Growth Mindset: A growth mindset is the “idea that abilities can be developed.” Meaning that if someone has this mindset than instead of running away from a problem because their natural ability can’t solve it, the attack the problem because they know they can learn from it and grow as a person.
Fixed Mindset: A fixed mindset is when someone “runs from the error.” If a problem is too hard for them to solve, there will be no activity in their brain to even attempt the problem.
The first way she offers to stimulate a Growth Mindset is to “praise wisely” meaning “praising the process kids engage in.” This is instead of praising natural ability. This thinking would be totally ok if she didn’t say not to praise intelligence or talent. I feel there can be a balance to it. Another way she says that can stimulate a Growth Mindset is to actually change their mindset. In a study on students, she says “that everytime they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult, the neurons in their brain can form new, stronger connections, and over time, they can get smarter.” I think coming out of your comfort zone is a huge part of developing as a student because you will never know what you’re actually capable of doing. Also, you become more confident because you have more experience with different things.
I see her model of intelligence as being naturally intelligent is great. But, it can only take you so far. At some point in your life you will have to fail to be able to progress through life. With a fixed mindset, she says that when “their intelligence has been up for judgment” they have failed.
To get through middle school, at least for me, all I had to do was show up. There was not too much growth. I would say I had a fixed mindset. But, when I got to high school that all changed. I did not do well my freshman year because I was stuck in my fixed mindset where if I couldn’t do something I would just not do it. So, I ended up transferring schools to a school my parents thought I could learn how to learn. I ended up doing a lot better my last three years of high school.
The fixed mindset brains and growth mindset brains are very different. In a growth mindset brain, these people tend to learn from their mistakes. They also thrive from their mistakes and if something is challenged, the strive from it. In a Fixed mindset brain, if something is too hard for them, they will often just give up, or complain about how hard it is. And if they fail a test, they are likely to cheat on the next one, or react very negatively.
Steps to get to the bridge to yet: use the process praise… praise wisely, use effort and strategies, rewarding games help, rewarding games help you give in more effort
These do seem really reasonable. I feel like education games that reward you as you go, helps you give in more effort and make it more exciting. Studies show that these games makes kids very intrigued and more confident.
My fixed mindset moment in my learning history is when I fail a test. I’ve failed a few tests in my life, and whenever I do, of course I get upset, but I learn from it. I study more, or find a tutor. This usually helps because my issue is usually that I don’t study often. So whenever I fail a test, or do badly, I study more and it helps me strive through the school year.
1. Dweck offers two key terms, Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset. Explain these two concepts. Use a Dweck quote for each as part of your explanation. Be sure to offer your explanation in a way that a friend might understand it.
Someone who has a Growth Mindset “process[es] error. They learn from it and they correct it”. Those with a Fixed Mindset “run from the error. They don’t engage with it”. Essentially what this means is that those with a Growth Mindset believe they can learn and grow their knowledge, while those with a Fixed Mindset believe that they can’t make mistakes and learn from them, because they think their intelligence is fixed.
2. Dweck names at least two ways to stimulate a Growth Mindset or to building a “bridge to yet” (3:53). What are they? Use a quote for each and offer a response. Do these seem reasonable? Does something about them bother you? Why?
Praise wisely: “not praising intelligence or talent. […] But praising the process that kids engage in: their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement”. There was another strategy that involved a math game, where kids were rewarded for their effort and strategies. “ In this game, students were rewarded for effort, strategy and progress.” These two ways to stimulate a Growth Mindset are very similar, and both involve praising the process that kids go through to get an answer, not necessarily whether or not they get it right. I think that these processes are interesting, and in an ideal world I think they would be great. However, the way the world works now and the way jobs are set up in the future, kids who grow up getting praised for all of their efforts might end up not getting that same praise when they go on to the workforce. This could create some problems.
3. Intelligence. Dweck’s ideas may suggest a notion of intelligence or smarts that is different from what many might think about when considering intelligence. How do you see her model of intelligence? Explain with evidence from the text.
Dweek’s idea of intelligence seems to be that students with a Growth Mindset who are able to adapt their processes of learning are the truly intelligent ones, rather than those with a Fixed Mindset. Talking about those with a Growth Mindset, Dweek says, “They engage deeply. They process the error. They learn from it and they correct it.” To me, she is saying this in a very positive way, and she likely sees those who think this way as more intelligent.
4. Write about a fixed mindset moment in your own learning history. Explain how that moment worked out for you. Be sure to offer enough detail for a reader to grasp the situation, your approach/experience, and the outcome. (We all have them at some point!) Make sure to explicitly link your experience to a specific idea (or ideas) in Dweck’s talk.
Most, if not all, of my schoolwork is/was done with a Fixed Mindset. Throughout elementary school I was praised for being smart and getting the answers right, which of course in turn made me happy. I associated good grades with making my parents and teachers happy, and so I assumed that as long as I kept it up, those around me would be happy. As I got into middle and high school and classes started getting harder, I realized that I hadn’t actually learned any skills on how to do certain tasks. I never learned how to study, because in previous years as long as I paid attention I would do fine on tests. I never learned real critical thinking skills because anything I didn’t know I would ask someone else for help with. When I first failed a test in high school I thought it was just because I was stupid, and that I couldn’t be helped. Looking back, all I really needed to do was find a way for me to learn that material instead of just memorizing it for a little while and then moving on. Dweek mentions in her talk that students with a Fixed Mindset often try to find someone who did worse than them on tests when they didn’t do well, just to make themselves feel better. I think I did this in high school whenever I got a grade I didn’t like, which was not good for my learning habits. I had a very Fixed Mindset about my abilities and thought that I couldn’t improve. I am in the process now of trying to have a Growth Mindset, but it can be difficult.
Growth mindset can be defined as willing to take on a challenge and grow from it, even if it doesn’t go the way you had hoped. A quote that describes this mindset is “I love a challenge!” People with fixed mindsets feel that when they fail, they are not good enough and are not willing to learn from their experience. They would rather give up or cheat than try again or learn how to correct their mistakes. “I look at someone who did worse than I did to feel good about myself.” The first way to stimulate a growth mindset is to praise wisely. “Praise the process that kids engage with.” This will create kids who are “hardy and resilient.” The second way is called ‘Rewarding yet’. Carol Dweck teamed up with game scientists and created a math game that rewards the process instead of the outcome. “We got more effort, more strategies, more engagement over longer periods of time, and more perseverance when they hit harder math problems.” These strategies seem reasonable to me. If I had grown up learning this way, I feel like I would be less daunted to try new things and make mistakes/learn from them. Dweck suggests that intelligence is not based around outcome. Instead she suggests that it’s based on effort and resilience. I think her model of intelligence makes sense because she proves that with the ‘Growth Mindset’, kids are more likely to try again and learn from their experiences when making mistakes. “In one year, fourth grade students in the south Bronx, way behind, became the number one fourth grade class in the state of new york on the state math test.” One experience I’ve had with a fixed mindset was my first experience with swimming. My grandparents live on a lake in New Hampshire and when I was young, all my older cousins could swim and I could not. Every attempt I made, I was fearful and ended up needing floaties or assistance. For the longest time, I was convinced that I could not swim and that it would simply never happen for me. I was jealous of my cousins, but I eventually was forced to overcome my fear. Thankfully I can swim now, but I would have learned much quicker if I had approached swimming with a Growth Mindset.
– In the Ted Talk by Carol Dweck, she talked about two terms: Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset. She said that students with a Growth Mindset “understood their abilities could be developed,” but students with a Fixed Mindset felt that “their intelligence had been up for judgment, and they failed. Instead of luxuriating in the power of yet, they were gripped in the tyranny of now.” In other words, people with growth mindsets are open to challenges because they allow students to improve, while people with fixed mindsets give up more easily and do not improve as effectively.
-Dweck says that in order to build a “bridge to yet” or foster a Growth Mindset, we must praise success in a wise way. She says we must praise “their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement.” This ensures that students do not classify improvement solely as results. She also says that we must reward the process that students do, regardless of success, because it causes them to try new things even if they are difficult. I really like these mindsets because they are progressive and encourage students to be positive instead of pessimistic.
-Dweck suggests that intelligence or smarts is not measured by talent or luck. ‘Smarts’ should not be measured by being able to retain information and spit it back out, but by having a state of mind to understand big ideas and be able to effectively work through issues.
-A time that I overcame a fixed mindset was when I was learning a really hard song on the piano. I had been working on it for months and wanted to give up and move onto an easier song. I was able to finish the song by changing the way I approached it, and changed my practicing habits. After I took a step back, worked through the song section by section, I was able to finally finish it. This is an example of how I developed a growth mindset about practicing piano, I had to change my mindset and focus on the process instead of wanting to jump straight to the final product.
Growth mindset is the ability to go after a challenge rather than run away from it. One is able to understand that they are not able to accomplish something at this very moment but will in the future. Dweck describes this as people who “understood that their abilities could be developed.” On the other hand, a fixed mindset is when you believe that you are not able to do something and leave it at that. “Instead of luxuriating in the power of yet, they were gripped in the tyranny of now.” This quote is able to depict the true meaning of not having enough hope in yourself that you can accomplish something and being stuck in your own restrictive thoughts.
One way to simulate a growth mindset is to control how one praises children. One needs to comment on the process and effort not the overall accomplishment. “students were rewarded for effort, strategy and progress…we got more effort, more strategies, more engagement…” I feel as though this is reasonable approach because it encourages kids to fail and show them that it is ok to fail.
Another way to simulate a growth mindset is to use the word yet simulating a potential for success in the future. It “give kids greater confidence, give them a path into the future that creates greater persistence” I feel as though this is also a reasonable approach because it is one simple word that can change a whole mindset.
Dweck’s model of intelligence explains that we cannot base children’s success on how smart they are. One must base their success on progress and effort. “ This process praise creates kids who are hardy and resilient.” Her model of intelligence is able to encourage the new generation to try and possibly fail rather than not trying at all.
A fixed mindset moment that I experienced is when I refused to do a climbing course because I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do it. I thought to myself that I was too small, and I was scared of falling and failing. I was very young and inexperienced in climbing. I saw a challenge and didn’t know how to approach it so I decided that I wouldn’t even try. That time I ended up not doing it but the next time I was back I had enough support and forced myself to try and I completed the course.
“They believed their abilities could grow, this is called a growth mindset.” a growth mindset is a mindset where a person is willing to learn. They will not hide from a problem they will try and find a way to learn from the issue and deal with it in the best way that they possibly can. To describe a fixed mindset she says “Their intelligence had been up for judgment and they failed”. To clarify she is saying that the students did not try to think hard to solve the problem at hand. Instead, they hid from it and decided there is nothing they could do about it.
One way to stimulate a growth mindset would be to practice praising wisely. Carol Dweck says in the ted talk, “Praise the process they engage in.” By this carol is saying to praise hard work instead of praising the results that they came up with. Praising the result that the students come up with will hurt the kids that worked hard and could not come up with the correct answer or result in which they were looking for.
Carol Dweck’s different notion of intelligence is about hard work over always being correct. She believes that a person who is able to have the strength of mind to work hard towards a certain goal is more intelligent than somebody who is able to get the answer more quickly. She also takes a more scientific approach to the matter. She says “Every time they push out of their comfort zone, the neurons in their brain can form new, stronger connections.” She is saying working harder than you normally would, will cause your brain to actually become stronger through connections.
A time in my life when I had a fixed mindset was in fifth grade my teacher told me I was lazy and not smart so I did not try and I stopped caring. I believed her when she said that. I started putting less effort into learning the material and started daydreaming more often in class instead of paying attention to what she had to say. This was obviously a fixed mindset because I did not challenge myself to try harder. I should have used what she said as motivation to prove her wrong instead of becoming exactly what she had described me as.
“They understood that their abilities could be developed.” No matter how old or how young, our brains are never done learning new things. Yes, we are “fully developed” at the age of 25 but the growth does not stop. Humans can be so intelligent and understand the world in a way that no other species can.
Fixed mindset
“And in study after study, they have run from difficulty.” When humans face a challenge in life, they believe the easiest thing to do is run. Run from the problem and avoid it at all costs. What they do not understand is that you must go through it to overcome it, not around.
“But praising the process that kids engage in, their effort, their focus…”
I like the idea of praising because of hard work and not because of the things such as academics that come easy to certain kids. This way everyone is rewarded equally and there are no advantages.
“But praising the process that kids engage in…, their improvement.”
Same idea but with improvement over time. Improvement shows a consistent pattern of hard work which is always rewarding.
In my own history, I would say freshman year of high school. Middle school classes were so easy, and I was entering this new place and didn’t realize how quickly things would change. Teachers and peers held me to an academic level I hadn’t quite reached yet, and that set me back. When I was set back, I gave up on myself. I didn’t put in the effort to catch up or try my best, I just made it through to make it through, not to push myself or care for learning anything new. Yes, I am a quite different person now, but sometimes I can fall back into that mindset, but I am trying my hardest not to.
1) A growth mindset is when a person is willing and open to learn and try new things. A fixed mindset is when a person only learns what they already know and that they are slowly and barely learning new things. “They understand that their abilities could be developed. They had what I call a growth mindset. But the other students felt it was tragic, catastrophic. From their more fixed perspective, their intelligence had been up for judgement and they failed”(lines 11-14)
2) Praise wisely and not intelligence or talent and paise the process. “First of all, we can praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent…But praising the process that kids engage in: their efforts, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement”(lines 30-32). These do seem reasonable because the reason that students think that their grades are a reflection on themself is because we aren’t praising students just learning new things.
3) I see her model of smarts being something that teachers are going to use in the future. “This happened because the meaning of effort and difficulty were transformed. Before, effort and difficulty made them feel dumb, made them feel like giving up, but now, effort and difficulty, that’s when their neurons are making new connections, stronger connections. That’s when they’re getting smarter”(lines 58-61).
4) One time that I had a fixed mindset while learning is when I was in math class and I wasn’t learning anything because I already knew it. And I thought that this was the hardest math so I beat myself up. And because I was in the mindset that I was weird for already know everything, so I didn’t try. Once I got to high school and started doing math and realized that there were students younger than me in those classes, made me realize that some people were just better in math, so I stopped thinking I was the weird one.
A growth mindset is described by Dweck as “ so I gave 10-year-olds problems that were slightly too hard for them. Some of them reacted in a shockingly positive way. They said things like, ‘I love a challenge,’ or, ‘You know, I was hoping this would be informative.’ They understood that their abilities could be developed. They had what I call a growth mindset.” A growth mindset is a mindset that appreciates challenges and learning. Dweck describes a fixed mindset as “But other students felt it was tragic, catastrophic. From their more fixed mindset perspective, their intelligence had been up for judgment, and they failed.” She describes a fixed mindset as being scared or fearful of being challenged. Dweck offers some examples on how to “build a bridge to yet” when she states, “First of all, we can praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent. That has failed. Don’t do that anymore. But praising the process that kids engage in, their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement.” I agree with this because some children might receive more praise than others just because they are naturally gifted. This is unfair to the other children who are putting in the same amount of effort, but are not as gifted as the other children. Another example of how to build a bridge to yet, is when she states, “Just the words”yet “ or”not yet,” we’re finding, give kids greater confidence, give them a path into the future that creates greater persistence. And we can actually change students’ mindsets.” I understand how this one can benefit the children. Changing their mindsets to all be the same however, seems a little counterintuitive, and would ruin creativity. Dweck insists that some people automatically are disadvantaged just because they may be poor, or dont have the resources and opportunities. I agree with some of Dweck’s notions, but forming a collective mindset does not seem to be beneficial for society. It may help children learn but we would definitely regress in the way of art. One time that I had a fixed mindset was during covid. I really struggled with remote learning and did not put any effort into anything. I never thought I would break out of the mindset, I never wanted to do anything in school because I was so behind I just did not see a point. Kind of like the kids who were faced with a challenge and they just shut down and got scared. I ended up breaking the cycle in the summer when I decided to shave my head. It sort of resembled a new beginning for me that help me just reset and focus on the future and not the past.
Dweck talks about how to build a “Bridge to yet” and ways to do it. One of the two ways to praise wisely. This way doesn’t include “praising intelligence or by talent”, yet by praising the process of how kids engage in while achieving the goal. Dweck created a game that rewards for the process kids get throughout the game, this was able to help give kids more confidence by pushing them out of their comfort zone. There are many positives and negatives to this way of changing the you’re praised. In my personal experiences I respond better to positive on noticeable accomplishments I achieve during the process than being praised on my “Intelligence”. My own personal experience where I was praised for my process was when I started to change my mindset and mental health. After reading one of my favorite books and watching a movie I finally started learning more about how to change my mind set to achieve the things I want in life. For years I have talked to people about these certain aspects, and I still do get praised on how intelligent I am about the topic, but I also do get praised on how much growth the process has brought me.
A growth mindset offers a much more flexible and engaging approach to learning. Dweck often used the term “not yet” to suggest they will eventually get there through critical thinking. She said kids with this mindset respond along the lines of “I love a challenge”, so it’s evident which kids have what mindset. A fixed mindset refers to kids running from a challenge, kids who are stuck in the “tyranny of now”. Dweck says these children are more likely to cheat than to study for a test, and that they’re really only worried about the next test score, not long term learning.
One of the ways she offered to stimulate a growth mindset is praise. She makes sure to emphasize not to praise “intelligence or talent” but to praise “the process that kids engage in”. This idea seems very reasonable to me because it lets kids know that they’re doing the right thing and that they’re on the right track despite some bumps in the road. The other way she mentioned is through a math game that gives kids learning points through “effort, strategy, and engagement, rather than just “getting questions right”. I think this is a great idea because it allows kids to learn through playing games, which I can imagine most kids enjoy more than simply doing problems with no reward.
I see Dweck’s idea of intelligence as being mainly focused on children with a growth mindset. She said that rather than effort and difficulty making students “feel dumb” or “feeling like giving up” it should make their “nuerons make new connections, stronger connections.” I agree with this idea of smarts, mainly because one of my favorite coaches always stressed “process over outcome” and has been stuck in my head for a while now.
A vivid experience I have with a fixed mindset is when I transferred to a private high school my freshman year. For most of my elementary and middle school days classes were a breeze and I passed with flying colors. When freshman year came around in a new, much different learning environment offered many challenges. I was really in what Dweck referred to as the “tyranny of now”. I was really just focused on getting through each class without getting called on or embarrassing myself. My first sub B grade was a real culture shock to me, and I knew I had to take action. I had to expect challenges along the way. When they inevitably came, I couldn’t run from or avoid them, but embrace and conquer them, just like Dweck offered.
12 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 5”
Growth Mindset: A growth mindset is the “idea that abilities can be developed.” Meaning that if someone has this mindset than instead of running away from a problem because their natural ability can’t solve it, the attack the problem because they know they can learn from it and grow as a person.
Fixed Mindset: A fixed mindset is when someone “runs from the error.” If a problem is too hard for them to solve, there will be no activity in their brain to even attempt the problem.
The first way she offers to stimulate a Growth Mindset is to “praise wisely” meaning “praising the process kids engage in.” This is instead of praising natural ability. This thinking would be totally ok if she didn’t say not to praise intelligence or talent. I feel there can be a balance to it. Another way she says that can stimulate a Growth Mindset is to actually change their mindset. In a study on students, she says “that everytime they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult, the neurons in their brain can form new, stronger connections, and over time, they can get smarter.” I think coming out of your comfort zone is a huge part of developing as a student because you will never know what you’re actually capable of doing. Also, you become more confident because you have more experience with different things.
I see her model of intelligence as being naturally intelligent is great. But, it can only take you so far. At some point in your life you will have to fail to be able to progress through life. With a fixed mindset, she says that when “their intelligence has been up for judgment” they have failed.
To get through middle school, at least for me, all I had to do was show up. There was not too much growth. I would say I had a fixed mindset. But, when I got to high school that all changed. I did not do well my freshman year because I was stuck in my fixed mindset where if I couldn’t do something I would just not do it. So, I ended up transferring schools to a school my parents thought I could learn how to learn. I ended up doing a lot better my last three years of high school.
The fixed mindset brains and growth mindset brains are very different. In a growth mindset brain, these people tend to learn from their mistakes. They also thrive from their mistakes and if something is challenged, the strive from it. In a Fixed mindset brain, if something is too hard for them, they will often just give up, or complain about how hard it is. And if they fail a test, they are likely to cheat on the next one, or react very negatively.
Steps to get to the bridge to yet: use the process praise… praise wisely, use effort and strategies, rewarding games help, rewarding games help you give in more effort
These do seem really reasonable. I feel like education games that reward you as you go, helps you give in more effort and make it more exciting. Studies show that these games makes kids very intrigued and more confident.
My fixed mindset moment in my learning history is when I fail a test. I’ve failed a few tests in my life, and whenever I do, of course I get upset, but I learn from it. I study more, or find a tutor. This usually helps because my issue is usually that I don’t study often. So whenever I fail a test, or do badly, I study more and it helps me strive through the school year.
1. Dweck offers two key terms, Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset. Explain these two concepts. Use a Dweck quote for each as part of your explanation. Be sure to offer your explanation in a way that a friend might understand it.
Someone who has a Growth Mindset “process[es] error. They learn from it and they correct it”. Those with a Fixed Mindset “run from the error. They don’t engage with it”. Essentially what this means is that those with a Growth Mindset believe they can learn and grow their knowledge, while those with a Fixed Mindset believe that they can’t make mistakes and learn from them, because they think their intelligence is fixed.
2. Dweck names at least two ways to stimulate a Growth Mindset or to building a “bridge to yet” (3:53). What are they? Use a quote for each and offer a response. Do these seem reasonable? Does something about them bother you? Why?
Praise wisely: “not praising intelligence or talent. […] But praising the process that kids engage in: their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement”. There was another strategy that involved a math game, where kids were rewarded for their effort and strategies. “ In this game, students were rewarded for effort, strategy and progress.” These two ways to stimulate a Growth Mindset are very similar, and both involve praising the process that kids go through to get an answer, not necessarily whether or not they get it right. I think that these processes are interesting, and in an ideal world I think they would be great. However, the way the world works now and the way jobs are set up in the future, kids who grow up getting praised for all of their efforts might end up not getting that same praise when they go on to the workforce. This could create some problems.
3. Intelligence. Dweck’s ideas may suggest a notion of intelligence or smarts that is different from what many might think about when considering intelligence. How do you see her model of intelligence? Explain with evidence from the text.
Dweek’s idea of intelligence seems to be that students with a Growth Mindset who are able to adapt their processes of learning are the truly intelligent ones, rather than those with a Fixed Mindset. Talking about those with a Growth Mindset, Dweek says, “They engage deeply. They process the error. They learn from it and they correct it.” To me, she is saying this in a very positive way, and she likely sees those who think this way as more intelligent.
4. Write about a fixed mindset moment in your own learning history. Explain how that moment worked out for you. Be sure to offer enough detail for a reader to grasp the situation, your approach/experience, and the outcome. (We all have them at some point!) Make sure to explicitly link your experience to a specific idea (or ideas) in Dweck’s talk.
Most, if not all, of my schoolwork is/was done with a Fixed Mindset. Throughout elementary school I was praised for being smart and getting the answers right, which of course in turn made me happy. I associated good grades with making my parents and teachers happy, and so I assumed that as long as I kept it up, those around me would be happy. As I got into middle and high school and classes started getting harder, I realized that I hadn’t actually learned any skills on how to do certain tasks. I never learned how to study, because in previous years as long as I paid attention I would do fine on tests. I never learned real critical thinking skills because anything I didn’t know I would ask someone else for help with. When I first failed a test in high school I thought it was just because I was stupid, and that I couldn’t be helped. Looking back, all I really needed to do was find a way for me to learn that material instead of just memorizing it for a little while and then moving on. Dweek mentions in her talk that students with a Fixed Mindset often try to find someone who did worse than them on tests when they didn’t do well, just to make themselves feel better. I think I did this in high school whenever I got a grade I didn’t like, which was not good for my learning habits. I had a very Fixed Mindset about my abilities and thought that I couldn’t improve. I am in the process now of trying to have a Growth Mindset, but it can be difficult.
Growth mindset can be defined as willing to take on a challenge and grow from it, even if it doesn’t go the way you had hoped. A quote that describes this mindset is “I love a challenge!” People with fixed mindsets feel that when they fail, they are not good enough and are not willing to learn from their experience. They would rather give up or cheat than try again or learn how to correct their mistakes. “I look at someone who did worse than I did to feel good about myself.” The first way to stimulate a growth mindset is to praise wisely. “Praise the process that kids engage with.” This will create kids who are “hardy and resilient.” The second way is called ‘Rewarding yet’. Carol Dweck teamed up with game scientists and created a math game that rewards the process instead of the outcome. “We got more effort, more strategies, more engagement over longer periods of time, and more perseverance when they hit harder math problems.” These strategies seem reasonable to me. If I had grown up learning this way, I feel like I would be less daunted to try new things and make mistakes/learn from them. Dweck suggests that intelligence is not based around outcome. Instead she suggests that it’s based on effort and resilience. I think her model of intelligence makes sense because she proves that with the ‘Growth Mindset’, kids are more likely to try again and learn from their experiences when making mistakes. “In one year, fourth grade students in the south Bronx, way behind, became the number one fourth grade class in the state of new york on the state math test.” One experience I’ve had with a fixed mindset was my first experience with swimming. My grandparents live on a lake in New Hampshire and when I was young, all my older cousins could swim and I could not. Every attempt I made, I was fearful and ended up needing floaties or assistance. For the longest time, I was convinced that I could not swim and that it would simply never happen for me. I was jealous of my cousins, but I eventually was forced to overcome my fear. Thankfully I can swim now, but I would have learned much quicker if I had approached swimming with a Growth Mindset.
– In the Ted Talk by Carol Dweck, she talked about two terms: Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset. She said that students with a Growth Mindset “understood their abilities could be developed,” but students with a Fixed Mindset felt that “their intelligence had been up for judgment, and they failed. Instead of luxuriating in the power of yet, they were gripped in the tyranny of now.” In other words, people with growth mindsets are open to challenges because they allow students to improve, while people with fixed mindsets give up more easily and do not improve as effectively.
-Dweck says that in order to build a “bridge to yet” or foster a Growth Mindset, we must praise success in a wise way. She says we must praise “their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement.” This ensures that students do not classify improvement solely as results. She also says that we must reward the process that students do, regardless of success, because it causes them to try new things even if they are difficult. I really like these mindsets because they are progressive and encourage students to be positive instead of pessimistic.
-Dweck suggests that intelligence or smarts is not measured by talent or luck. ‘Smarts’ should not be measured by being able to retain information and spit it back out, but by having a state of mind to understand big ideas and be able to effectively work through issues.
-A time that I overcame a fixed mindset was when I was learning a really hard song on the piano. I had been working on it for months and wanted to give up and move onto an easier song. I was able to finish the song by changing the way I approached it, and changed my practicing habits. After I took a step back, worked through the song section by section, I was able to finally finish it. This is an example of how I developed a growth mindset about practicing piano, I had to change my mindset and focus on the process instead of wanting to jump straight to the final product.
Growth mindset is the ability to go after a challenge rather than run away from it. One is able to understand that they are not able to accomplish something at this very moment but will in the future. Dweck describes this as people who “understood that their abilities could be developed.” On the other hand, a fixed mindset is when you believe that you are not able to do something and leave it at that. “Instead of luxuriating in the power of yet, they were gripped in the tyranny of now.” This quote is able to depict the true meaning of not having enough hope in yourself that you can accomplish something and being stuck in your own restrictive thoughts.
One way to simulate a growth mindset is to control how one praises children. One needs to comment on the process and effort not the overall accomplishment. “students were rewarded for effort, strategy and progress…we got more effort, more strategies, more engagement…” I feel as though this is reasonable approach because it encourages kids to fail and show them that it is ok to fail.
Another way to simulate a growth mindset is to use the word yet simulating a potential for success in the future. It “give kids greater confidence, give them a path into the future that creates greater persistence” I feel as though this is also a reasonable approach because it is one simple word that can change a whole mindset.
Dweck’s model of intelligence explains that we cannot base children’s success on how smart they are. One must base their success on progress and effort. “ This process praise creates kids who are hardy and resilient.” Her model of intelligence is able to encourage the new generation to try and possibly fail rather than not trying at all.
A fixed mindset moment that I experienced is when I refused to do a climbing course because I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do it. I thought to myself that I was too small, and I was scared of falling and failing. I was very young and inexperienced in climbing. I saw a challenge and didn’t know how to approach it so I decided that I wouldn’t even try. That time I ended up not doing it but the next time I was back I had enough support and forced myself to try and I completed the course.
“They believed their abilities could grow, this is called a growth mindset.” a growth mindset is a mindset where a person is willing to learn. They will not hide from a problem they will try and find a way to learn from the issue and deal with it in the best way that they possibly can. To describe a fixed mindset she says “Their intelligence had been up for judgment and they failed”. To clarify she is saying that the students did not try to think hard to solve the problem at hand. Instead, they hid from it and decided there is nothing they could do about it.
One way to stimulate a growth mindset would be to practice praising wisely. Carol Dweck says in the ted talk, “Praise the process they engage in.” By this carol is saying to praise hard work instead of praising the results that they came up with. Praising the result that the students come up with will hurt the kids that worked hard and could not come up with the correct answer or result in which they were looking for.
Carol Dweck’s different notion of intelligence is about hard work over always being correct. She believes that a person who is able to have the strength of mind to work hard towards a certain goal is more intelligent than somebody who is able to get the answer more quickly. She also takes a more scientific approach to the matter. She says “Every time they push out of their comfort zone, the neurons in their brain can form new, stronger connections.” She is saying working harder than you normally would, will cause your brain to actually become stronger through connections.
A time in my life when I had a fixed mindset was in fifth grade my teacher told me I was lazy and not smart so I did not try and I stopped caring. I believed her when she said that. I started putting less effort into learning the material and started daydreaming more often in class instead of paying attention to what she had to say. This was obviously a fixed mindset because I did not challenge myself to try harder. I should have used what she said as motivation to prove her wrong instead of becoming exactly what she had described me as.
Growth mindset
“They understood that their abilities could be developed.” No matter how old or how young, our brains are never done learning new things. Yes, we are “fully developed” at the age of 25 but the growth does not stop. Humans can be so intelligent and understand the world in a way that no other species can.
Fixed mindset
“And in study after study, they have run from difficulty.” When humans face a challenge in life, they believe the easiest thing to do is run. Run from the problem and avoid it at all costs. What they do not understand is that you must go through it to overcome it, not around.
“But praising the process that kids engage in, their effort, their focus…”
I like the idea of praising because of hard work and not because of the things such as academics that come easy to certain kids. This way everyone is rewarded equally and there are no advantages.
“But praising the process that kids engage in…, their improvement.”
Same idea but with improvement over time. Improvement shows a consistent pattern of hard work which is always rewarding.
In my own history, I would say freshman year of high school. Middle school classes were so easy, and I was entering this new place and didn’t realize how quickly things would change. Teachers and peers held me to an academic level I hadn’t quite reached yet, and that set me back. When I was set back, I gave up on myself. I didn’t put in the effort to catch up or try my best, I just made it through to make it through, not to push myself or care for learning anything new. Yes, I am a quite different person now, but sometimes I can fall back into that mindset, but I am trying my hardest not to.
1) A growth mindset is when a person is willing and open to learn and try new things. A fixed mindset is when a person only learns what they already know and that they are slowly and barely learning new things. “They understand that their abilities could be developed. They had what I call a growth mindset. But the other students felt it was tragic, catastrophic. From their more fixed perspective, their intelligence had been up for judgement and they failed”(lines 11-14)
2) Praise wisely and not intelligence or talent and paise the process. “First of all, we can praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent…But praising the process that kids engage in: their efforts, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement”(lines 30-32). These do seem reasonable because the reason that students think that their grades are a reflection on themself is because we aren’t praising students just learning new things.
3) I see her model of smarts being something that teachers are going to use in the future. “This happened because the meaning of effort and difficulty were transformed. Before, effort and difficulty made them feel dumb, made them feel like giving up, but now, effort and difficulty, that’s when their neurons are making new connections, stronger connections. That’s when they’re getting smarter”(lines 58-61).
4) One time that I had a fixed mindset while learning is when I was in math class and I wasn’t learning anything because I already knew it. And I thought that this was the hardest math so I beat myself up. And because I was in the mindset that I was weird for already know everything, so I didn’t try. Once I got to high school and started doing math and realized that there were students younger than me in those classes, made me realize that some people were just better in math, so I stopped thinking I was the weird one.
A growth mindset is described by Dweck as “ so I gave 10-year-olds problems that were slightly too hard for them. Some of them reacted in a shockingly positive way. They said things like, ‘I love a challenge,’ or, ‘You know, I was hoping this would be informative.’ They understood that their abilities could be developed. They had what I call a growth mindset.” A growth mindset is a mindset that appreciates challenges and learning. Dweck describes a fixed mindset as “But other students felt it was tragic, catastrophic. From their more fixed mindset perspective, their intelligence had been up for judgment, and they failed.” She describes a fixed mindset as being scared or fearful of being challenged. Dweck offers some examples on how to “build a bridge to yet” when she states, “First of all, we can praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent. That has failed. Don’t do that anymore. But praising the process that kids engage in, their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement.” I agree with this because some children might receive more praise than others just because they are naturally gifted. This is unfair to the other children who are putting in the same amount of effort, but are not as gifted as the other children. Another example of how to build a bridge to yet, is when she states, “Just the words”yet “ or”not yet,” we’re finding, give kids greater confidence, give them a path into the future that creates greater persistence. And we can actually change students’ mindsets.” I understand how this one can benefit the children. Changing their mindsets to all be the same however, seems a little counterintuitive, and would ruin creativity. Dweck insists that some people automatically are disadvantaged just because they may be poor, or dont have the resources and opportunities. I agree with some of Dweck’s notions, but forming a collective mindset does not seem to be beneficial for society. It may help children learn but we would definitely regress in the way of art. One time that I had a fixed mindset was during covid. I really struggled with remote learning and did not put any effort into anything. I never thought I would break out of the mindset, I never wanted to do anything in school because I was so behind I just did not see a point. Kind of like the kids who were faced with a challenge and they just shut down and got scared. I ended up breaking the cycle in the summer when I decided to shave my head. It sort of resembled a new beginning for me that help me just reset and focus on the future and not the past.
Dweck talks about how to build a “Bridge to yet” and ways to do it. One of the two ways to praise wisely. This way doesn’t include “praising intelligence or by talent”, yet by praising the process of how kids engage in while achieving the goal. Dweck created a game that rewards for the process kids get throughout the game, this was able to help give kids more confidence by pushing them out of their comfort zone. There are many positives and negatives to this way of changing the you’re praised. In my personal experiences I respond better to positive on noticeable accomplishments I achieve during the process than being praised on my “Intelligence”. My own personal experience where I was praised for my process was when I started to change my mindset and mental health. After reading one of my favorite books and watching a movie I finally started learning more about how to change my mind set to achieve the things I want in life. For years I have talked to people about these certain aspects, and I still do get praised on how intelligent I am about the topic, but I also do get praised on how much growth the process has brought me.
A growth mindset offers a much more flexible and engaging approach to learning. Dweck often used the term “not yet” to suggest they will eventually get there through critical thinking. She said kids with this mindset respond along the lines of “I love a challenge”, so it’s evident which kids have what mindset. A fixed mindset refers to kids running from a challenge, kids who are stuck in the “tyranny of now”. Dweck says these children are more likely to cheat than to study for a test, and that they’re really only worried about the next test score, not long term learning.
One of the ways she offered to stimulate a growth mindset is praise. She makes sure to emphasize not to praise “intelligence or talent” but to praise “the process that kids engage in”. This idea seems very reasonable to me because it lets kids know that they’re doing the right thing and that they’re on the right track despite some bumps in the road. The other way she mentioned is through a math game that gives kids learning points through “effort, strategy, and engagement, rather than just “getting questions right”. I think this is a great idea because it allows kids to learn through playing games, which I can imagine most kids enjoy more than simply doing problems with no reward.
I see Dweck’s idea of intelligence as being mainly focused on children with a growth mindset. She said that rather than effort and difficulty making students “feel dumb” or “feeling like giving up” it should make their “nuerons make new connections, stronger connections.” I agree with this idea of smarts, mainly because one of my favorite coaches always stressed “process over outcome” and has been stuck in my head for a while now.
A vivid experience I have with a fixed mindset is when I transferred to a private high school my freshman year. For most of my elementary and middle school days classes were a breeze and I passed with flying colors. When freshman year came around in a new, much different learning environment offered many challenges. I was really in what Dweck referred to as the “tyranny of now”. I was really just focused on getting through each class without getting called on or embarrassing myself. My first sub B grade was a real culture shock to me, and I knew I had to take action. I had to expect challenges along the way. When they inevitably came, I couldn’t run from or avoid them, but embrace and conquer them, just like Dweck offered.