Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset, is a must read for all teachers.

Mindset shapes whether we believe we can learn, change and grow – or not. Mindset shapes our belief in our ability to accomplishing a goal.
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People with a grow mindset continue growing throughout their lives, acquiring new skills without reservation and actively engaging in their relationships. For them, life in all its facets is in a constant state of change.

By contrast, people with a fixed mindset often let their black-and-white way of thinking obstruct their development. If they fail at something, they bury their heads in the sand or blame others. They hope for everlasting love in their relationships rather than working on the relationships themselves.

Growth and development are possible in the growth mindset. People with a growth mindset relish any opportunity to learn new tasks in a field. They reconsider and discard strategies used in the past and are always thinking about how to eradicate their faults and weaknesses. People with a growth mindset welcome problems and see them as challenges, not insurmountable obstacles. The key to the growth mindset is to seek development; this development is best created through collaborative learning opportunities.

Problem solving and challenges give people with a growth mindset opportunities to pursue purpose-filled actions. The environment in which a child grows plays a huge role in determining whether a person develops a fixed or growth mindset. Teachers need to adopt the attitude of “their students are capable of learning anything.”

The development of a growth mindset allows for the impossible to be made possible. This kind of approach is critical to self-fulfillment.