GROWTH MINDSET

A growth mindset means believing talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and feedback and support from others. Di�erently, if you have a �xed mindset, you believe you’re born with the talents you have and that

doesn’t change. When learning something new, and especially something challenging or something you have never experienced, a growth mindset can support you in persevering. Supporting participants in developing a growth mindset

can be impactful in them developing skills and pursuing IT/coding opportunities in the future. Below are examples of what a growth mindset looks/sounds like versus a �xed mindset.

FIXED MINDSET GROWTH MINDSET

Challenges are an

opportunity to grow

EFFORT IS ESSENTIAL

This may take some

time to �gure out

I won’t give upI ’m going to learn from them

EFFORT IS UNNECESSARY

Challenges should be avoided

Feedback makes me defensive

This is too hard

I QUIT

They are better

than I am

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“Great improvement on x; you’re ready to move on,”

“Good progress; you need some more practice with x.”

“I expect you to try your hardest, and I know your hard work will help you achieve your goals!”

“I am con�dent you can learn this with e�ort and persistence.”

“What did you learn from that?”

“What are di�erent strategies you could use?”

“How did you keep going when things were challenging?”

“What can we learn from each other?”

“I really appreciated your e�ort today.”

“It is OK to make mistakes and take risks, that is how we learn.”

This may be challenging, and I believe you can get it.”

“I noticed you didn’t give up when you felt frustrated, keep it up!”

“I loved your creative solutions when working on that problem.”

“There is a place for you in IT/coding/computer science.”

“It’s great you have that down–let’s �nd something a bit more challenging for you to work on, so you can grow.”

“I struggled when I was �rst learning this, too. Here’s how I stayed committed to learning it...”

“We are strong as a team, as a community, and we can learn from each other.”

FEEDBACK TO SUPPORT A ‘GROWTH MINDSET’

The feedback participants receive from you, your team, and from other participants is important to supporting them in developing a growth mindset. Focus feedback on participants’ progress, strategy, persistence, and e�ort. You want to

avoid comments that imply a participant is doing well because of their ‘natural’ ability–it is because of the quality of their work on the quality of them. Communicate high standards and express your con�dence in them reaching those

standards. Below are examples of feedback that will support a growth mindset:

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