How will you change your use of the growth mindset?

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For my pre-kindergarten students, it is important to consider that the children are between 3 and 5 years old. At that early age, the main focus is to foster a positive, encouraging, and constantly exploring learning environment; in my case, I daily focus on promoting the process in my class and not just the results since I convey to them that even if a task seems impossible to do, with effort and perseverance, you will be able to achieve what you want. Now, although the growth mentality is fundamental, in the process of integral growth as a human being, I will modify it, adapting it to the age of the students. I will accompany it with additional strategies, such as praising the process and effort, not for results and intelligence, promoting resilience and positive feedback, and creating meaningful learning environments where students feel comfortable, interested, and motivated to learn through play and experimentation.

 

How can you help your learner develop a growth mindset?

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To help my pre-kindergarten students develop a growth mindset, I start by modeling a growth mindset for them, showing empathy, demonstrating enthusiasm for discovering new things, and sharing my own learning experiences and mistakes and my how-can-I attitude. Overcoming challenges and teaching him that words have power. In this way, I will show the children that it is not just them that happens and that problems or challenges are presented to them. Learning is a continuous process for everyone, where we can all improve and grow. Second, due to their age, I create a happy, cheerful, motivating learning environment that encourages curiosity and exploration, where they can discover new concepts and learn skills through play and experimentation, and harmony and mutual collaboration prevail. Third, I teach them values ​​such as resilience to see mistakes as opportunities, assertive communication, friendship, and responsibility, which are fundamental for their integral growth as human beings. Third, I promote developing autonomy in each of my students so that they learn to make decisions and assume responsibilities from a young age. Lastly, I celebrate every minor achievement and their tremendous strength to persevere. Likewise, it is incredible how they also celebrate the accomplishments of their classmates.

 

What other factors need to be considered if you wish to impact the Growth Mindset?

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Suppose we want to significantly impact the growth mindset of our pre-kindergarten students, in addition to the factors described in the previous question. In that case, we must consider the role of parents, guardians, and caregivers in the development of the growth mindset of our pre-kindergarten students. Children remember that they learn from their role models; therefore, parents must participate in fostering a growth mindset at home. Parents with a growth mindset will likely encourage their children to work hard, learn from their mistakes, and not give up on challenges. Another factor is the influence of the culture and values ​​in which children develop, which are also important. It is essential to be aware of the cultural and social influences that can affect how children view learning and growth; for example, it is evident that children raised in their 80s have different social influences than those of this age. We must also consider that each child is different; therefore, each has their own learning pace and learning style, so it is crucial to adapt our strategies to the children's needs. Finally, from my perspective, teachers sometimes ignore other significant factors: emotional support and constructive feedback. Children should feel safe and supported as they explore and learn; constructive feedback can help them understand how to improve and grow. Let's avoid labels for our children.

 

How will you model the growth mindset and the message of "Yet" to your learners?

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In pre-kindergarten, it is essential to model the growth mindset and convey the 'yet' message to students. As you know, it is the first stage of formal education, where children are exposed to school and acquire academic knowledge. To achieve this, I strive to be a great living example of what it means to have a growth mindset. When exercising my role as a teacher and working with children, I always try to show them that I am also learning and growing. I tell them about my challenges and how I have faced them; in fact, I repeat that "every day we learn something new.". If I face a challenge of not knowing how to do something or I make a mistake, I let them know, I don't lower my head, I don't hide it or give up, and I tell them, "I don't know yet, but I'm going to work hard to find out.". On the contrary, I convey to them that we cannot be afraid of making mistakes, and I use it as an opportunity to show them how we can learn from mistakes and overcome obstacles. For example, if I'm trying to teach them a new skill or concept and don't understand it at first, I tell them, "Oh, that's interesting; this is new to me, too. "Let's learn together." This way, I show them that learning is a continuous process and that we can all improve and grow.

I also use the language of “yet”when working with my students. Instead of telling them, 'You can't do that, I tell them, 'You can't do that yet, but we will work together to make it happen. Do you know why? Because the more we practice, the better we will do." Through these words, I teach you that failure is not an insurmountable obstacle but an opportunity to learn and improve.

Additionally, I celebrate my students' achievements and efforts, not just their successes. For example, I tell them: "Luisito, I love how you are working hard on that. Keep it up! You haven't managed to do it yet, but I'm proud of you because you're a super kid. Don't give up." In this way, I teach them that effort and perseverance are as important as success. Finally, I hope that by modeling the growth mindset and transmitting the message of "yet," I will be a source of indirect inspiration for my pre-kindergarten students, where I invite them through my actions to develop a positive attitude towards learning and to believe in themselves and their capabilities. Finally, it is important to keep in mind that, although as teachers, we model the development of a growth mindset every day, it is important to know that this result in our children will not be obtained overnight; It requires constant effort and long-term dedication. However, we will see changes in students' attitudes every day.

 

Consider how the growth mindset can change the acceptance of feedback and student's attitude toward cheating.

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The growth mindset is a wonderful tool. One of the positive things is that it can change the perception in which students accept feedback and face challenges. It usually happens that when you go to give feedback, some of our students are defensive or that you are threatening their intelligence or ego; however, when we have taught them about the meaning of a growth mindset, they will be able to change the meaning of things, that is They will see the negative as positive, they are willing to listen, they see feedback as a valuable tool to learn and improve. Students actively seek it out, listen to it carefully, and use it to identify areas for improvement rather than as a personal criticism. Since they believe in themselves and are sure that their skills and knowledge can be developed through effort and practice. As a result, they are more willing to listen to and consider feedback as they see that it can help them grow and improve.

On the other hand, a growth mindset can also influence students' attitudes toward cheating or challenges, so students with a fixed mindset will see cheating as a way to gain an advantage or a shortcut to avoid hard work and trouble, risk of failing, blaming external factors for their results and justifying their actions. In contrast, if our students are prepared to face a challenge, they will avoid the trap, act honestly and with integrity, and value effort, hard work, and genuine learning. , recognizing that cheating is part of negative liveliness that only hinders your actual progress. By accepting that we don't know everything and can improve, we can approach challenges more openly and respectfully, avoiding pitfalls.

 

How can the growth mindset help limit some of your student's concern with grades? What role does grit play?

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At this pre-kindergarten stage, where students are little explorers, they are in a crucial stage of their development where play, exploration, and discovery are essential for their learning and growth. Based on this, I consider that although there is no such concern about obtaining a high grade, if there is a concern about avoiding making mistakes, in my opinion promoting a growth mindset in our class will first help not to have that worry since children will see challenges as opportunities for growth instead of invincible obstacles. Obviously, it will allow them to focus on the learning process and not just the result, and instead of feeling disappointed by a bad outcome, they will see the mistake as an opportunity to learn and grow in the future. The growth mindset also teaches children that mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. For example, if a child makes a mistake when counting blocks, he does not feel bad about himself. Instead, he thinks, "Oh, I was wrong. I'll try again!" This helps them develop resilience and self-confidence. This procedure relies heavily on perseverance, sometimes known as determination. Long-term academic achievement requires perseverance in the face of challenges and problems. Students who cultivate tenacity can overcome difficulties and remain motivated even when faced with challenges. In short, an attitude of growth and tenacity are helpful skills for reducing children's anxiety about grades. Students who focus on the learning process rather than the outcome can create a more positive attitude toward studying and academic advancement. Now, what role does tenacity play? Tenacity is like the engine that drives people to keep going, even when things get complicated. In the case of pre-kindergarten students who develop tenacity, they are like little warriors who do not give up. Be encouraged if you are learning how to make a Lego figure and need help finding the right piece. They keep trying, and they keep searching until they succeed. And when they achieve it, they feel proud of themselves and their ability to overcome obstacles. In this sense, we must encourage tenacity as educators since it teaches children that effort and perseverance are crucial to achieving their goals. It doesn't matter if they aren't the best at something. What matters is that they keep trying, learning, and growing. This gives pre-kindergarten students the confidence to tackle increasingly more significant challenges, knowing they can overcome them with time and practice.

 

How can we prevent the growth mindset from becoming a fad or being improperly implemented? Consider how grit can be misused (Hint rigor).

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The growth mindset in the educational field today is a topic that has had a lot of impact due to the wonderful results it had when it began to be developed. However, it is important to ensure that it does not simply become a fad or is implemented incorrectly. For this, first of all, it is necessary to internalize the meaning to foster a better understanding of what a growth mindset means, implying that resilience and constant effort are essential for long-term progress and success. Second, praise is an aspect that catches my attention. When applying it, the focus should be on each student's progress, not on comparing them with others, since healthy competition can be motivating, but comparison destroys confidence and self-love.

Additionally, focus on fostering collaboration, mutual support, and collective growth rather than creating an environment of harmful competition. Third, remember that the growth mindset is not a switch turned on and off; it requires a constant daily commitment from educators, parents, and students to foster and cultivate it over time. Regarding "grit," it is important to avoid confusing it with simply asking for more effort or rigor without a clear goal, emphasizing rigor and persistence without a balanced focus on meaningful learning. It is important to remember that perseverance must go hand in hand with a focus on high-quality education and the student's holistic development, using tenacity to foster resilience and persistence in a supportive and caring environment, not overexertion, competition, or cruelty.

 

The growth mindset is a good start, but is it enough?

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Developing a growth mindset in our students is an excellent starting point; it is a great tool to achieve success, but more is needed. For example, this can be seen as a garden that needs to be tended and nurtured to flourish. Like a garden, it requires regular watering, but it also needs weeding and protection from the elements. With proper care, the garden will bear fruit and thrive. The same thing happens with our students; they are like a garden where you need to have all the elements working in sync for the flowers to grow. In other words, to achieve our goals, we must unite each element and combine it with other essential tools such as the development of personal skills, the creation of a meaningful learning environment, the tenacity and support of teachers and parents so that students apply and can overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.