"The truth of Zen, just a little bit of it, is what turns one's humdrum life, a life of monotonous,..
No matter who you are or what you do, you can benefit from adopting a growth mindset. It’s received a lot of attention lately, and it's a growing field of interest especially in education. But what is the growth mindset, and how can it help us achieve higher learning and greater success? This list of growth mindset books features many of the answers we seek.
Growth mindset characteristics include things like:
- Embracing and improving weak areas
- Seeing mistakes as opportunities to learn
- Knowing the brain needs exercise to grow, just like a muscle
- Focusing on the journey rather than the destination, especially in learning
- Being open to constructive criticism
- The ability to reflect on experiences
- Seeing possibilities rather than limitations
If you think about it, these are also the characteristics shared by lifelong learners and critical thinkers, because the growth mindset is a big part of both. We hope that you are able to find ways to cultivate these qualities in both yourself and your learners. These books we’ve chosen will definitely help.
10 Great Growth Mindset Books to Check Out
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Author: Carol S. Dweck
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book description: Carol Dweck, the first lady of growth mindset, shows how developing such a mindset leads to success in school, work, sports, the arts, and more. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are far less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset—those who believe that abilities can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and mentorship. Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment.
Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Growth Mindset Learning Community
Author: Mary Cay Ricci
Publisher: Prufrock Press
Book description: Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with ideas for how to develop a growth mindset in school culture, wherein students are challenged to change their thinking about their abilities and potential. With the book's step-by-step guidance on adopting a differentiated, responsive instruction model, teachers can immediately use growth mindset culture in their classrooms. It also highlights the importance of critical thinking and teaching students to learn from failure. Included also is a sample professional development plan and ideas for communicating the mindset concept to parents.
Growth Mindset Lessons
Author: Shirley Clarke
Publisher: Rising Stars
Book description: Shirley Clarke is an associate of the Institute of Education, University of London, and is much in demand as an education consultant in the UK and internationally. An experienced primary teacher and advisory teacher, and a popular speaker, she runs numerous local and regional training courses on classroom assessment. In Growth Mindset Lessons, she has combined with practising teacher and mindset expert Katherine Muncaster to produce this must-have handbook for anyone looking to embed a growth mindset culture across their primary school.
Challenging Mindset: Why a Growth Mindset Makes a Difference in Learning - and What to Do When It Doesn't
Authosr: James Nottingham & Bosse Larsson
Publisher: Corwin
Book description: This book answers key questions about Carol Dweck's theory of mindset: What is a 'growth mindset' and what difference can it make? Why are growth mindset interventions not working in schools (yet) and what can be done to change this? What is a 'failure mindset' and why is it more influential than an adult's fixed or growth mindset? Drawing on their experiences of presenting alongside Dweck on many occasions, James Nottingham and Bosse Larsson tackle these questions head-on with research-backed clarity, and share proven strategies for mindset success. Mindset doesn't matter when things are easy; it is only when faced with challenges that working from a growth mindset influences learning.
Nothing You Can't Do!: The Secret Power of Growth Mindsets
Author: Mary Cay Ricci
Publisher: Prufrock Press
Book description: Unlock the secrets and clues to success in school, sports, after-school activities, life, and so much more with the tips in Nothing You Can't Do!: The Secret Power of Mindsets. By discovering the secrets included in this illustrated, funny, and interactive book, you'll learn how to develop a growth mindset where you look at life through a more optimistic lens, learn how to handle mistakes in a positive way, and find all the possibilities in yourself—even those you didn't know were there.
The Growth Mindset: A Guide to Professional and Personal Growth
Authors: Joshua Moore & Helen Glasgow
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing
Book description: If you’ve ever wanted to experience personal and/or professional growth, but haven’t been able to find practical ways to develop and implement this vital knowledge, this book has the inside track information you’ve been searching for. Co-written by a personal growth researcher and life coach, and a top business executive who also teaches and trains “soft” business skills, this book bridges the gap between personal and professional growth as well as scaffolding theory with concrete plans of action to ensure you are successful in growth development efforts in all facets of your life.
The Growth Mindset Coach: A Teacher's Month-by-Month Handbook for Empowering Students to Achieve
Author: Annie Brock
Publisher: Ulysses Press
Book description: Created by teachers for teachers, this is the ultimate guide for unleashing students' potential through creative lessons, empowering messages, and innovative teaching. The Growth Mindset Coach provides all you need to foster a growth mindset classroom including:
- A month-by-month program
- Research-based activities
- Hands-on lesson plans
- Real-life educator stories
- Constructive feedback
- Sample parent letters
How Else Can We Grow?
Growth mindset books are great for the shelf, but what about up on your wall? Imagine having a conversation piece that reminds you and your learners every day about the power of adopting the growth mindset. Just for that purpose, we created a resource called the Growth Mindset Poster. It compares the fixed and growth mindsets side by side, and it's the perfect tool to get you thinking and talking about the growth mindset with students every day.
Editor's note: This post was originally published in 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
Originally published Jun 18, 2019, updated Nov 19, 2021
