In today’s higher educational environment, helping students overcome challenges is especially crucial for long-term success. Resilience – the ability to recover from setbacks – and a growth mindset – the honest belief that the person can develop through effort and dedication. These are two skills that can help students bounce back from challenges. Educators are great influencers in helping cultivate these traits, especially when students encounter challenges like academic stress, self doubt, and anxiety.
What is Resilience? What is a Growth Mindset?
Resilience refers to one’s ability to adapt to difficult situations, maintain focus despite failures or setbacks, and persevere while facing challenges. Meanwhile, a growth mindset, a term coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, is the belief that by putting effort and strategy into the learning experience, one’s abilities and intelligence develop far more rapidly. When students view failure as an opportunity to grow, they are more likely to succeed. They no longer see it as a sign of inadequacy or a reflection of their worth.
Why These Skills Matter?
Students who develop these skills are far better equipped to handle academic pressure and stress and are often more likely to overcome fears like math anxiety. One poor grade often leads to a slippery slope in which the student is convinced they are not a math person and can quickly lead to disengagement. However, when students realize their abilities are not fixed on one grade, they begin to see challenges and difficult topics as stepping stones, not necessarily a blockade on their learning path. Dweck and Yeager, two psychology researchers, explained students who view challenges as learning opportunities, rather than insurmountable moments of failure, are more likely to persist during challenging topics, perform better academically, and experience less stress (Yeager & Dweck, 2012).
How Can Educators Reinforce a Growth Mindset?
In order to cultivate these skills, instructors can coach and mentor students who may be encountering math anxiety, stress, or self doubt. Here are a few methods that can be incorporated in the classroom:
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Encourage Self Reflection
It’s important for students to reflect not only on their successes but also on their setbacks. By implementing prompts and opportunities for students to ask themselves things like “What did I learn from this?”, “What worked for me?”, or What didn’t?” helps students internalize the idea that mistakes are, in fact, a part of successful growth.
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Cultivate Positive Self Talk
Encourage a shift in how your students talk about themselves, especially if it’s coming from a context of “I can’t do this” or “I’m bad at math.” Negative inner dialogues can often worsen academic anxiety. By teaching students to recognize these discouraging thoughts and replacing them with constructive, advantageous assertions like “Mistakes help me learn” or “Practice makes perfect,” they also solidify the belief that these setbacks are temporary and not permanent, pivotal experiences in their learning journey.
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Foster Skills that Enhance Problem Solving
When a student is struggling, provide them with a guiding hand on how to solve the problem step by step. By exploring different approaches and past strategies, students can begin resolving problems on their own.
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Online Learning Platforms Can Help
Did you know: Möbius was designed to support active, productive learning? By integrating Möbius into your LMS and using it in early-year courses, you can address knowledge gaps.
It allows students to practice, make mistakes, and remediate to overcome learning hurdles. Möbius allows students to:
- Receive immediate feedback to adjust and learn in real time.
- Practice at their own pace – without judgment or criticism.
- Visualize math through interactive applications and graphs, helping to reduce confusion.
- Build confidence through practice before tests.
By fostering a supportive, low-stress math environment, students learn that mistakes are part of the process—not a setback.
Acknowledge Challenges
To students: building resilience and a growth mindset does not happen overnight. This process takes time, and it is normal to feel overwhelmed or frustrated. Staying committed and allowing yourself space to grow allows you to take on these challenges gradually.
To educators: promote resilience, it’s important to praise students along the process – their efforts, their strategies, their focus, and their persistence. Always remember that small efforts lead to big change. For more tips, explore Möbius.