At Kent College, Pembury, the belief is that ability is not fixed and its ethos supports the development of each student’s individual talents, as well as providing an outstanding academic base. Headmistress Julie Lodrick discusses the research of American psychologist Carol Dweck, the importance of recognising that intelligence can be developed and how a ‘growth mindset’ was introduced at the school
Work on ‘mindsets’ by American psychologist Carol Dweck has proved the value of cultivating a ‘growth mindset’, i.e. the belief that traits such as intelligence can be developed as opposed to being ‘fixed’ by birth or background.
Dweck’s work recognises that students adopting a growth mindset are more resilient, tenacious and intrinsically motivated to learn. These are all character traits that can lead to better results and have associations with success later in life.
Ambitions are limitless
At Kent College we have always valued the idea that a girl should not be limited in her ambitions, so Dweck’s research sits well with our existing approach. As a school our mindset is not fixed and we realise that we can always refine our approach looking, in particular, at the way we give feedback and encourage independent learning.
Even as adults it’s easy for us to label ourselves and it’s not uncommon to hear phrases such as, “I’m useless at X”, or “I can’t do Y”. To avoid this, Dweck suggests that educators and parents need to look closely at how they praise and encourage children to engage in constructive feedback.
The place of praise
It might seem counter-intuitive to be cautious about praise, with all of its associations with building self-esteem; indeed, my colleagues and I certainly feel praise has its place. It is essential, however, to use it carefully.
Once a student is labelled as ‘good’ at something or ‘clever’, they are placed in a situation where making mistakes can become unacceptable – to admit error risks losing the esteem they have acquired.
Thus, many will either lie about their performance or avoid intellectual challenge altogether. In doing so a learner’s progress can easily stall. So, at Kent College, staff have been thinking carefully about how they praise in a constructive way. For instance, we believe it’s better to praise a girl’s learning process rather than her innate ability.
Careful comment
Obviously, labels can arise through written feedback as well as verbal. Traditionally, when a student produces work, a teacher will write a comment and, possibly, offer a grade. The sad truth is that the comment will be largely overlooked, with the grade being the student’s only concern.
Research shows that effective feedback is the most powerful tool in enabling students to make progress so, at Kent College, we focus more on the excellent guidance the girls receive from their teachers. As a result, we are looking at our whole approach to marking and grading and are developing ways to encourage the girls to not only focus on the feedback but to take ownership.
This is where having a growth mindset really comes into its own. A girl with a fixed mindset might actively ignore any comments that note her errors; a girl who accepts that her ability is not fixed can engage with these mistakes and learn from them.
A high-stakes game
In the high stakes environment of secondary education it might be seen as controversial to identify value in making errors. To counter this we have ensured that all staff, girls and parents have the opportunity to explore the concepts of growth mindset for themselves.
Form time, assemblies, display work and external speakers have played a key role in this regard. Most recently, we were lucky to have a day for staff with Professor Barry Hymer, an educational psychologist and expert on mindset. Staff came away from this session palpably excited to engage with our new approach.
A continuous journey of improvement
At Kent College we are on the first stages of this journey but have a staff body who are excited and committed and who realise that this is not a ‘quick fix’. Growth mindset is a long-term investment but, as we are looking to build life-long learners who thrive in the classroom and beyond, it is absolutely worth the time.