I am really working on developing a growth mindset in my students this year. On Monday I mentioned that I was trying to think of a visual to use in my classroom to remind my students that they should focus more on learning than on being perfect. This bulletin board is the result. It is not what I initially had in mind, but I think it gets the message across. I found this graphic that helped to lay the groundwork. Apparently, it is based on The 7 Habits of Highly Successful Teens by Sean Covey. From that graphic, a 98-cent huge disc and some neon green tubey kind of ribbon from Michael’s, some blue straws from Ikea, and a cute piece of clip art from MS Word, I came up with the bulletin board below. In case you can’t tell, the student has climbed the ladder from the safety of the Comfort Zone to walk the tightrope of the Courage Zone. Someone (I can’t remember who, so let me know if it was you!) gave me the idea to give the students neon-colored post-it notes so they can write something that they have done in the past that was out of their comfort zone and stick it to the board.
For more resources on teaching about a Growth Mindset, here is my Pinterest Board on that topic.
I love your bulletin board! What a great visual for the kids!
Thanks!
Love it too! Enabling more self-awareness that someone is leaving their comfort zone is a great tool. Hopefully they will learn to say to themselves “oh, here is that uncomfortable feeling again. But the last time I felt it, this good thing happened. So I’ll keep going…”
That’s a great way to think about it!
Terri,
I have been learning all kinds of things from your posts and pinterest for a while. I have just finished Dweck’s Mindset and another book on the subject. Your information and ideas are inspiring! I teach 6th grade social studies in a middle school (6th through 8th grades) in Oregon. I am a team leader this year and put together a power point to share ideas of growth mindset with the school leadership last Monday. The result was that I now get to plan two 40 minute sessions for all the students on the topic. I am working on ideas, but if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them. Thank you for everything you have shared. I have learned a lot!
Sarah Harding
Thank you so much for your comments! I’m assuming you’ve already looked at my Pinterest Board. I notice a LOT of other people have boards on Mindset as well. One resource that I recently found that might help you (with some modifications) is this free one on TPT: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-Week-Growth-Mindset-Powerpoint-1415888 It ties in to the Famous Failures video that you can find here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0lGcESiLWM