Switching to the Growth Mindset

I'm pretty sure that my first exposure to the growth vs fixed mindset discussion was from last semester actually. In my biochemistry class, the professor talked about how he believed in the growth mindset when it comes to his class and learning in general. I found that the growth mindset was one that you needed to have when it came to that class because of how difficult it was. If at the first sign of difficulty you determined you weren't smart enough, then you were going nowhere, fast.

Because of this I had to commit myself to the growth mindset because I liked the material, wanted to learn and I wanted to do well in the class. If I had a fixed mindset then there was no way that I would have stuck with it during the difficult times. I would have given up and suffered for it.

I hadn't even read anything beyond this and never knew of the work by Carol Dweck. Seeing the scientific basis that supports the growth mindset was convincing for the argument that it should be striven for. There are some things that I agree with in her argument and some things that might be impractical to apply in real life or on the large scale.

Changing the way we give praise is something that I think would be very useful in giving students a growth mindset. Everyone likes praise so this would be something that students would want to receive and could be thought of as a type of conditioning. If the students are praised for their process then they will attempt to use their process and develop new techniques that can help them achieve their goal. Instead of giving up because failure means they are not smart enough, students would learn from their mistakes and find a way to reach their goal.

Changing our thoughts

Max Pixel

The idea of "challenging the comfort zone" and changing what is comfortable for student is one that I agree should happen but don't think there is a practical way to implement this restructuring. Of course it would benefit the learning process of students if they are taught to believe it is better for them to struggle instead of a have an easy time. However, I think that most children and young adults tend to prefer what is easier for them as if it were instinct. This could make it difficult for the growth mindset to be taught as the students would simply revert to their fixed mindset for the easier route. I could also be extremely wrong about this and there could be evidence that the growth mindset is maintained.