What is a growth mindset?

In the first few weeks of school, each teacher shares with students the secrets to learning: how their brains work and how the learning process happens. At Foothills we believe that having a growth mindset is very important to fulfilling our mission.

The beliefs children have about intelligence, effort, and how learning happens impact the choices they make about school. People tend to hold one of two different beliefs about intelligence:

• Children with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can be developed. These students see school as a place to develop their abilities and think of challenges as opportunities to grow.
• Children with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence is set at birth and doesn't change or changes very little with practice. These students see school as a place where their abilities are evaluated, they focus on looking smart over learning, and they interpret mistakes as a sign that they lack talent.  

Children who understand that their brain can get smarter - who have a growth mindset - do better in school because they have an empowering perspective on learning. They focus on improvement and see effort as a way to build their abilities. They see failure as a natural part of the learning process. Many studies show that children who have a growth mindset respond differently in challenging situations and do better in school over time.  

We invite you to read how Foothills benefits our students in each of the following areas:

• Growing Spiritually
• Growing Academically
• Growing Physically
• Growing Socially