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.
