Growth Mindset Activities for Kids [downloadable]
Is your child willing to take on challenges and keep working on them despite setbacks? That’s a sign of a growth mindset—believing that abilities can improve over time. But some struggling learners have a fixed mindset. They think that their abilities are set and won’t ever improve, even with effort.
Your child can work to develop a growth mindset. It’s an ongoing process, but you can help your child move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset by doing some simple growth mindset exercises. Read more ›
A new study finds that when students experience an academic setback such as a bad grade, the amount of cortisol—the so-called stress hormone—in their bodies typically spikes. For most students it drops back down to normal levels a day later, but for some it stays high. These students remain fixated on the setback and have difficulty moving forward. 
Children with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence is fixed at birth and doesn’t change or changes very little with practice. These students see school as a place where their abilities are evaluated, they focus on looking smart over learning, and they interpret mistakes are a sign that they lack talent. Children with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can be developed. These students see school as a place to develop their abilities and think of challenges as opportunities to grow.
Students from underserved communities graduate from high school and college at far lower rates than their advantaged peers, and these achievement gaps powerfully perpetuate longstanding socioeconomic inequalities.
