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68 Comments

  • Trish Pearce March 2, 2022 at 3:39 pm

    This is an excellent comparison between the two tennis players. I love the fact that Federer wasn’t aspiring to be THE best, but rather his personal best.

  • Cheryl Trueack March 2, 2022 at 2:42 pm

    Great distinction. It’s not: I want to be THE BEST
    It is: I want to be MY BEST.

  • Karim March 2, 2022 at 2:25 pm

    I think the writer is making a reasonable point here although it is a very stark dichotomy that they are constructing. To get to the top, Mcenroe must have put in thousands of hours in practice time and being coached. This would require some degree of a growth mindset. But I think the contrast of Feder being driven by the goal of mastery and Mcenroe proof of his superiority is apt.

  • Fulata November 10, 2021 at 7:23 pm

    Quite eye opening and easily accessible knowledge and ideas with high motivation as pedagogical to the reader becoming an agile learner. Would your growth mindset toolkit help to deconstruct the fixed mindset?

  • Andrea Picou June 18, 2021 at 12:28 am

    I would love to have the Growth Mindset guide.

    Thanks,

    Andrea

    • James June 18, 2021 at 7:54 am

      Hi Andrea,
      The Growth Mindset Style Guide is something I share in my workshops, training, and online courses. I’d love to invite you along to one of these sometime.
      James

  • Charu August 23, 2020 at 11:41 am

    I want to learn more about growth mindset and habits of mind. How to use them practically in a classroom.
    Is there any online class available?
    I am from India.

  • Bala August 16, 2020 at 11:16 pm

    In today’s present scenario a growth mindset would really do well in all spheres which shapes them to a wholesome human being .

  • karri Turley June 13, 2020 at 1:49 am

    Hey James,
    I work with Dr. Wendi Mckenna, and one of our clients, Kristin Bednarz just interviewed you to be an expert on her show. She highly recommended you and we would be honored to interview you for our show called Your Thriving Baby: On Family! Would you do us the honor of having us interview you for this show?
    We appreciate your time and I thank you for your consideration!

  • Christine Shaw June 12, 2020 at 1:15 pm

    I have been enjoying being part of your Learning Landscapes PD, it has allowed me to think about how I manage my learning challenges and how I teach about learning challenges. Currently passing this on to students and family members. It has allowed some interesting conversations around the dining table and in the classroom.

  • Jus May 15, 2020 at 11:16 am

    I love this story about Picasso!

  • Lynn May 11, 2020 at 9:16 pm

    you have a brilliant idea that changing mindset cannot be limited to changing behaviour, it is about changing the cause, however, it is still not explained what is the cause of a fixed mindset. the infographic shows what are the thinking process when having a fixed mindset, it doesn’t explain why anyone thinks like that in the first place.

    Is a fixed mindset inherited or strategically learned/taught? of course not! so what is the cause of a fixed mindset?

    • James May 11, 2020 at 10:03 pm

      Thanks for your comments Lynn.

      I actually believe that both the fixed and growth mindset are learned. I write about this extensively elsewhere in my blogs, and in my book, The Agile Learner. You might like to look at my blog Authentic V’s Learned Mindsets, or Four Pathways to a Fixed Mindset. I also discuss the issue in my free ebook, the Mindset Continuum.

      Would love to know your thoughts

      James

      • Lynn May 13, 2020 at 12:24 pm

        Can you provide a link to your article/book?

        I disagree that the mindset is all learned but this is for discussion. If my fixed mindset is learnt, the it means:
        1. I want to learn it to begin with – otherwise why wouldn’t I learn something else?!
        2. And even if I learnt it subconsciously, it still means the origin of a fixed mindset is from an outer environment (family, teacher, friends etc.), therefore as long as I am in that environment, I cannot be immuned to it, and if that environment is so strong, or if there is no other environment around me (a growth mindset envionrment, for instance) then there is no hope in me — I can only learn to have a fixed mindset.

        Even if we say the mindset is learnt, then it still boils down to my personal choice “to learn it”. So what has been influencing my choice?

        • James May 14, 2020 at 2:41 pm

          Hi Lynn,

          thanks again for your comments.

          You can find my free ebook here I think it will answer many of your questions.

          The Authentic V’s Learned Growth Mindset blog is here.

          And the first chapter of The Agile Learner is available for download here.

          Let me know what you think about where you get your mindset from after reflecting on the above. The next powerful question to ask, is as teachers what do we do to ensure that students are developing a Growth Mindset in schools and classrooms?

  • Sandra Harvey March 23, 2020 at 7:44 am

    How refreshing to hear of someone who agrees with my Mindset that we need to treat the cause, not just the symptoms in ALL situations, be in our health, or our mental health or even that blue smoke coming out of the back of my car….. Look for the cause!!
    Kudos

  • Patricia Bischoff Bettencourt March 9, 2020 at 11:51 pm

    James, interesting article.
    What about using this same benchmark to identity teachers according to their own “learner agency”? Let me know what you think about this.

    • James March 10, 2020 at 7:42 am

      Absolutely Patricia,
      not only do I ask teachers to reflect in this way, but I also think there are different approaches to teaching and learning required to transition students from one level to the next.
      Thanks for your input. I’ll be writing more about this topic throughout the year.
      James

  • Neil Waddington September 11, 2019 at 7:22 am

    Having been to a day-long workshop with James, I find it really helpful to revisit these ideas, to help me remember what I found inspirational and help apply it. It’s great to use these strategies in the classroom and be able to drip feed them to teachers in my Collaborative Inquiry Group when they hit a wall when working with a challenging student.

  • Shirley Pyrc July 22, 2019 at 10:32 am

    Thank you James! So useul. I would love to display some of your quotes – are they accessible to print/purchase?

  • Rebecca May 25, 2019 at 12:49 pm

    Hi, I’m interested in your Growth mindset toolkit and workshop. Unfortunately I’ll be unable to attend, do you offer an online option?

    • James May 31, 2019 at 1:43 pm

      HI Rebecca,
      I offer a slightly different course online. The Growth Mindset Teacher. See jamesanderson.com.au for more info.
      I also offer my Growth Mindset Toolkit workshop in Auckland in two weeks if you can make it to there.
      Thanks
      James

  • Pamela Paull May 14, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    To really help students develop a growth mindset depends on the type of mindset a teacher has. I have really reflected on how I think and act can have either a negative or positive impact on student behaviour.

  • Alexandra Zoupantis March 29, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    Do these courses count toward NESA Registered hours?

    • James March 29, 2019 at 1:25 pm

      Hi Alexandra, we run this workshop in conjunction with TTA who are registered providers with NESA. The workshop contributes approx. 6 hours accredited PD.

  • TERESA KEESING March 26, 2019 at 7:53 pm

    AM interested but await venue confirmation and permission from my Principal. Thanks, Teresa

  • Rachel S. Heslin March 20, 2019 at 2:30 am

    This was something I needed to hear right now. I’ve got my own challenges working my way up the growth spectrum, so shifting from simply doing to deliberately stretching helps move me out of trying to keep up appearances and into being more immersed in the experience of my life. Thank you.

  • Karen March 19, 2019 at 6:45 pm

    Hi James,
    I share your thinking here. Too often it’s easy to keep doing things “well” rather than taking on the challenge in all areas of life, not just the workplace, but sport, music, and spiritual.
    Definitely an article I will be sharing.

    • James March 20, 2019 at 7:21 am

      Thanks for sharing Karen. It’s so easy to spend your life in the comfort zone. The trouble with that, of course, is that some challenges stay forever out of your reach. Best wishe

  • David Barrett January 28, 2019 at 10:11 am

    Around our staffroom, almost on a daily basis, you’ll hear someone say, “I can’t do [insert task here]”. Invariably, that’s met by the single-word catch-cry, often from multiple mouths: “Yet!”

    We may not be doing Growth Mindset 100% well or 100% fluently, but we are doing it every day, and we believe.

    We try not to label students as Fixed or Growth, one of the other problems with the dichotomous notion of mindsets. But it happens, and we remind each other to try not to fall into labelling traps, wherever possible.

    The notion of mindsets as a continuum is probably the biggest takeaway for me from this post (which I wish I’d seen when it was originally put up). I think there are some new posters to be made!

    Thanks for an informative and thought-provoking blog. Cheers!

  • Matt December 11, 2018 at 12:35 pm

    I would like to register for the event in Cairns. I am just unsure at this stage as to how many teachers will be going.

  • Catherine Dalley November 30, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    I’m interested in learning how to introduce this idea to 10 year olds

  • Alan August 25, 2018 at 1:15 am

    James, thank you very much for providing this – it is so helpful!

    –alan.

  • Delina Harding August 8, 2018 at 8:35 am

    The infographic is absolutely brilliant. The rationale is clear and it just makes sense.
    How can purchase and download as a display?

    • James August 8, 2018 at 8:38 am

      Thanks Delina!
      The infographic is available in my Habits of Mind store as a poster. See here

  • Jacqui Dunbar July 11, 2018 at 10:02 pm

    Fantastic article James. One of my favourites. “Developing a growth mindset does far more than improve academic results. It helps students understand what it means to be human.” This a beautiful quote and captures the psychology of it as well. Developing my growth mindset has assisted me in learning a new instrument and changing the way I write assignments at university. Thank you for your article.

  • Mary Grosser July 10, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    I like the analogy of the Learning Pit. I find getting my students out of the pit the most difficult part. How can I obtain more information on getting learners out of the Learning Pit?

    • James July 10, 2018 at 4:14 pm

      Hi Mary,

      keep an eye out for my next book – it’s all about the Learning Pit and how to help students get out of it 🙂

  • Mary Grosser July 10, 2018 at 3:09 pm

    This is such a helpful and practical example to explain to students the importance of developing a growth mind-set.

  • Maret May 18, 2018 at 4:11 am

    Thought provoking!

  • Trudi-Anne Wynn April 14, 2018 at 1:21 pm

    You are probably right re grammar, but the focus is on “correcting” the poster, so it should only change the key word “correcting” as a verb.You could change it to corrections of mistakes, but it wouldn’t have the same impact.

  • Beth March 13, 2018 at 2:47 am

    Great article! Should it read “Correcting mistakes IS proof you’re growing” though?

    In the original saying (Mistakes are proof you’re growing) mistakes are plural, but in the second phrase, is it the word correcting that the verb refers? I am actually asking because my Grammarly doesn’t seem to have an opinion nor does my Word grammar check, both of which I rely on extensively.

  • Alex Delaforce March 5, 2018 at 11:15 am

    Unfortunately it seems almost ubiquitous practice to quote an educationally significant term in the more high-brow supplement of a paper, misuse it or confuse it, mix it with a few facts or quotes and assume it counts as quality reporting. What is the difference between academic and cognitive anyway, surely they mean the same thing!!??
    When I was in the UK’s RAF (I maintained electronics, computers and hydraulic systems for aircraft simulators), members of our team of simulator technicians would quote meaningless technical buzzwords or jargon-sounding terms around the officer aircrew and then see how long before we heard one officer using the term when explaining some apparent fault to one of his (not often her) colleague. They had no idea what they were talking about, but it sounded good. I suspect the same thing happens with journalists.

  • support February 20, 2018 at 9:47 pm

    This registration is a transfer from “The Growth Mindset Teacher – Canberra” September 15, 2017.

  • Barbara Kerr February 14, 2018 at 9:28 am

    Hi James,
    Thanks for this informative info. I am working in Peru and this is going to be very helpful in the work I am doing. I did Habits of Mind Training with you and Art many years ago and have been in several contries since leaving Aus in 2008. Love keeping up to date with your website.

    Thanks again
    Barb

  • Andrea Licata January 23, 2018 at 2:01 am

    Yes! “…one of education’s primary purposes is to instill a robust and enduring Growth Mindset in students, so they can become life-long learners!” I added the exclamation point.

  • Brenda August 31, 2017 at 9:08 am

    How do we encourage the student who doesn’t won’t to attempt the work because they perceive it will show their lack of understanding?

    • James November 22, 2017 at 1:37 pm

      There are a range of strategies that can be used in this situation. Most involve changing the way students perceive assessment, and reducing the threat of being wrong. For example, we can help this student by asking them questions that include a tentative statement such as might, could, or perhaps. By not asking for a definitive, right / wrong answer we allow students to venture a response, without the perceived risk of being showing lack of understanding. Similarly, rather than asking students to answer questions (and risk being wrong) we can teach them how to correct mistakes (other peoples are best), before we ask them to attempt to answer them on their own. I explore many of these strategies in my online courses.

  • support July 22, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    Free registration

  • support July 22, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    Free registration

  • support July 22, 2017 at 8:48 pm

    Free registration

  • Paul R April 26, 2017 at 11:41 pm

    Hi James, I turned to your website for some help in undoing some old bad habits and developing some new ones. I found this article and found it extremely interesting and incredibly useful given I am about to start a new job.

    Incidentally we taught together several years ago down in the Hoppers Crossing area in Victoria. You had a big influence on my teaching practice then and my continuing learning since then!

  • Bagus Harimawan January 11, 2017 at 12:49 am

    Having a growth mindset is critical for everyone. You can have a continuous learning journey in your life and transforming a meaning of efforts and difficulty into positive energy that brings you to your fullest potential.

  • Ngon Truong January 10, 2017 at 12:57 pm

    Great talk, it arouses the inner ability in us. The ability of can learn from mistake/failure and improve it for better outcomes next time.

  • Ingrid July 18, 2016 at 8:00 pm

    Hi James,

    This looks very informative. Great that these misconceptions are captured in one graphic. Please would you send me the PDF, as it is not downloading.

    Kindest regards
    Ingrid

    • James July 19, 2016 at 12:58 pm

      hi Ingrid,
      thanks for letting me know. I’ve fixed the issue. Clicking on the image should now download the PDF.
      Cheers
      James

  • James October 22, 2015 at 9:54 am

    World Memory Champion talking about “wasn’t born with a special brain”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tiea5ftMZVA

  • James October 22, 2015 at 9:49 am

    Don’t forget to check out the Growth Mindset Posters available for your classrooms

    https://mindfulbydesign.com/product/growth-mindset-posters-full-set-of-7/

  • James May 26, 2015 at 1:19 am

    Hello All,

    I’ve compiled some extra resources to support your continued growth and learning related to Growth Mindsets.

    Please have a look at:

    The Thoughtful Teacher
    https://mindfulbydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/1.-The-Thoughtful-Teacher.pdf

    Even Geniuses Works Hard
    https://mindfulbydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/2.-Even-Geniuses-Work-Hard.pdf

    The Making of An Expert
    https://mindfulbydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/3.-The-Making-of-an-Expert.pdf

    The Secrets to Raising Smart Kids
    https://mindfulbydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/4.-The-Secret-To-Raising-Smart-Kids.pdf

    Tips on Grading for Growth Mindset
    https://mindfulbydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/8.-Tips-on-Grading-for-Growth-Mindset.pdf

    I think you’ll find these particularly useful.

    Let me know what you think.

    James

  • John May 22, 2015 at 12:40 am

    I wonder if there are gender differences in the propensity of individuals to have growth mindsets or the ease at which change can be made? Perhaps it depends upon the area the mindset is related to?

    • James May 22, 2015 at 12:43 am

      Hi John,
      I’d be interested in peoples observations on that one. It’s not an area that has had a lot of research to date, although I’ve had a number of people ask me similar questions.
      I personally don’t see any reason for a gender difference, although the connection to stereotype that I mentioned yesterday might play a role.

  • James May 21, 2015 at 11:25 pm

    For more videos, particularly about HOM (and including the video’s we’ve watched so far in the workshop) you can check out my Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/mindfulbydesign

    This one is a great intro what the Habits of Mind are and how they were derived https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT0vXFP_RYI

  • James May 21, 2015 at 11:23 pm

    You might have seen this already, but this is an interesting video about feedback. Interesting to note that Austin valued the feedback, and understood that he could improve- he had a Growth Mindset. Someone with a fixed mindset might not respond in the same way
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqh1MRWZjms&app=desktop

    (Thanks to Nicole Mangelsdorf for reminding me about this one)

  • James May 21, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    Thank you to everyone for last night’s second workshop (Thursday 21 May). The pdf of the slides can be downloaded from here

    https://mindfulbydesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Mindset-2015-Siena-Pt-2.pdf

    You can also download the HOM Summary here http://habitsofmind.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/HoM-Summary-Outline.pdf and there are lots of HOM resources, at http://www.habitsofmind.org if you’re interested.

  • admin May 20, 2015 at 3:58 am

    This is an article I wrote to help put Habits of Mind, Mindset, Deliberate Practice and what it means to be a “Thoughtful Teacher” into perspective

    http://habitsofmind.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/The-Thoughtful-Teacher.pdf

  • admin May 13, 2015 at 4:58 am

    Have a look at this video as a good summary of the work we did last week.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBob67xwuGk

  • Jane May 8, 2015 at 1:34 am

    I am now adopting a growth mindset to weight loss!

  • James October 8, 2020 at 8:41 am

    Hi Rocio,
    the ISBN for The Learning Landscape is 978-1-760-56612-8

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