This blog post is part of a series on your improvement engine—make sure you have a great improvement engine (purpose, perspective, process, plan, and practices) before you start working on your improvement goal! (See also School Improvement Reflection Protocol).
Source: mentorloop.com and lifehack.org
Help staff and leaders at your international Christian school to use a growth mindset (not a fixed mindset) for school improvement! Why?
(1) Because helping others use a growth mindset gets them flourishing.
(2) Because using a growth mindset increases the likelihood that staff and leaders will see school improvement as a growth opportunity, use feedback, and be open to new strategies.
(3) Because using a fixed mindset increases the likelihood that staff and leaders will see school improvement as a threat, reject feedback, and be closed to new strategies.
(4) Because helping others use a growth mindset is a best practice.
Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik
How can you help staff and leaders at your international Christian school to use a growth mindset (not a fixed mindset) for school improvement? Here are 5 options:
- Compare and contrast schools with a growth mindset culture, a fixed mindset culture, and mix of mindsets culture.
- Assess your school’s mindset culture.
- Assess your school’s practices.
- Identify mindset triggers of individuals.
- Discuss misconceptions about mindset.
| Note: The above 5 options address mindset at the individual level and at the organizational level. Addressing both levels is vital. As international Christian school educators, we understand that mindset happens inside our heads. Mary C. Murphy (author of Cultures of Growth: How the New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations) helps us to also understand that while “people do tend toward different mindsets and that can make a big difference…the environment, the social context, the culture, the organization a person is in can also have a mindset. This mindset can be embodied in the dominant philosophies and practices of the group or organization, and it can powerfully affect the people there, no matter what their individual mindset might be” (loc 36).  |
Let me further describe these 5 options for helping others use a growth mindset for school improvement:
(1) Compare and contrast schools with a growth mindset culture, a fixed mindset culture, and mix of mindsets culture: Use the following ChatGPT prompt, discuss ChatGPT’s response, compare your school’s mindset culture with the 3 mindset cultures described by ChatGPT, and determine next steps.
ChatGPT prompt: In terms for working on school improvement (like major recommendations stemming from the accreditation process), compare and contrast (A) staff (not students) working at a school with a growth mindset culture, (B) staff (not students) working at a school with a fixed mindset culture, and (C) staff (not students) working at a school with a culture made up of a blend of growth mindset and fixed mindset. For the comparison, supply a recommendation that each school works on and give 5 examples of how each school responds to and works on that recommendation.
(2) Assess your school’s mindset culture: Use the table below to assess the extent to which your school’s mindset reflects a growth mindset, a fixed mindset, or a mix—be brutally accurate. Next, discuss the results and determine next steps.
| Organizational growth mindset | Organizational fixed mindset |
| The goal of our self-study and visit is to learn how we can be an even better school | The goal of our self-study and visit is to show how good of a school we are |
| The visiting team report helps us improve | The visiting team report is an indictment |
| Each recommendation we received from the visiting team is an exciting opportunity for us to work hard & grow | Each recommendation we received from the visiting team indicates a deficiency |
| Let’s talk with other schools that are better than us at this so we can learn how to improve | Why are they making us do this? Other schools are simply better than us at this, so why try? |
*This table is based on this video.
Looking back on the schools I worked in and on the schools I did accreditation visits for, I saw some schools using a growth mindset, some using a mix, and some using a fixed mindset (which I found discouraging). As educators, we want our students to exhibit a growth mindset—so we (the living curriculum) should definitely be using a growth mindset when doing school improvement.
When doing school improvement, what’s your school’s actual mindset like? How does your school’s actual mindset compare to other schools you’ve worked in?
(3) Assess your school’s practices to determine the extent to which they support a growth mindset or a fixed mindset, discuss the results, and determine next steps. I encourage you to use this free 15-item assessment by Murphy. It’s straightforward, doesn’t take that long to complete, and comes with a report that includes suggested action steps.
(4) Identify mindset triggers of individuals: Have individual staff members and leaders identify what triggers them to use a fixed mindset. Next, discuss those triggers and determine next steps. Murphy suggests 4 triggers:
- Anticipation of being evaluated: What mindset do you actually use when you find out your performance is going to be evaluated?
- Situations that require high effort: What mindset do you actually use when you try something new or take on a new role?
- Receiving feedback: What mindset do you actually use when receiving critical feedback about your performance?
- Seeing others succeed: What mindset do you actually use when you see others and other schools succeeding and getting noticed for their success?
To explore triggers, try this free 12-item assessment.
(5) Discuss misconceptions about mindset: Have staff and leaders discuss mindset misconceptions and then determine next steps. Here are 4 misconceptions identified by Murphy:
Misconception #1: You either have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. The reality is that you have both mindsets, and within a given situation, you use a growth mindset, a fixed mindset, or a mixture of both.
As an educator, I want to say, “I always use a growth mindset.” But the reality is that I also use a fixed mindset and a mix. I’m thinking you do, too. I want to find ways to use a growth mindset more often, including when I’m working to improve. How about you? At your school, when do staff tend to use a growth mindset, a fixed mindset, or a mix? What mindset do people actually use when it comes to school improvement?
Misconception #2: Mindset is a function of your own thinking. While it’s true that mindset is a function of your thinking, it’s also true that mindset is a function of your organization’s culture.
This reminded me of how burnout is a function of organizational culture. And just as burnout needs to be addressed at the organizational culture level, so growth mindset needs to be addressed at the organizational culture level. How might you do that? What practices do you need to stop using? What practices do you need to start using? (See this free assessment for examples.)
Misconception #3: A growth mindset is all about effort and about using effort to overcome obstacles. A growth mindset includes effort while also being about believing you can grow and about finding and using new strategies for overcoming obstacles.
When working on school improvement, we need more than effort (hard work)—we also need a belief that we can grow as a group of staff and leaders and that we can find new ways to address obstacles. At your school, what comes to mind when people think of a growth mindset? Effort? A belief in growth? Finding new strategies? All 3 things?
Misconception #4: A growth mindset leads to a culture where people are coddled. The reality is that a growth mindset leads to a culture that holds people to rigorous standards (see video below).
Here are some resources related to mindset and improvement:
- To what extent does your perspective help you improve?
- How important is mindset?
- What mindset do you and your colleagues use when doing school improvement? Thrive mindset? Survive mindset? A mix?
- Leaders, is your mindset eating your model for breakfast?
- What mindsets help you to flourish and to help others flourish?
- School Improvement Reflection Protocol
Bottom line: Help staff and leaders use a growth mindset when doing school improvement!
Get flourishing!
Michael
Get Flourishing 