Students have just entered Ms. Lopes’ seventh-grade English language arts classroom after math, and she can smell the frustration. She hears:

“I hate math,” along with a few “Ughs” and “I’ll never understand it!”

She continues putting a writing prompt on the board, and almost immediately, the same voices return, whining.

“Ugh. I never know what to write.”

“I’m not good at this!”

Same mindset. This is not new; teachers are used to hearing these kinds of complaints. But what matters is not only the words themselves. It is what students have begun to believe those words mean. The idea that “This is difficult” is not really the issue; it is what students begin to believe about themselves when difficulty faces them: “I am bad at math. I am not a writer. I can’t do this.”

Challenging math problems become proof a student is “not a math person.” A blank page with a blank stare can make writing feel impossible. Somewhere along the way, struggle stops being viewed as part of the learning process and becomes a statement about one’s own abilities and identity.

Enter mindset.

Helping students move from “I’m bad at this” to “What am I missing?” gets to the heart of growth mindset in education. Growth mindset is not simply teaching students to keep trying. It is teaching them what to do next when learning gets hard. 

In education, a growth mindset matters because it helps students interpret struggle as part of learning while giving teachers a place to start: normalizing challenge, modeling reflection and helping students see that getting stuck is part of the process, not the end of it.

A growth mindset, then, is the ability to reframe perceived failure as an opportunity to learn and grow.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

Carol Dweck’s work on mindset distinguishes between two broad ways we may think about our own abilities. In a fixed mindset, intelligence or ability is viewed as something somewhat set, much like the students’ comments above: “I can’t….” Struggle can then feel like proof that a person simply does not have what it takes. Conversely, in a growth mindset, abilities are understood as qualities that can develop through learning, effective strategies, feedback, practice and support.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

You can hear the difference in two simple statements:

• Fixed mindset: “I can’t do this.”
• Growth mindset: “I can’t do this yet.”

Of course, growth mindset is bigger than adding one word to a sentence. The important difference is what that word represents: the belief that where a student is now does not have to be where they remain.

Picture Ms. Lopes returning a writing assignment. Two students receive nearly identical feedback: 

“Your claim is clear, but you need stronger evidence to support it.”

One student looks at the paper and thinks, “That’s what I thought….I’m terrible at writing.” 

The feedback feels like confirmation of something the student already believes. The paper gets shoved into a backpack, and the student is ready to move on.

The other student may not be thrilled with the feedback either. But instead of treating it as the end, the student looks at Ms. Lopes and asks, “Can you show me what you mean?” 

The feedback is the same, but the response is completely different.

That leaves an important question: Why do some students persist when learning becomes difficult while others quickly give up?

This question is central to Carol Dweck’s research on mindset. Her work examined how beliefs about ability can influence what students do when they encounter challenge, feedback or failure. Students who believe improvement is possible may be more likely to remain engaged, consider feedback and try another approach rather than treating difficulty as the final word.^{(See disclaimer 3)}

So, as shown above, the challenge itself does not always determine what happens next. What matters is the meaning a student assigns to it. The same disappointing grade can mean, “I’m just not good at this,” or “I haven’t figured this out yet.” The grade is the same; the student’s perception is different. That is where mindset matters.

But a growth mindset does not mean simply smiling at a disappointing grade and trying harder. Persistence without a strategy can mean repeating the same mistake. Students still need instruction, useful feedback and different approaches. Mindset matters because it can keep students open to those next steps rather than treating difficulty as the end of the story.

Teachers can help shape these beliefs, and one way to begin is by modeling the mindset they want students to develop. Growth mindset cannot be something educators expect students to practice without modeling it themselves.

Ms. Lopes has experienced the blank stares that come when a lesson falls flat. She could think, “Well, they just didn’t get it,” and move on. Or she could ask herself, “What did their responses tell me? Where did they get lost? What do I need to adjust tomorrow?” Just like her students, Ms. Lopes has a choice in how she interprets the struggle and what she does next.

And we cannot be afraid to say some of that out loud. A teacher might tell students, “That explanation could have been better. Let me try it another way,” or, “I realized from your questions that I need to reteach part of this.” When students hear a teacher reflect openly, they see that needing to revise, rethink or try again is not something to be embarrassed about.

Growth mindset is not about pretending struggle is easy or that it feels good. Struggle is part of learning. What matters is what we do with it when it shows up. When teachers make that thinking visible, students get to see growth mindset in action.

Teachers can help students learn from difficulty by giving them opportunities to reflect after feedback. Rather than simply looking at a grade, students can ask: What part got me stuck? What could I try next time?

With practice, students can also become more specific in how they describe difficulty. For example, a student may say, “I’m bad at reading.” Ms. Lopes can acknowledge the frustration but help the student reframe it: “I’m having trouble finding the main idea in this passage.” Yes, it may take repeated prompting at first, but over time, this kind of thinking can become part of the classroom routine. The first statement makes the problem part of who the student is. The second makes it something the student can work on.

Growth mindset matters because school is not the only place students will face difficulty. Life will bring hard classes, disappointing grades, failed plans, conflict, rejection, new jobs, complicated relationships and circumstances they did not choose. Students need more than the ability to succeed when things come easily; they need ways to respond when they do not.

Part of our job as educators is helping students develop that response: to pause, reflect, ask for help, adjust a strategy and try again. Research on mindset supports the idea that how students interpret difficulty can influence whether they persist or disengage when facing challenges.^{(See disclaimer 3)}

This is why classroom culture matters so much. If Ms. Lopes treats mistakes, questions, revision and struggle as normal parts of learning, she is teaching more than writing. She is helping students practice a way of thinking they will need long after seventh grade.

Growth mindset is not a panacea. It does not erase a learning disability, remove a language barrier, replace missing skills or make unequal opportunities disappear. And it certainly does not replace good teaching, accommodations, intervention or support. A student who is struggling is not necessarily struggling because they have the “wrong attitude.”

It becomes meaningful when it changes what teachers actually do. Students do not develop a healthier response to struggle simply because a poster on the wall says, “Mistakes help your brain grow.” They develop it through repeated experiences in which challenge is expected, feedback is useful, revision is normal and support is available. It becomes part of the classroom culture teachers create.

Normalize Productive Struggle

Let students know that difficulty is an expected part of learning. Ms. Lopes might say, “This is usually the part where writers have to slow down and figure out which evidence really proves their point.”

When students expect some struggle, difficulty does not have to feel like proof that they are incapable. Instead, it can be understood as part of the learning process.^{(See disclaimer 3)}

Be Specific With Praise and Feedback

Research has shown that praising intelligence can have different motivational consequences than praising effort.^{(See disclaimer 4)} Rather than “You’re so smart” or even a generic “Great effort,” point to what the student actually did: “You changed strategies when the first one was not working,” or, “Your revision made your evidence much clearer.” Specific feedback gives students something concrete they can repeat or improve.

Build in Reflection and Revision

After a test, paper or assessment, give students time to look at what went well, where they struggled and what they will do differently next time. Then, when possible, let them act on that reflection through corrections, revision or reassessment. Reflection should lead somewhere.

Build a “What Do I Do Next?” Habit

Students are going to get stuck, but when responding to difficulty is built into the daily classroom culture, it becomes a norm. Teach and model the same routine over and over: reread, identify what you understand, look at an example, try another strategy, ask a peer appropriately, seek feedback or ask for help. Over time, students begin to internalize the process.

Model It Out Loud

Let students hear you reflect when something does not work as planned. Acknowledging the need to rethink, revise or reteach does not diminish a teacher’s credibility; it shows students what reflection looks like in real time.

Let Students See Their Progress

Compare early and later writing samples, revisit goals, track skill growth or use portfolios. Ask students, “What can you do now that was difficult for you before? What helped you improve?”

Growth mindset becomes far more believable when students can actually see the evidence of their own growth.

Posters on the wall are one thing, but seeing growth mindset modeled and lived out every day in the classroom takes it to a whole other level.

And perhaps that is the teacher’s biggest role in all of this. We cannot promise students that learning will always feel easy. We can help make sure that when it becomes difficult, they have more than encouragement. They have strategies, feedback, support and a next step.

Now, as Ms. Lopes looks around her classroom, she realizes her goal is not to make struggle disappear. Her students will still face difficult texts, confusing problems, disappointing grades and moments when they want to quit. The student who once said, “I’m just not good at this,” may eventually learn to ask a different question: “What do I do next?” And that is where growth mindset becomes more than a classroom idea; it becomes a way of moving forward.

Encouraging a growth mindset can help you create a classroom environment where students embrace challenges, learn from mistakes and develop confidence in their abilities. At Grand Canyon University, our education degree programs can help you explore teaching strategies, instructional practices and approaches to student development.