Being a Growth Mindset Facilitator

I was asked recently why I have a strong interest and innate understanding of the growth mindset. I believe it comes from a background of being an adventure educator, and even though it was not labeled as such, the adventure educator embraces a growth mindset when working with participants. The underlying tenet of adventure education is “You are capable of so much more than you can even imagine. I believe in you and your capabilities; and I will set up the conditions for you to develop and amplify that same belief in yourself.” This attitude or mindset was important given that the populations we worked with were especially at-risk: adjudicated youth youth; recovering substance abuse users; victims of domestic violence. Many had lost belief in themselves and developed a failure mindset. Our major goal was to shift that so that participants internalized a growth mindset; one that they would carry over into their everyday lives. Some of the underlying principles of adventure education that drive my process of being a Growth Mindset Facilitator include:

• You are capable of so much more than you can even imagine.
• I believe in you and your capabilities even if you don’t, but the ultimate goal is for you to internalize these beliefs.
• Failure is okay but you need to stand up after you fall/fail.
• Everyone’s unique self is valued and valuable.
• Your peers and I will support you as you take risks; attempt new ways of being. It is up to you to decide the type of support you need.
• Conditions will be set up for you to be challenged. It is up to you to take responsibility to embrace those challenges.
• You can go beyond your self-perceived limits. I might push you a bit to do so because I believe you can succeed.

Also see The Educator with a Growth Mindset: A Staff Workshop http://wp.me/pKlio-1JD