How can you apply a growth mindset approach to university teaching?

Encourage students to focus on their efforts and the process of learning rather than solely on grades or outcomes. Teach them that intelligence and abilities can be developed through hard work, practice, and perseverance. Offer specific and constructive feedback that highlights areas for improvement rather than simply evaluating performance. Encourage students to view feedback as an opportunity for growth and learning. Create a classroom atmosphere that promotes collaboration, risk-taking, and open communication. Encourage students to share their ideas, ask questions, and engage in discussions without fear of judgment or failure. Help students develop resilience by teaching them how to overcome challenges, setbacks, and failures.

Students must develop meta-cognition to assess their current status, strengths, and weaknesses, aligning their efforts with career goals. High expectations alone are insufficient; inspiration and self-directedness are essential for success. It's crucial to discern whether students pursue university out of personal passion or parental pressure. Universities serve as a bridge between students' present and future careers, necessitating a thorough understanding of the skills and commitments associated with chosen paths. A major obstacle lies in the disparity between theoretical learning at universities and practical career requirements. To equip students for the future, a shift towards cultivating lifelong learning is imperative.

Communicating high expectations are almost essential to success. One study found that when married couples divorced the biggest factor of whether they would’ve worked it out was lack of communication of expectations. I’ve come to find that communicating and being on the same page about the standard, the plan, and the mission statement promotes a team based atmosphere.

Effective communication of expectations is crucial for a positive learning environment. Using clear and concise language, educators articulate what is expected in terms of behaviour, participation, assignments, and overall conduct. This transparency provides a solid foundation, fostering clarity, accountability, and mutual respect between educators and students, contributing to a conducive and harmonious learning atmosphere.

Utilizing the ability to model growth, mindset can be a fun and effective way to build camaraderie as an educator. Some of my favorite times playing football or basketball was when our coaches talked about the days they played and were in our shoes, whether amongst friends currently, or in the past at our age group. Being a model shows respect for the process, and produces a team approach to the learning process from a place of understanding and empathy.

In my teaching, I share personal experiences of overcoming challenges to highlight the transformative power of continuous learning. By recounting instances where I faced obstacles, I aim to demystify innate talent, underscoring the importance of effort and resilience. These anecdotes serve as tangible examples of the growth mindset, illustrating that setbacks are stepping stones toward improvement. I emphasise how each challenge became an opportunity for learning, allowing me to acquire new skills, refine teaching methodologies, and adapt to evolving landscapes. I hope to inspire students to embrace challenges, view failures as valuable lessons, and recognise their limitless capacity for growth through continuous learning.

I like to use case studies and role-plays because they help see examples of fixed mindset thoughts and learn to reformulate them into growth mindset thoughts. For instance, when training up future teachers of English, I would use the following situation and ask them what thoughts they would have: as an English teacher, imagine you're asked to work with a class of extremely weak and difficult students for the next 6 months. Other teachers have tried to establish discipline, but haven't been able to get these students to switch to their classes. If students say something like 'Oh no, I'm just going to suffer for 6 moths', this is a sign of fixed mindset, and I would get them to reformulate this into 'Let's see what I can do to help them'.

Incorporating growth mindset activities has been arguably my favorite part of teaching. I’ll never forget when I went from my morning opener, asking about the homework to evolve in it to a daily check-in. Some of the questions addressed stress levels and pain points, asked the students about their favorite locations to study, what makes them feel good about an assignment when completing it at home. These questions really opened up a lot of vulnerability, and engagement. The students really saw this activity as a journey of learning how to learn rather than an assignment to go through the motions to.

Challenging students is a key part of the learning process. When I was teaching voice lessons, I once had an exchange student with more talent than any student or adult I’ve ever worked with. This student was so much fun to watch in her element, and she really excelled. Still, it was my job to push her and challenge her to reach levels I knew she can reach. We all can use sharpening. Don’t be afraid to challenge and safely and effectively push your students in the direction of their growth, and be there to guide them as a trusted guardian with their well-being kept first.

Tap into physiology. It plays a key part of being in an optimum state for learning and a positive climate that opens connections. With this comes a greater value of the sessions and more trust between all stakeholders. This feeds into being able to give more agency to learners which in turn enhances motivation and therefore outcomes.

At the University level, there’s often a lot of extraneous circumstances going on in the background that many times can be overwhelming and distracting. As educators, it’s our job to understand this, and keep for our students a sense of accountability, but as professionals we must maintain a sense of understanding. We want the best for students, and we want their success. All of the tactics and teachings are to help the betterment of the educational journey, which should always be a primary goal in education.