that
same score again on her test rewrite (a fixed mindset)? Or, do you believe
that effective studying and additional practice will help Elsa grow as a
mathematician (a growth mindset)?

Third, what about Olaf who got 38/40 on his math test? Is Olaf a natural at
math? Is he born smart? While those fixed mindset statements might sound
like compliments, they are almost insulting. A fixed mindset believes that
some people are just born better at math than others. “It’s easy for Olaf
because he’s smart.” A growth mindset acknowledges that Olaf made
sacrifices in order to grow as a learner: He passed on his friend’s offer to play
soccer outside and studied; Instead of a being a passive YouTube viewer, he
took paper and pencil and attempted to answer the problems as he actively
watched the video tutorials; He made the effort to ask for help – really ask for
help - to understand how to solve a problem versus pretending to seek help
when all he really wanted was to copy the answer.
So, “I’m just not good at math” is a horrible way of thinking because it means
that the opposite is true – that people like Olaf is someone who is “just good
at math.” Olaf worked really hard to achieve that level of success. He should
feel proud of himself because of his hard work.
A growth mindset then puts emphasis on work ethics, motivation, and
determination. It also values mistakes. Someone with a fixed mindset might see
mistakes and believe that they are not smart or that they will never get it. A person
with a growth mindset sees mistakes and uses the opportunity to find ways to solve
the problem.
3,000,003
4,987
3,004,990
A fixed mindset





I got it wrong.
I’m a failure.
Math is so hard.
I’m never going to get
it.
I’m not even going to
bother trying.
This answer is wrong.
A growth mindset







I got it wrong.
Math is so hard.
I’m going to try the
question again.
I can check the
question. Oh, it’s
subtraction, not
addition.
I can try regrouping.
I can try another
strategy – the renaming
method.
I can try subtracting
numbers close to
hundreds, thousands,
(or millions).
In short,
 People are not born being good at math. People work hard to get good at
what they do.
 Let’s value mistake so we can learn from them.
 Having a growth mindset means that a person works to continually get better
and improve at math, cooking, sports, etc.
Exit slip:
 So, let’s go back to the very first question on the page : “How did you feel
about your recent math test on addition and subtraction?”
 Did you enter the test with a fixed mindset (I don’t need to study. I already
know it. / There’s no point studying. I’m never going to get it.) or a growth
mindset (I know it already but I can still review and learn some new
strategies./ I really don’t get adding and subtracting but I can study and get
better at it.)?
 Should a person adopt a fixed mindset or growth mindset and why?