Having a growth mindset is so important for children today, in all aspects of their daily life. In our Education and Tutoring Centre, we encourage all of our children (School Readiness, Primary and High School) to embrace their mistakes and see them as an opportunity to improve and challenge themselves. If they are not making mistakes, they are not learning!

There are two types of mindsets; a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

‘In the fixed mindset, when you fail; you’re a failure. In the growth mindset, when you fail; you’re learning.’ – Carol Dweck.

Today, mindset has a vital role to play in children’s success. Without a positive mental attitude, children inevitably hinder the possibility of reaching their full potential. It is therefore important that children learn to cope with failure at a young age and realise that it does not define their ability. Growth mindset plays a fundamental part in our School Readiness classes. Does your child attend School Readiness classes? Do the teachers incorporate growth mindset into the School Readiness learning outcomes? At Discover Learning, growth mindset starts at School Readiness.

What does a fixed mindset look like?

Children who have a fixed mindset, will have a negative internal dialogue:

• I’m either good at it, or I’m not
• I can’t do this!
• When I fail, I’m no good
• If you succeed, I feel threatened
• When I’m frustrated, I give up
• I don’t like to be challenged
• I compare myself to others’ and their success gets me down

What does a growth mindset look like?

Children who have a growth mindset, will have a positive internal dialogue:

• I can learn anything I want to
• I am not afraid to ask for help!
• I can’t do it yet!
• When I fail, I learn
• I am comfortable making mistakes
• When I’m frustrated, I persevere
• I want to challenge myself
• I find inspiration in other people’s success

It is therefore important that growth mindset is encouraged from a young age. Growth mindset forms an integral part of our School Readiness program.

Tips for encouraging a growth mindset:

• Refrain from telling your child that they are smart, gifted, or talented,as this implies that they were born with the knowledge, and does not encourage effort and growth.
• Make your child aware of times when they are demonstrating a growth mindset.
• Model a growth mindset and share experiences of times when failure has taught you a lesson and what you have learned from previous failures.
• Embrace failures, as children learn the most when they fail. Mistakes are part of the learning process and children need to know this!
• Praise your child’s efforts and hard work. Children need to learn that they must work to achieve their true potential.
• Don’t praise the results.Test scores are rigid ways of measuring learning. It is the process and the work that children put in, that matters the most.

At our Education and Tutoring Centre, we promote a positive attitude to learning, to ensure that our School Readiness children grow up experiencing mistakes and failures and know that they are a vital part of their learning journey! Instead of believing they can’t do something, it is important for them to know that they may not be able to do it YET, but they will be able to do it in the near future! Our ‘Which step have you reached today?’ poster supports our School Readiness, Primary and High School children with this process in a fun, relatable way.

Growth mindset is key in achieving our mission ‘to send every member of the Discover Learning family out into the world with a love of learning’. At Discover Learning, we start instilling this love of learning in our School Readiness classes.