Encouraging Learners to Develop a Growth Mindset
If you are assessing learners on a regular basis, you have probably come across a variety of different attitudes towards learning and career progression. There are those who are motivated and see an apprenticeship as a positive step forward; and then there are others who are not quite as driven and require a push in the right direction.
Learners with a growth mindset tend to view challenges as opportunities and motivators, making them eager to learn. This is particularly important during times of adversity like we have seen throughout the pandemic. Adaptation is key, otherwise that is when tasks start feeling impossible – it is key to have an open mind. Here are some of the main ways you can encourage your learners to develop a growth mindset.
Praise their efforts
Remember the praise sandwich that we wrote about some time ago? This comes in quite handy when it comes to motivating learners. It is so easy to get bogged down by the mistakes we make when trying to learn something new, that a little praise can go a very long way.
By encouraging learners to pay close attention to their work and acknowledge that with each part of their course that they go through, they learn something new. It is very easy to get caught up in the world of perfectionism. But, sometimes it is just a case of giving something a go and making the mistakes which we all learn from.
Think about the process, not the end goal
If learners have in their minds that they need to achieve a specific pass rate or finish their qualification within a set period of time, it can be easy to lose motivation. By racing to finish each task, attention to detail is often lost and any information retained is quickly forgotten! By focusing primarily on the task at hand, learning will be much more efficient as they become more immersed in the topic they are learning about.
Remind them perfectionism is a hinderer
We all make mistakes, after all we are all human. Often it is when we make mistakes that we actually learn the most about ourselves and these moments stick in our minds more. Learners can easily become overwhelmed at the very thought of failure. So it’s up to you as an Assessor to remind them that making mistakes is part of the learning process. Keeping your learners interested and engaged in the subject matter is key.
Ignore those voices
Everyone has an inner voice that tells them they aren’t capable of achieving their goals. Often when we find ourselves in new situations that are challenging, these voices get even louder as they thrive off our insecurities. Rather than getting frustrated about not being able to understand particular modules, encourage your learners to remove their emotions from the situation and deal with the task at hand.
Support your learners
Of course this is the main role of being an Assessor. What we mean here is supporting learners in finding new ways of learning and rewarding their actions. If they are struggling with a particular element of their qualification, is there another approach they could take which would improve their understanding? Failure can often feel quite daunting, so try a different angle to help your learner instead if the traditional method isn’t working.
We hope this has helped to give you some ideas on how to help your learners develop a growth mindset. We would love to hear any tips that you have too – feel free to drop us an email at training@brooksandkirk.co.uk.