Starfire Education supports growth mindsets!

A growth mindset is the belief that intelligence can be developed. Students with a growth mindset understand they can get smarter through hard work, the use of effective strategies, and help from others when needed.

Kids’ beliefs about intelligence have important consequences for how they learn and respond to setbacks. When students hold a growth mindset, they embrace STEAM learning, seeing challenges as opportunities to grow and attain mastery.

Starfire teachers inspire intellectual and personal growth in their students.

Check out these Starfire teacher approved tips to encourage a growth mindset:

Focus on their effort and not their ability

When you offer encouraging words to kids, give them feedback on their effort. Kids learn that their efforts and attitudes determine their abilities.

"Wow! You’ve been practicing and your skills are improving. I'm so proud that you persisted with this challenge. You've grown so much!"

Don’t over-encourage

Offering children words of encouragement doesn’t mean you have to sugarcoat things for them. When kids are dealing with setbacks, use their time of struggle to help them sort through their feelings and identify their inner strength.

Be specific

Giving children feedback such as ‘good effort” or “you worked hard” doesn't always help them make the connection between their effort and the outcome of their actions. Aim to be as specific and descriptive as possible.

Be sincere

Children are good at recognizing when people aren’t being genuine with them! It’s best to be genuine when offering words of encouragement to children.

“Thank you for showing me some of the new skills you’ve learned in class today. How do you feel about them?”

Live the growth mindset

Parents and teachers can embrace the process of learning and believe that children’s intellect and talent can grow with effort and support.

"Your teachers share hard problems because they believe in you! Challenges helped me grow and learn things. They still do!"