Growth Mindset >>>>> Fixed Mindset




I enjoyed the second video, “Make Challenge the New Comfort Zone,” because Carol discusses how students should strive to challenge themselves instead of taking the easy way out. Students should desire to feel challenged and to constantly improve. It seems backwards that a student would feel gratification when they accomplish something simple like receiving an A by cheating on a test. Students cannot improve that way and will not actually be learning anything with that type of mindset. Schools need to emphasize the importance of the learning process and should not stress the final letter grade as much. Students can develop a growth mindset if they understand that success and improvement come from a process involving hard work and effort. Once they appreciate this they can then begin to approach life with a growth mindset and be a continual learner.


(Image Information: Epic Fail Grade;
Web Source: flickr)
A growth mindset involves seeking out feedback and learning from mistakes. With a growth mindset, one puts in effort to achieve his or her goals. Carol's ideas about the growth mindset are very interesting to me because her ideas made me view intelligence and achievement in new ways. I always thought success was based on a letter grade or a test score, but that is only because people are socialized to think that way. Society defines a person's intelligence and success by the amount of praise he or she receives and based on the level of rewards a person receives.


Sometimes I am blinded by aspects of “praise” and forget to appreciate learning opportunities, but these videos gave me a new perspective on this issue. I hope to use the growth mindset challenge list throughout the semester. I enjoy learning, and I feel self-improvement is extremely important. 

It is not beneficial to give students a letter grade because too much "praise" and "validation" can lead to a "fixed mindset". This issue is frustrating because I now realize that we are conditioned to have a “fixed mindset”. I hope more people begin to recognize this as an issue and make an attempt to prevent it from happening in the future.


Comments

  1. ShadeMarch 25, 2018 at 11:33 PM

    I definitely agree with you about the fixed mindset being bad. The example you used, where students feel gratification for getting an A through cheating, seems particularly relevant. Our current school system sees grades as the most important part of school, even more than the learning. While I haven't cheated, I know that I've focused more on the grades I'm getting than what I'm actually learning from my classes for most of my time in school. I'm hoping that in my last semester, as well as once I'm working at an actual job, I can focus on what I'm doing and learning instead of simply the 'reward' for completing a task.

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