The Importance of a Growth Mindset in Math Class

 

As teachers, we have all seen students struggle in math class. As an intermediate teacher, I see that by the time students reach grade 7 or 8 they have already labelled themselves as either “good at math” or “bad at math” based on their performance in earlier grades or simply based on their mindset. One of the most heartbreaking struggles I see is when students reach this age and simply believe that they will never be good at math, so they stop trying.

I feel that a great way to combat this is to instill a growth mindset in students from a very young age, especially when it comes to math. In math class, we need to embrace every small victory and students need to see making mistakes as learning opportunities that they can grow from. Here is a list of ways to help students develop a growth mindset in math class.

1.       Embrace the word yet. Instead of “I can’t do this” encourage students to say “I can’t do this yet.” This means even thought we aren’t able to do something right now, we are going to take the steps to be able to.

2.       Normalize struggle and embrace challenges. Students should feel challenged, not everything comes easily. When we are challenge we are learning. Challenges can be fun and rewarding.

3.       Demonstrate mistakes. Show that mistakes happen and they are a part of the learning process. When you make a mistake highlight it and show how you overcome it calmy and without embarrassment.

4.       Set goals. Have student set goals and create plans for how they will accomplish challenges. Challenges are less overwhelming when we know the smaller steps it will take to get there.