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My Thoughts on the Growth Mindset

(Brain Word Cloud by JohnHain)

I have not heard of Carol Dweck or of the Growth Mindset specifically before. I have had some high school teachers teach at least related to this style though. While they still had tests and assessments, One of them allowed you to retake any test as long as you submitted in writing what you felt like you did wrong and what you did to address it. My other teacher outright told us that he didn't care about our grades and we could put in as much effort as we wanted. Both of these teachers were well liked and while their classes were hard I don't remember anyone having problems with these policies. 

I think I have recently started leaning more into the growth mindset without realizing it. With learning how to draw, many of the resources and tutorials being put out, focus on taking small steps and emphasizing how no one had it easy at first. That it's normal to struggle with it, and to not give up just because it's hard initially. 

At OU my hardest learning challenge has been managing my time and being organized enough to get through material efficiently. I'm not sure if a more concentrated effort to change my mindset would help, but I think it'd be a good idea to try. Especially in my last few upper-division classes I get afraid of being overwhelmed, so that may indicate that my mindset is still fixed. 

Another obstacle may be that the current system still overwhelmingly encourages people to go into fields where they feel comfortable and unchallenged. I know that at least for many STEM fields grades do have a large bearing on your professional options after graduation, For example, the average medical school student had an average of around a 3.7 GPA. This definitely creates a fear of failure that make it hard to branch out and try things you aren't good at.

This goes along with what Alfie Kohn said in "The "Mindset" Mindset." Much of people's behavior and outcomes are extremely related to people's social circumstances, and in some circumstances a person's shift in mindset won't be enough to overcome systemic barriers to success. I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle where addressing issues in the education system itself and encouraging students to look past grades could both be used.

Overall, I think the growth mindset is probably most useful in learning before undergraduate, or in situations where there isn't a requirement for high performance extremely quickly.

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  1. UnknownAugust 22, 2020 at 3:47 PM

    A very cool post!! I think this is why research into education styles is also very important, because there's more to learning than meets the eye.

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