Fi

xed Mi
ndset
I
ntel
ligencei
sst
ati
c
Peopl
ewhohol dthesebeli
efsthinkthat“t
heyar et
hewayt heyar
e”,butt
hatdoesn’
t
meanthattheyhavelessofadesi r
ef oraposit
ivesel
f-i
magethananyoneel
se.
Soofcoursetheywanttoperform wellandlooksmart
.

Leadstoadesi
retolooksmart
andt
heref
oreatendencyt
o..
.

.
..avoi
dchal
lenges
Bydef
ini
ti
on,achall
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ed,sorat
herthanr
iskf
ail
ingandnegat
ivel
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i
mpact
ingthei
rsel
f-i
mage,theywil
lof
tenavoidchal
lengesandst
icktowhatt
heyknow t
heycandowel l
.

.
..gi
veupeasi
ly
Samewi
thobst
acles.Thedi
fferenceher
e,asIseei t
,ist
hatchal
lengesar
ethi
ngst
hatyoucandeci
de
t
odowhil
eobstacl
esareexternalfor
cesthatgeti
nyourway.

.
..seeef
for
tasf
rui
tl
essorwor
se
What’sthepointofworki
nghardandmakingeff
ortsi
fafter
wardsyouaresti
llonsquareone?Ifyour
worl
dview t
ellsyouthatef
for
tisanunpl
easantt
hingthatdoesn’
treal
lypaydivi
dends,t
henthe
smartthi
ngt odoistoavoiditasmuchaspossi
ble.

.
..i
gnor
eusef
ulnegat
ivef
eedback
Usefulnegati
vefeedbackisignoredi nthebestofcases,andt akenasani nsul
ttherestofthetime.
TheFixedMi ndsetl
ogicall
yleadsyout obelievethatanycrit
icism ofyourcapabil
it
iesiscri
ti
cism ofyou.
Thisusuall
ydiscour
agest hepeopl earoundandaf t
erawhi l
et heystopgivinganynegat i
vefeedback,
fur
therisol
ati
ngtheper sonfrom exter
nalinf
luencesthatcouldgener at
esomechange.

.
..f
eelt
hreat
enedbyt
hesuccessofot
her
s
Thesuccessofot hersisseenasabenchmar kagainstwhichthepersonlooksbad.Usuallywhenothers
succeed,peoplewithaFi xedMindsetwil
ltrytoconvincethemselvesandthepeoplearoundthem that
thesuccesswasduet oeitherl
uck(aft
erall,al
mosteverythingi
sduet oluckintheFi
xedMi ndsetworld)
orobject
ionabl
eact i
ons.Insomecases,t heywilleventrytotar
nishthesuccessofothersbybringi
ng
upthingsthatarecompl etel
yunrel
ated(”Yes,butdidyouknow abouthis…”).

Asar esul
t,t
heymayplat
eauearly
andachi
evelessthant
hei
rful
lpot
enti
al.

Al
lthi
sconf
irmsadet
ermi
nist
icvi
ew oft
hewor
ld.
Asaresult
,theydon’
treachthei
rful
lpot
enti
alandtheirbel
ief
sfeedonthemselves:Theydon’
tchangeori
mpr
ove
muchwit
ht i
me,ifatall
,andsotothem t
hisconf
irmsthat“t
heyareastheyare”
.
 Gr
owt
h Mi
ndset
I
ntel
ligencecan bedevel
oped

Leadstoadesi
ret olear
n
andther
efor
eat endencyto.
..

Peoplewhohol dt
heGr owt
hMindsetbel
ievethatint
ell
igencecanbedevel
oped,
thatt
hebr ai
nisli
keamuscl et
hatcanbet r
ained.
Thisleadstothedesi
retoimpr
ove.

.
..embr
acechal
lenges

Andhow doyoui mpr

ove?First
,youembracechall
enges,becauseyou
know t
hatyou’
llcomeoutst
rongerontheothersi
de.

.
..per
sisti
nthef
aceofset
backs
Similar
ly,obst
acl
es-externalset
backs-donotdiscourageyou.Your
self
-imageisnottiedtoyoursuccessandhow youwil
llooktoother
s;
fai
lureisanopportuni
tytolear
n,andsowhateverhappensyouwi n.

.
..seeef
for
tast
hepat
htomast
ery

Eff
orti
sseennotassomethingusel
esst
obeavoi
dedbutasnecessar
y
t
ogr ow andmast
erusef
ulskil
ls.

.
..l
ear
nfr
om cr
iti
cism
Crit
icism andnegat i
vefeedbackar esour cesofinformat i
on.Thatdoesn’tmean
thatallcrit
ici
sm isworthintegr
atingorthatnot hi
ngi snevert akenpersonal
ly,
butatl easttheGr owthMindsetindivi
dualknownst hatheorshecanchange
andi mprove,sot henegativefeedbacki snotpercei vedasbei ngdi
rectl
yabout
them asaper son,butrat
heraboutt heircurrentabilit
ies.

.
..f
indl
essonsandi
nspi
rat
ioni
nthesuccessofot
her
s
Thesuccessofothersi
sseenasasour ceofinspi
rat
ionandi
nfor
mati
on.
ToGrowthMindsetindi
vidual
s,successisnotseenasazero-
sum game.

Al
lthi
sgi
vest
hem agr
eat
ersenseoff
reewi
ll

Andso,Gr owt
hMi ndseti
ndivi
dual
swilli
mpr oveandthi
swillcreat
eapositi
vefeedbackl
oops
thatencour
agesthem tokeeplear
ningandi mprovi
ng.Ofcourse,mostpeopl
edonothavea
100% Fixedmindsetora100% Growthmi ndset
;mostofushavesomeofbot h.

Thegoodnewsi sthati
tispossi
bletochangeyourworl
dvi
ew fr
om afi
xedmindsettoa
growt
hmidset.AndCarolDweck’sresear
chindi
cat
esthatbot
hchil
drenandadults
canbetaughttochangethei
rmindset!
 Grow Your Mindset 
From Carol Dweck’s book, MindSet: The New Psychology of Success, pages 205 – 206 

Every  word  and  action  from  parent  to  child  sends  a  message.  Tomorrow,  listen  to 
what you say to your kids and tune in to the messages you're sending. Are they messages 
that say: You have permanent traits and I'm judging them? Or are they messages that say 
you’re a developing person and I'm interested in your development? 
How  do  you  use  praise?  Remember  that  praising  children's  intelligence  or  talent, 
tempting  as  it  is,  sends  a  fixed­mindset  message.  It  makes  their  confidence  and 
motivation more fragile. Instead, try to focus on the processes they used­their strategies, 
effort,  or  choices.  Practice  working  the  process  praise  into  your  interactions  with  your 
children. 
Watch  and  listen  to  yourself  carefully  when  your  child  messes  up.  Remember  that 
constructive criticism is feedback that helps the child understand how to FIX something. 
It's not feed­ back that labels or simply excuses the child. At the end of each day, write 
down the constructive criticism (and the process praise) you've given your kids. 
Parents often set goals their children can work toward. Remember that having innate 
talent is not a goal. Expanding skills and knowledge is. Pay careful attention to the goals 
you set for your children. 
If  you're  a  teacher,  remember  that  lowering  standards  doesn't  raise  students'  self­ 
esteem.  But  neither  does  raising  standards  without  giving  students  ways  of  reaching 
them. The growth mindset gives you a way to set high standards and have students reach 
them. Try presenting topics in a growth framework and giving students process feedback. 
I think you'll like what happens. 
Do you think of your slower students as kids who will never be able to learn well? Do 
they think of themselves as permanently dumb? Instead, try to figure out what they don't 
understand  and  what  learning  strategies  they  don't  have.  Remember  that  great  teachers 
believe in the growth of talent and intellect, and are fascinated by the process of learning. 
Are  you  a  fixed­mindset  coach?  Do  you  think  first  and  foremost  about  your  record 
and your reputation? Are you intolerant of mistakes? Do you try to motivate your players 
though judgment? That may be what's holding up your athletes. 
Try  on  the  growth  mindset.  Instead  of  asking  for  mistake­free  games,  ask  for  full 
commitment and full effort. Instead of judging the players, give them the respect and the 
coaching they need to develop. 
As parents, teachers, and coaches, our mission is developing people’s potential. Let's 
use all the lessons of the growth mindset—and whatever else we can—to do this.
Words That Encourage: Labels that Judge: Grow Your Mind-Set

1. Wow! J Smart “What did you struggle with today?”

2. Look at that! Cute
“This is hard, this is fun, what
3. Tell me about it. Great
should we do next?”
4. Show me more. Fast
5. How did you do that? Best “You can grow your intelligence”
6. Let‛s see what you did. Pretty “You can learn. You can stretch. You
7. How do you feel about it? Good can keep mastering new things.”
8. How did you figure that out? Quick
9. I see that you __________. Clever “I don‛t think there‛s anything
(be specific) Beautiful better in the world than a child
10. That looks like it took a lot Lovely hearing from a parent or teacher
of effort. Intelligent the words, ‘You‛ll get there‛.”
11. How many ways did you try it Right “Do you label your kids? This one
before it turned out the way Amazing is the artist and that one is the
you wanted it? The best scientist. Next time, remember
12. What do you plan to do next? Better than _________. that you‛re not helping them –even
13. That looks like it took so (another person) though you may be praising them.
much work. Remember… praising kids‛ ability
14. Are you pleased with what lowered their IQ scores.“
you did?

Pac k et Cr ed it s 

Tonight’s Presenter  The Mindset Graphic 
Dawn Binder, Supervising Teacher  The color graphic of the Fixed and Growth 
Pacific Coast Charter School  Mindsets was created by graphic artist Nigel 
294 Green Valley Road, Watsonville, CA 95076  Holmes (www.nigelholmes.com) for as article in the 
(831) 786­2100 ext. 6151  March/April 2007 issue of Stanford Magazine 
E­Mail: dawn_binder@pvusd.net  (www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/marapr/ 
features/dweck.html). The added text is written by 
PVUSD GATE Services Office  Michael Graham Richard (www.michaelgr.com). 
294 Green Valley Road, Watsonville, CA 95076 
(831) 786­2144  (or numbers below)  The Book 
Lyn Olson, GATE Coordinator  Mindset: The New Psychology of Success 
(831) 786­2100 ext. 2580 
© 2006 by Carol Dweck, Ph.D. 
E­Mail: lyn_olson@pvusd.net 
NY: Random House (www.atrandom.com) 
Ted Altenberg, GATE Resource Teacher  ISBN 1­4000­6275­6
(831) 786­2100 ext. 2581 
E­Mail: edward_altenberg@pvusd.net 
David Manier, GATE Resource Teacher 
(831) 786­2100 ext. 2582 
E­Mail: david_manier@pvusd.net