How do you foster a growth mindset and a culture of revision in your writing classes?

2 Model the process

Another way to foster a growth mindset and a culture of revision is to model the process yourself. You can share your own drafts and revisions with your students, and show them how you use feedback and self-editing to improve your writing. You can also invite your students to give you feedback on your writing, and demonstrate how you incorporate their suggestions or explain why you reject them. By doing this, you can show your students that writing is a dynamic and collaborative process, and that you value their input and opinions.

3 Provide effective feedback

A key factor to foster a growth mindset and a culture of revision is to provide effective feedback to your students. Effective feedback is specific, constructive, timely, and balanced. It focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the writing, not the writer. It offers concrete suggestions for improvement, not vague or general comments. It is delivered soon after the writing is submitted, not weeks later. And it highlights both what the writing does well and what it needs to work on, not only the errors or flaws.

4 Encourage self-assessment and peer review

Another strategy to foster a growth mindset and a culture of revision is to encourage self-assessment and peer review among your students. Self-assessment is the ability to evaluate one's own writing based on clear criteria and standards, and to identify areas for improvement. Peer review is the practice of exchanging feedback with other students based on the same criteria and standards. You can facilitate these activities by providing rubrics, checklists, or guidelines for your students to use when reviewing their own or others' writing. You can also create opportunities for your students to discuss their feedback and revisions with each other, and to reflect on their progress and challenges.

5 Reward effort and improvement

A final way to foster a growth mindset and a culture of revision is to reward effort and improvement in your students' writing. You can do this by using formative and summative assessments that measure not only the final product, but also the process and the growth of the writer. You can also use praise and recognition to acknowledge your students' efforts and achievements, and to motivate them to keep working on their writing. You can also use feedback and grades that are based on criteria and standards, not on comparison or competition, and that emphasize the potential and the possibility of further improvement.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?