In search of a growth mindset pedagogy: A case study of one teacher's classroom practices in a Finnish elementary school

Towards a Growth Mindset Culture in the Classroom: Implementation of a Lesson-Integrated Mindset Training

“…ree main principles, which were later introduced as "classroom norms" (during the explicit training; see Table 1), guided the teacher's ad hoc feedback: (1) everyone can learn physics, (2) mistakes are valuable, and (3) questions are really important. ese principles have been described, for example, by Boaler [40]; and they are also consistent with the ideas of a growth mindset pedagogy by Rissanen et al [39]. Table 2 describes example situations in which the teacher provided feedback according to these principles.…”

“…For example, if teachers tell their students that everybody can learn physics without providing appropriate strategies, resources, and guidance, the students might become even more frustrated if they fail. In the study by Rissanen et al [39], a teacher who tended to have a more fixed mindset herself was able to implement growth mindset instruction in her class, but also showed signs of trait-focused thinking and did not actively counter the students' fixed mindsets. Hence, before implementing a mindset training, teachers should confront their own beliefs and ensure that they are able to communicate a growth mindset to their students.…”

“…In contrast, there are instructional practices that reinforce growth mindsets in the classroom. According to Rissanen et al [39], the core principles of such a "growth mindset pedagogy" are: support individual learning processes (e.g., recognize and overcome individual barriers to learning), promote mastery goals (e.g., avoid comparisons of students' performance), be persistent (e.g., communicate high expectations and accept no helpless behavior), and foster process orientation (e.g., praise favorable strategies and effort). Likewise, Boaler [40] suggests that teachers should set up classroom norms which support growth mindsets.…”

Teachers’ Moral Competence in Pedagogical Encounters

“…The Finnish educational system can be described as especially active in promoting the values of equality and individualism (Tirri, 2017, p. 84). Studies have shown that, in order to individualise and thus promote every student's development in the best possible way, understanding the role of mindsets in learning is essential (Rattan, Good, & Dweck, 2012;Rissanen, Kuusisto, Hanhimäki, & Tirri, 2018a, 2018bRissanen, Kuusisto, Tuominen, & Tirri, 2019). Learning mindsets refer to implicit beliefs about whether or not human qualities such as intelligence, giftedness, and personality can be developed; a growth mindset (the incremental theory) holds that they can, while a fixed mindset (the entity theory) holds that these qualities are innate and fixed.…”

“…Learning mindsets refer to implicit beliefs about whether or not human qualities such as intelligence, giftedness, and personality can be developed; a growth mindset (the incremental theory) holds that they can, while a fixed mindset (the entity theory) holds that these qualities are innate and fixed. A teacher's mindset has an impact on how, and even on whom, she or he instructs (Dweck, 2000;Rissanen et al, 2018aRissanen et al, , 2019. Research indicates that teachers' implicit beliefs need to be identified and also challenged during teacher education (Rissanen et al, 2018a(Rissanen et al, , 2018b(Rissanen et al, , 2019.…”