In today’s fast-changing world, there has never been a greater need for resilience, determination and perseverance, and when we nurture learning behaviours to overcome challenges, we provide children with a strong foundation for successful learning. When life is unpredictable, the ability to ‘bounce back’ is key to maintaining control of a positive learning focus.
Those with a growth mindset believe they can improve their abilities through effort and effective learning techniques. Those with a fixed mindset believe their abilities are largely innate and so are less likely to work to improve their academic performance. The following strategies can help nurture a growth mindset.
9 Tips to help your child develop a Growth Mindset
Be persistent in the face of obstacles and continue to make an effort: Hard work does pay off, but sometimes it takes time. Practice makes progress! Understand, for example, that their friend might be ‘faster’ to learn Mandarin, but we can all experience success in our own time.
Have a go at tasks without being worried about succeeding or failing.
The more a child practices a skill independently and learns from their own interests, the more they will engage with the learning process and ‘Reach for the Stars.’
Accept that making a mistake can help them understand their learning and their learning attitude better. This is not an excuse for making unnecessary mistakes, but a recognition that all learning requires some effort.
It helps if you (the parent) model having to persevere with a task that you are finding tough.
Sometimes adults praise every little thing that children do, but this can feel meaningless. Use focused praise: ‘I like the way you kept going with the tricky part, you did it!’
Avoid spoon-feeding the answers and target the development of independence in learning skills by consistently looking for self-help opportunities.
Proud Clouds: Get creative in making ‘Proud Clouds’ and sharing them. When we feel proud, it is because we are happy about something we have done well at like finally scoring a goal at football or remembering some new Mandarin vocabulary in the right order.
Learning a language takes time. It is frustrating when a child is reluctant to engage with the activities and tasks that are needed to embed learning. By applying these strategies consistently, you are giving your child a strong message that learning is not always immediate and it is not always fun. Even the world’s best footballers, ballet dancers, doctors and scientists must practice!
Written for Dadi Mandarin by White Orchid Insights.