Fostering Creative Mindset Growth Through Engaging Development
As a game design teacher for thirteen years now, I want my students to thrive and create amazing things. That's why cultivating a growth mindset in my classroom is so important to me.
From my experience, game development requires grit - the ability to persist through challenges, learn from failures, and continually improve your skills. When students think their talents are fixed, they are less likely to take risks or push themselves. However, when they understand they can grow their abilities through effort and practice, it motivates them to experiment, problem-solve, and not give up when they hit obstacles. This growth mindset empowers creativity and innovation.
I will use Dr. Dweck's four steps of growth mindset in my classroom by encouraging students to challenge themselves and step outside of their comfort zone. I will help students learn to hear their fixed mindset voice that tells them to avoid challenges and give up easily. I will teach students that they have a choice - they can listen to the fixed mindset voice or adopt a growth mindset perspective. I will encourage students to talk back to the fixed mindset voice by praising their efforts, reminding them their brains grow with practice, and reframing failure as an opportunity to learn. I will have students take growth mindset actions by challenging themselves, persisting through difficulties, and trusting the process of improvement over time.
Here are other ways I will try to foster this growth mindset:
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I encourage students to catch themselves thinking things like "I'm just not creative" or "I'll never get better at coding." Then we talk about how these fixed mindset beliefs can hold us back from growth.
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I explain that abilities are not set in stone, but rather like muscles that get stronger with training. Skills like creativity and coding can be developed over time through trying new approaches.
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When they get stuck, I remind them to focus on effort and persistence rather than judging themselves. It's through pushing past roadblocks that we expand our capabilities.
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I share stories of innovators who kept going despite setbacks. These role models demonstrate that great things come from the process of learning and discovery.
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In my classroom, you'll hear me praise the process - the hard work, strategies, and willingness to try again in the face of mistakes. Because ultimately, that's where growth happens.
Here are some specific ways to incorporate those growth mindset steps into my game design classroom:
Give students challenging projects and assignments that will help them to grow as game designers.
Praise students for their effort, strategies and perseverance, even if they don't succeed at first. For example, you could say something like, "I can see how hard you're working on this project. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon, I can already see improvement."
Help students to understand the game design process and how they can improve their skills with practice. For example, you could break down complex tasks into smaller steps, or provide students with feedback on each step of their work.
Teach students that failure is a normal part of the game design process, and that it's an opportunity to learn and grow. For example, you could share stories about your own specific failures and how you learned from them. Allow for risk-taking, encourage experimentation and normalize failure as part of learning.
The message of "yet" is important because it encourages students to keep trying even when they don't succeed at first. Here are some ways to communicate the message of "yet" to my students that I plan to utilize soon:
-Use the word "yet" in your feedback to students. For example, instead of saying "You're not very good at this," you could say "You're not very good at this yet, but I know you can improve with practice."
-Share stories about people who have overcome challenges and achieved their goals. For example, you could tell your students about famous game designers who failed many times before they were successful.
-Help students to set realistic goals for themselves. When students have achievable goals, they are more likely to persevere and keep trying.
- Display inspirational quotes about grit and persistence on the wall in my classroom.
- Share stories of game designers who iterated through failure.
- Note areas students can improve as "not yet mastered" versus fixed weaknesses.
Of course, as much as possible I try to use myself as an example. I openly share my own failures when attempting to make games and what I learned from them. When demonstrating certain techniques, I focus on progress rather than perfection. I also tell my students about how I always continue challenging myself to develop new professional skills, this demonstrates that learning is a never ending process. We as humans never stop learning. In addition to my own personal experience I will share my growing list of resources with my students to promote growth mindset in my classroom and to other teachers so they can benefit as well:
Videos I will play on Monday morning for #MotivationalMonday in my classroom:
"Fixed vs Growth Mindset" on Teacher Tube (http://www.teachertube.com/video/fixed-vs-growth-mindset-271127)
Developing a Growth Mindset on ClickView Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUJkbWNnNy4
Growth Mindset Videos " compilation by Angela Watson (https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/growth-mindset-videos/)
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