What is 'mindset'?
It's a mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations. (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=mindset)
In the past, the theory around intelligence was that it was 'fixed'. We are all born with a certain amount of intelligence that could simply be measured with an IQ test (Dwerk, 2010). No matter how hard you study, work, try hard, or how much you learn, you're intelligence stays the same. WHAT??!!
In today's world however, it's not what you re born with that matters; it's your mindset that matters (Developing a Growth Mindset - The Secret to Improving Your Grades)
This week's session was really interesting. Our brains are similar to a muscle in the way that through exercise, it can get bigger, stronger, and works better over time. Sometimes I feel like my brain is static, leading me to think that my talents are permanent and unchanging. I haven't stopped to think that every time I study, work hard, think deeply, learn something new, that my brain is forming new connections and over time, I'm actually becoming smarter. So maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks after all!?
According to Carol Dwerk (2008), a professor of Psychology at Standford University, a fixed mindset means 'intelligence is a fixed trait' and a growth mindset = intelligence is a quality that can be changed and developed.'
OK, now it's time for a story.
The was a little girl who was rather quiet, sensitive, a bit of a perfectionist, and a teacher's pet. She was also very creative and artistic. All through primary and high school, she worked hard to please her teachers and she received good grades in all the curriculum areas, but her true love was visual art. Because she loved creating art, AND she was good at it, all her teachers praised her talents and skills. There was no doubts in the little girls' mind that she was going to leave high school and go straight into tertiary art studies and then become a self-sufficient artist. Little did the young woman realise that her mindset was very 'fixed'. Doing artwork was a breeze for her, it was never hard, she believed she 'knew-it-all' and had never faced any setbacks. The main thing the girl wanted to do at high school was to show others how good she was at drawing, painting, photography...more and more she believed she was talented....more and more she was told she had talent by her teachers......she was born with brains, school was easy and her teachers loved her.
So eventually high school ended for the girl and as she walked out the school gates for the very last time, she didn't look back. She had her eyes on the prize - entry into art school (well, her application was in the mail, and all that was needed now was her excellent Bursary grades for painting and photography - at least 75% or above was needed in both subjects).
'Pffftt!' she thought. Achieving those grades would be easy peasy. She had already practically been told by her art teachers and everyone else that she'd get into art school no sweat. There was no need for a back up plan if she didn't get in. You'll be right, mate.
The teen-aged girl watched the postbox like a starving hawk would stare at a field mouse from the sky above. Her Bursary results were due to be delivered by the postie any day now. She would daydream about her future art studio; would she have acrylic paint or oils?
A few days later...
The crumpled envelop lay on the messy bedroom floor, among piles of soggy tissues. The girl sat on her unmade bed, tears of disbelief and heartbreak splashing on the piece of paper held in her trembling hand. The numbers before her eyes didn't make sense. Why did it say 67% and 65%?
After that day, the girl never picked up a paint brush, ever again.
The End
So the poor little girl in the story had a fixed mindset about most things, especially about her subjects she studied at school. She never had to work hard as learning came easily for her. Her cleverness and sound academic knowledge was celebrated throughout her schooling, but she never really had to do anything really hard and persevere. Perhaps she wasn't extended enough in various subjects. The little girl had probably never failed at anything. The setback of not getting into art school was so devastating for her that she gave up her artwork. Her mindset was so fixed (look intelligent and artistic at all costs) that she could not pick herself up and try and try again.
In a nutshell, it's not what you've got, but what you do with it that counts. I think today I have a mix of fixed and growth mindsets, but I am now more aware of what I am thinking and how I'm thinking in regards to my learning.
As a teacher, I am now more aware of fostering a hard work ethic in my students, and praise them on their effort, persistence, and always have a challenge for them to tackle. I want to help my students see that failure is positive, failure brings about new information - what to do differently next time.
So why are we learning about 'the growth mindset' at The Mind Lab? Well, students are intelligent, in their different ways. Students need opportunities to build on their own strengths. If a student performs poorly in maths, then it's highly likely they're going to hate maths. But as teachers, we can help to turn their fixed mindsets around. Use the word 'yet' (eg I don't know how to do this, YET). Ask them questions like, 'What happens to your brain when you make a mistake?'. Tell your students, 'If you try, I can help you more.' Instead of using the word 'fail' use 'learning experience'.
And what about that little girl from the story? Well, further on down the track she did pick up a paintbrush again, and while she is not a fully self-sufficient rich and famous artist, she is fulfilled with her life so far. And hard work, perseverance, failure, and life-long learning is what life is all about.
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