How Haileybury nurtures a growth mindset in every student
Everything that we do at Haileybury is centred around developing well rounded students who are equipped to discover more, achieve more and become more in every aspect of life.
To do this we need to develop more than just their knowledge and skills — we also develop their mindset, or the way they approach learning and life. Specifically, we focus on developing a growth mindset in every student. Here’s why.
What is a growth mindset?
A growth mindset is a unique way of viewing challenges and setbacks. At its core, it is about believing that your abilities are not fixed and that with effort you can overcome challenges to turn them into success.
“To emphasise student effort, we have focused on students developing a growth mindset. That is, helping them believe that their achievement is a product of their effort rather than their ability”Derek Scott, Haileybury CEO | Principal
A student with this mindset is well prepared to become a lifelong learner; someone who frequently improves and grows to achieve more and overcome difficulty.
How do we develop a growth mindset in students?
Fostering a growth mindset in students is about emphasising and teaching the processes, strategies and efforts that enable students to achieve success. In other words, it is about teaching students to be naturally curious and to learn.
Our brilliant teachers enable this using our explicit teaching model. Using this model, teachers present a 10–15-minute prime learning strategy at the beginning of a lesson, which helps to move learning from short to long-term memory. Next, they will demonstrate a task or concept and practise the concept or task with each student, providing immediate feedback and support. Last of all, teachers give students an opportunity to engage in independent practice at their current ability level.
By continually presenting students with challenges and then teaching them to overcome them, we show them that their abilities are not fixed — that with effort they can learn new concepts, complete new tasks and achieve new things.
The importance of wellbeing
Developing a growth mindset is about practice, and repetition but it is also about confidence. A student who feels safe, supported and that they are part of a community is far more likely to develop the confidence they need to believe that they can overcome obstacles with effort.
Haileybury prioritises student wellbeing by offering support, promoting inclusion, encouraging a sense of community and giving students a voice. This helps students feel involved in their school and to build strong relationships with other members of the community — whether that is with peers or teachers.
Academic research tells us that a sense of community and purpose helps to develop healthy minds. Healthy minds are, of course, fertile ground for developing a positive growth mindset.
