Durrington High School identifies itself as having a growth mindset. Six teachers were observed who were known to embrace growth mindset approaches. The observations found that these teachers consistently challenged all students, identified and addressed misconceptions, and modeled excellence. Specific examples were provided that showed teachers providing scaffolding, feedback without simply giving answers, and clear modeling and explanations to help students progress. The findings support research showing that these teachers demonstrated growth mindset approaches in their teaching.

2.  Durrington High School identifies itself as a
growth mindset school.
 What does a growth mindset teacher look like
in practice?
 How do growth mindset teachers view their
students ability to improve?

3. 
Six teachers were identified based upon
observations, their reputation and whether
they had consistently good outcomes

Observations conducted using an observation
sheet

Observer tallied and made observation about
growth mindset characteristics based on
Dweck’s literature

4. 
Teachers who embrace a growth mindset
approach to their teaching rather than simply
agreeing to it in principle seem to ensure
challenge of all their students and
consistently identify misconceptions.
Furthermore, excellence is consistently
modelled.

5. 
Challenge was observed on 53 occasions over
the project.
Participant 1(year 8 English poetry lesson):

Cognitive demand of the work was strong
with high expectations of all students

Scaffolding for the lower ability students

A GCSE style checklist with increasing
difficulty was provided
Dweck states that ‘great teachers set high
standards for all their students, not just
the ones who are already achieving’
(Dweck, 2012)

6.  Misconceptions were identified and
challenged 46 times throughout the project.
Participant 2 (Mathematics):
 Verbal feedback: ‘'double check your total of
fx”
 Not just given the answer
 Whole class address: “be careful of the scale
on the x axis”
‘Growth mindset individuals were more
likely to fix their errors so that they
could learn from them’ (Dweck, 2012)

7.  Participant 3 (Year 8 Textiles lesson developing
abstract-inspired bunting):
 Clear teacher modelling step by step
 Critique given with clear explanations
 Questioning to allow progression
 Addressing misconceptions to the whole class
‘all great teachers teach students how
to reach the high standards’ (Dweck,
2012)

8.  My findings have supported the wider research into mindset
showing that teachers within this project have growth
mindset.
 Growth mindset is centred upon 'intelligence being a quality
that can be changed and developed' (Dweck, 2008).
 ‘Individuals with a Fixed Mindset believe that their
intelligence is simply an inborn trait—they have a certain
amount, and it cannot be changed.’ (Blackwell, Trzesniewski,
& Dweck, 2007; Dweck, 1999, 2007).
 ‘The most effective teachers have deep knowledge of the
subjects they teach… and identify students’ common
misconceptions’ (Sutton Trust, 2014).

9. What individual teachers can do:
 Share good practice by videoing lessons
 Encourage more time for pop-in observations
 Prior to lesson teacher to identify one misconception per
lesson and ensuring this is challenged within the lesson
 In planning ensure all lower ability students are challenged
through the lesson
 Share exemplars of student work at different stages of the
process

10. What schools can do:
 focus on challenge, modelling of excellence and identify
misconceptions
 In department time share and discuss student misconceptions
so they can be planned for and interventions made
 Growth mindset pioneer to see what your school already does
and identify areas for improvement
 INSET to all staff with specific techniques to increase growth
mindset