Mindset Kit | Give Tasks That Promote Struggle And Growth

Number of Lessons 5

Designed For Teachers

Time to Complete 20 min

Short, closed math tasks focus students on performing over learning

See how short, closed math tasks can promote a fixed view of intelligence.

Open tasks promote a growth mindset

Learn how open tasks promote a focus on growth, and see an example of how to turn a closed task into an open task.

Going deeper: How do open tasks encourage a focus on learning?

See an example of how opening up tasks promotes deeper learning.

Help students make sense of a problem: See it in action

Watch Cathy Humphries help her students make sense of a problem.

Activities for creating challenging tasks

Two activities to help you create challenging math tasks.

Grow your brain.

View related materials from our resource library

Encourage students to defend their answer and strategy by convincing others with their reasoning (or sense making)

A Purpose for Learning: Creating Beautiful and Complex Work

Students who have the opportunity to work on challenging projects that involve complex layers can feel more connected to their work, more motivated to challenge themselves, and more excited to put in effort.

Assign Open Tasks

Tasks are made more open ended with different entry points for ways of seeing the tasks

Open Tasks, Math Examples from YouCubed

This website provides examples of open math tasks from Jo Boaler's youcubed.org. You can sort by "Concept," "Grade," "Mathematical Practice," and "Math Topic."

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