Thoughts on the growth mindset
Before this assignment, I had not heard of Carol Dweck, but I knew a bit about the concept of the "growth mindset." Both my mother and sister are elementary school teachers, and they constantly make the effort to find ways to improve their pedagogy. They teach kindergarten and third grade, respectively, so their teaching styles differ a bit by necessity — but the concept of rewarding and encouraging students generally remains the same across age groups.
As Alfie Kohn mentioned, the growth mindset focus is somewhat of a trend in education these days. I don't feel like that's a bad thing — I like the concept — but I agree that it should not be applied universally without intentional thought about what students are learning and how they may be perceiving the switch of focus from results to effort.
I had always thought of growth mindset as applying to K-12 education — I'd never considered for myself until now. I can absolutely see where in my life I have a fixed mindset and where I have a growth mindset. In school, it can depend; sometimes, I go into a class excited to learn and appreciate feedback on papers, even if it's negative, because I like knowing how I can improve my writing. Other times, though, I convince myself right away that I'm not going to do well in a class (math classes, for example) and don't try as hard to improve because I feel like it's futile. I hope to fix that attitude this semester.
One good example of a growth mindset in my life is sports. I'm a tennis player and I see every lost point, game, and match as an opportunity to improve. I think part of that may be that I'm very competitive; I'm constantly looking for ways to be better than my opponents and teammates, and I see losses to them as learning experiences rather than failures.
As Alfie Kohn mentioned, the growth mindset focus is somewhat of a trend in education these days. I don't feel like that's a bad thing — I like the concept — but I agree that it should not be applied universally without intentional thought about what students are learning and how they may be perceiving the switch of focus from results to effort.
I had always thought of growth mindset as applying to K-12 education — I'd never considered for myself until now. I can absolutely see where in my life I have a fixed mindset and where I have a growth mindset. In school, it can depend; sometimes, I go into a class excited to learn and appreciate feedback on papers, even if it's negative, because I like knowing how I can improve my writing. Other times, though, I convince myself right away that I'm not going to do well in a class (math classes, for example) and don't try as hard to improve because I feel like it's futile. I hope to fix that attitude this semester.
One good example of a growth mindset in my life is sports. I'm a tennis player and I see every lost point, game, and match as an opportunity to improve. I think part of that may be that I'm very competitive; I'm constantly looking for ways to be better than my opponents and teammates, and I see losses to them as learning experiences rather than failures.
When I play sports, I remember all the things that go into success, because I've experienced it myself. I am able to keep that in mind when watching professional athletes, too. (Source: #teachergoals on Twitter)
However, I can definitely see my fixed mindset when it comes to hobbies. I've picked up many creative hobbies — painting, knitting, and piano are a few examples — only to drop them because I'm not immediately good at them. I tend to stick to hobbies that I'm already good at (like guitar, which I've been playing for 14 years) and forget that failure is an important part of learning, and especially with hobbies, the joy is in the process as well as the result.
This semester, I am making it my goal to engage in my classes with a growth mindset so I can get the most out of my last semester before entering the workforce. I also hope to pick up a hobby that I'm not already good at and develop my skills by appreciating the process, not just focusing on the end result.
A quote from Vincent Van Gogh reminding me that challenge is a part of learning. (Source: @hashtagsinhistory_ on Instagram)
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