Famous Failures: Fun Growth Mindset Activity | High School Research Project

Want your students to learn about people who have found success through their willingness to work hard and learn from their failures?

Carol Dweck herself, in an article published in Scientific America on January 1, 2015, recommends that students learn about this kind of success in order to adopt the growth mindset themselves saying, "One way is by telling stories about achievements that result from hard work."

When you teach your students about growth mindset with these plans you will:

• get your students working cooperatively to teach themselves and each other when they use the ready-to-go handouts

• inspire your classes with real-life examples of how grit and perseverance lead to success

• easily teach the unit on Google Classroom using the ready-to-go instructions, links, handouts, and forms

• engage your students with powerful lessons and dynamic plans

• quickly and easily grade the final projects with the rubrics included here

• fulfill common core requirements with low-key, no-prep project

There are a three different options for this project. Students will first research eight different individuals who have found great success in their fields and who have failed—sometimes epically. Bethany Hamilton, Michael Jordan, Jack Andraka, Thomas Edison, JK Rowling, Malala Yousafz, Josh Waitzkin, and Albert Einstein will inspire your students with their attitudes and achievements.

Students will then complete a jigsaw activity, a mixed media poster, or a group informational essay based on their findings.

Included in this packet are handouts with research questions and instructions for the three different options, two different versions of a chart for students to fill out on the other seven individuals, discussion questions to bring the presentations together, and a rubric to grade the mixed media poster.

Challenge your students to become more resilient learners who are not afraid to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from their failures by teaching them about real-life success stories.