{"id":20892,"date":"2025-04-16T17:43:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T09:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/?p=20892"},"modified":"2025-04-16T17:43:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T09:43:25","slug":"building-a-growth-mindset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/2025\/04\/building-a-growth-mindset\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Growth Mindset"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people have something they think they\u2019re bad at, so they might say \u2018I can\u2019t do maths\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019m terrible at navigating.\u2019 This is how we speak if we have a fixed mindset, i.e. we believe our abilities have a set limit, beyond which we can\u2019t progress. The downside of this way of thinking is that it can stop us trying.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We want to be especially careful when we hear young people say things that suggest they have a fixed mindset as it can affect the direction they take in life. The truth is, we all have different natural aptitudes for things, but we can improve with the right teacher, tools, or timing. Students who say they\u2019re bad at maths can grow to love it given the right encouragement. A growth mindset is the best way to stay open to new opportunities to learn. Here are some tips to help your child build a growth mindset:<\/span><\/p>\n

Embrace failure<\/b><\/h4>\n

This sounds counterintuitive, but failures should be acknowledged and learned from to build a growth mindset. As a family, try a low-stakes activity that none of you is an expert at, and enjoy trying your best. If you go rock climbing, for instance, you could demonstrate feeling scared and uncomfortable but still pushing ahead, and if you slip, you can show how important it is to try again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn about people\u2019s journeys<\/b><\/h4>\n

When we hear about talented academics, athletes, and entertainers, it\u2019s usually because they\u2019re at the top of their fields. They look like someone naturally destined for their success. But learning more about their journey, through books, movies and articles, can teach us about the struggles they had to overcome. Help your child research their idols\u2019 backstories so they can learn that everyone faces difficulties on the road to success.<\/span><\/p>\n

Praise effort instead of outcome<\/b><\/h4>\n

This is especially important in younger children, who develop skills at very different rates to their peers. A child might be top of their class in maths in P4 but stall in their understanding of the subject in P5. They can become demotivated if they stop receiving any praise despite putting in as much effort as always. This might lead them to stop trying, thereby losing the possibility they had of a spurt in their understanding in P6 taking them to the top of the class again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Encourage growth-based language<\/b><\/h4>\n

When people in your household talk about their fixed abilities, saying things like \u2018I\u2019m bad at drawing\u2019 or \u2018I can never get up on time\u2019, encourage them to speak in a different way. It feels a bit awkward at first, but it really does have an impact. Instead of saying \u2018I\u2019m terrible at grammar\u2019, someone can say \u2018I\u2019ve not yet got the hang of the grammar we\u2019re learning this year.\u2019 Switch \u2018I\u2019m bad at sports\u2019 to \u2018I haven\u2019t found the sport for me yet.\u2019 We should even try to use this trick with praise, so instead of saying \u2018You\u2019re talented at Putonghua so you get top marks\u2019, we can say \u2018Your hard work with Putonghua is really paying off!\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These small changes can encourage those around us to keep trying their best, and that\u2019s the clearest path to success.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many people have something they think they\u2019re bad at, so they might say \u2018I can\u2019t do maths\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019m terrible at navigating.\u2019 This is how we speak if we have a fixed mindset, i.e. we believe our abilities have a set limit, beyond which we can\u2019t progress. The downside of this way of thinking is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":20893,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[772,929],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20892"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20892"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20895,"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20892\/revisions\/20895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.i-learner.edu.hk\/studiowebsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}