SSP 007: Student Success Program

Growth Mindset + Study Skills

Teacher’s Guide

Name: _____________________________________ Section: _________________________

Lesson Title: Growth Mindset Materials: TG

Learning Targets: At the end of the session, I should be
able to:
1. recall what is Growth Mindset;
2. learn strategies to adequately face difficulties in
college;
3. understand and apply the necessary strategies to
achieve a Growth Mindset.
References:
https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/gr
owth-mindset-in-the-classroom
https://www.mindsetkit.org/topics/teac
hing-growth-mindset/growth-mindset-l
esson-plan

A. CONNECT 10 mins

Activity 1 Feeling Check (5 minutes)

1. The facilitator/teacher will ask the students to input the word that best describes how they are
feeling today.

2. Students may volunteer to share their feelings for today and significant things that happened within
the week.

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 SSP 007: Student Success Program
Growth Mindset + Study Skills
Teacher’s Guide
Activity 2 Sit or Stand (5 minutes)

1. The facilitator/teacher will say a phrase and students will have to identify whether the phrase is
a Fixed or Growth Mindset.

2. Students will have to stand up if their answer is a Growth Mindset or sit down if their answer is
a Fixed Mindset.

● “It’s OK if you’re having trouble. Maybe algebra isn’t one of your strengths.” (fixed)
● “Great effort. You tried as hard as you could.” (fixed)
● “The goal isn’t to get it right immediately. The goal is to improve your understanding step by
step. What can you try next?” (growth)
● “Don’t worry, you’ll get it if you keep trying.” (fixed)
● “That feeling you’re experiencing of algebra being hard is the feeling of your brain developing.”
(growth)

“A growth mindset is simply the belief that

our basic abilities can be developed and
improved through dedication and hard
work.

It's not so much that this belief is some

kind of magic. It's just that without a growth
mindset, we don't exert the required effort
and so we remain perpetually stuck.”

-Tchiki Davis, Ph.D.

“15 Ways to Build a Growth Mindset”,
Psychology Today

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 SSP 007: Student Success Program
Growth Mindset + Study Skills
Teacher’s Guide

The facilitator/teacher will

read the phrases under
“instead of” while the
students right after
will say the “I can say”
statements.

B. COACH (Do and Think): 35 minutes

Activity: Discuss 10 Strategies for Fostering a Growth Mindset in Classroom

1. Group students into groups and have them pick one from any of the strategies.
2. Students must come up with a simple scenario that shows the struggle and application of the
chosen strategy.

Helping students develop a growth mindset requires deliberate effort from teachers, but many of
the methods can be easily integrated into their existing practices. The following strategies and tips
can help educators foster a growth mindset in the classroom:

● Normalize struggle. The struggle is part of the learning process, and emphasizing and
reinforcing that idea helps students react positively when they feel challenged.
● Encourage engagement with challenges. Portray challenges as fun and exciting, and
easy tasks as boring.
● Embrace the word “yet”. If someone makes the statement “I’m not a math person,”
adding a simple qualifier will signal that a process exists for gaining ability. “You’re not a
math person yet.”
● Tout the value of hard tasks to the brain. Promote the idea that brains are malleable
“muscles” that can be developed. Research on brain plasticity supports the idea of neural
growth, and mindset research has shown that believing the brain can grow has a
demonstrative effect on behavior and achievement.

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 SSP 007: Student Success Program
Growth Mindset + Study Skills
Teacher’s Guide

● Demonstrate mistakes and celebrate corrections. Mistakes should be viewed as

learning opportunities. Teachers can model this outlook in reactions to their own mistakes
and the steps they take to correct a mistake.
● Set goals. Having students set incremental, achievable goals demonstrates the
attainability of growth and progress.
● Develop cooperative exercises. Working together to solve problems emphasizes the
process and reinforces the importance of getting help and finding solutions. It also
deemphasizes individual outcomes.
● Provide challenges. Part of developing a growth mindset is teaching students to
overcome obstacles. A particularly hard math problem or complex writing assignment that
stretches their abilities can provide opportunities for growth and further instruction that
emphasizes problem-solving.
● Avoid praising intelligence. This may seem counterintuitive, but praise for “being smart”
reinforces the idea that intelligence is a fixed trait. This can be demotivating for the students
being praised (“I’m smart; I don’t have to try harder”), as well as for those who don’t receive
the praise (“That student is smart; I’m not”).
● Don’t oversimplify. “You can do anything!” may feel like harmless encouragement, but if
students aren’t put in a position to overcome challenges, they’ll conclude that such
statements are empty, and the educator will lose credibility.

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 SSP 007: Student Success Program
Growth Mindset + Study Skills
Teacher’s Guide

C. CHECK: 5 minutes

Exit ticket (5 minutes)

1. Students will pick a partner to share their takeaways from the lesson.
2. Answer the following:

Other resources:
● https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/three_mindset_shifts_that_can_help_students_succe
ed
● https://academicaffairs.arizona.edu/l2l-strategy-growth-mindset#:~:text=Growth%20mindset%20d
oes%20not%20mean,with%20effort%20and%20good%20strategies

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