Teaching is a noble profession with a lot of responsibility attached to it, and if done the right way, it can be quite rewarding as well. However, understanding the role you have been entrusted with is quite important if you wish to do your job properly.
You are not only responsible for delivering knowledge within the confines of the classroom and curriculum, but you are also responsible for making sure that it has the desired effect on your students. For this purpose, you must understand the way information flows from person to person and the implications it can have on a person’s mindset.
These days, following the commercialization of knowledge, awareness about the role of education in raising prosperous societies has once again taken center stage, and if you are in academia, you are likely to encounter the discourse surrounding the matter.
However, in some cases, the focus is entirely on the results, and as goes for all strategies, one that does not take stock of the process and is entirely oriented towards the outcomes tend to create unnecessary expectations and excessive pressure for those involved.
Therefore, if you are entrusted with leading your students towards growth and progress, it is better to work on their mindset. This is particularly true for those teaching special education, for they need to focus more on the effort put by the student rather than the outcomes it yields.
With that said, since you desire to know about fostering a growth mindset in your students, we will deliver according to your expectations in this article.
This article takes stock of the discourse surrounding the commercialization of knowledge and attempts to present an approach, whereby not only would you be able to help steer your students towards growth and progress, but you would also be able to make learning enjoyable for them.
So, we highly recommend that you start taking notes, because you might come up with an idea or two while reading this article, and it might help you to write it down immediately.
1) Understand your students:
The first step in any good teaching strategy is to develop a good understanding of students. You cannot do a good job at teaching if you do not know anything about your students.
One consequence of education commercialization is that teachers have stopped looking at their students as humans, rather they are viewed as subjects to be dealt with.
This mental separation makes it harder for them to connect with the students, thus rendering their teaching ineffective. It should also be noted here that this applies to various levels of education, from school to college.
So, if you want to do things properly, it is better if you avoid repeating the mistakes others have made before you. You need to think of teaching as a noble profession and your students as humans you have been entrusted with the responsibility of teaching and steering towards growth.
Therefore, you need to get rid of this mental separation and work towards connecting with them. Whether you are teaching at a school or a college, the requirements of your job and your students may differ, but your approach towards teaching them must be grounded in the desire to enable them, instead of leaving them to fend for themselves.
2) Identify their problems:
Once you approach the matter with this mindset, you can start making an effort for the better. You need to understand that not all your students may come from the same background.
Some may be children of immigrants and may not come from the same privileged background as others. Some of them might have had different experiences, and, therefore, may find it hard to genuinely relate to your generalized examples.
Similarly, some of them may have had a rough childhood and may not be as comfortable speaking openly in public. You should tweak your communication in order to gain a proper understanding of their problems and issues.
Once they are comfortable talking to you and believe that you will not be as judgmental as they perceive you to be, they will start voicing their opinion on different matters.
They might even start talking about their own personal matters, which would also help you resolve their deep-seated and underlying problem. They might also start getting more vocal in the classroom, especially if they do not understand a problem.
Similarly, if you are aware of a student’s problem, you can be more accommodating, and not hold them to the same standard as others. While it is important to uphold merit, sometimes various concessions, such as deadline extensions, need to be given to those who are struggling so that they can be allowed the time to come at par with others.
3) Motivate them to excel:
This is the most important thing in building a growth mindset in students. By encouraging and motivating students to excel, you will light a spark that would sooner or later transform into a flame.
As long as this flame continues to burn, these students will be able to grow and excel. As a teacher, it is your responsibility to be their mentor, and you can play your role by citing personal examples or even incidents of how you effectively coped with a problem you were struggling with.
Similarly, you can also start a weekly session, wherein you tell them about incidents involving notable people, and how they got over the hurdles in their way. You can also invite guest speakers to deliver a talk to your students. (eldiariony.com)
Besides these, you must encourage your students to develop the habit of reading. Those who strike friendships with books get to experience and learn about a variety of things, which, in turn, help them grow into knowledgeable and well-informed individuals.
You should also hold out-of-class discussions with students. Unless the campus policies are strict in this regard, classes do not always have to be held within the confines of the classroom or the lecture hall, rather they can be held out on the lawn or at the campus grounds.
Final thoughts:
While this list does not cover each and every aspect of the growth mindset strategy, it lays out the gist for those who wish to perform their duties more professionally. Education is the foundation of a prosperous society, therefore, if you are entrusted with the job of educating others, you should do it with the desire of shaping the future minds.
