What is Growth Mindset?
There is meaning in a name, and the term growth mindset gives you a hint to its meaning. Developed by Carol Dweck, mindset refers to a cognitive or mental idea about something – a mental structure that develops through our interactional experience with our world. A growth mindset is often discussed in relation to a fixed mindset. Applied to learning new things, what do you imagine a growth or a fixed mindset may feel like to a person? What do their names tell you?
Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset
A growth mindset means that we believe that our skills and potential can change, improve—grow—with the help of our continued effort. We aren’t stuck at one level of knowledge or lack of knowledge, but we are empowered to put effort in to change our understanding, skills, and outcomes. In contrast, a fixed mindset means that we believe our level of skill and potential is fixed—static, set—no amount of effort will change that. Growth and fixed mindsets are often discussed in the area of life-span development, studying connections between mindset and outcomes like achievement (Dweck, 2015; Dweck, 2019).
Why Use a Growth Mindset Approach for a Financial Literacy Course?
As we developed this course, an important theme emerged for us: financial literacy is a living, dynamic, and changing concept that looks different throughout a person’s life. Your financial life will look different at age 15 compared to age 55. To reflect this moving nature of financial literacy, we use a growth mindset to emphasize that you are never stuck in one place of your financial life, but can apply knowledge to adapt.
The other reason we structured the financial literacy course around a growth mindset is to help support learners in understanding they can always improve and adapt their financial understanding and application. Making a financial mistake or not understanding a financial concept can feel overwhelming and defeating, but it’s all part of the process. Each day, each moment is an opportunity to learn from mistakes, grow in understanding, and make new and different choices.
In our financial literacy course, there are no absolute grades to earn, signaling the end of a chapter or topic. We incorporate assessments and activities that we title “Your Turn.” Rather than focusing on a grade, we instead want to divert attention to application. As learners build their financial portfolio throughout the course (e.g., personal budget), they have documents that they can take with them to use throughout their life. We also add feedback based on the responses learners choose in assessments, to increase critical thinking and insight.
Along with using a growth mindset approach, we also include topics related to the psychology of finances. This helps you to connect to your relationship with finances. We think the more you understand about the how and why of your financial life, the more you connect to and make meaningful financial decisions.
For more information about growth mindset, check out research completed by Carol Dweck and colleagues. Here are a couple we referenced in this blog:
Dweck, C.S. (2019). A view from two eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(3), 481-496.
Dweck, C.S. (2015). Carol Dweck revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’. Education Week, 35(5), 20-24.
If you’re interested in enrolling in our financial literacy course, we’d love to have you! If you have questions about the course, contact us for more information.