Growth Mindset

 Growth Mindset

After watching the videos of Carol Dweck discussing the "Growth Mindset", I certainly have to say that I agree with everything she said. For those of you who haven't watched the videos (link, link, link),  I will summarize many of the key points for you. She is essentially saying that we are making a large mistake in the approach that we take in education. What do I mean by that? She sampled a group of children and gave them something that was a bit more complex than they were ready for (intentionally), and examined the results. Some of the children appreciated the challenge, while others did not. Those who did not, said that they would likely cheat the next time or even compare their score to a peer who did worse than them. Everyone is chasing that "A" and the social validation that comes with it. This mentality goes with them into adulthood. Additionally, there is a tendency to want things to be easy which Carol sees as problematic. She claims that when things are easy, you are not learning as much as you could. One of her main points is that we should chase a challenge and not be discouraged when we don't do as well as we had hoped. This was the "not yet" aspect of her TED Talk. We should process and learn from the error(s) and use what we have then learned to correct and continue to develop. Pushing yourself out of the traditional "comfort zone" is essential to a positive and effective learning environment. The tradition comfort zone is where things are easy, and Carol made the suggestion that we shift the "comfort zone" to be where things are difficult. This fundamental change must begin with the youth. They will grow up with the Growth Mindset and that is all they will know.

Carol Dweck - Via Wikipedia

I wanted to discuss my experience with the Growth Mindset and how it has altered my learning experience. Kindergarten through 12th grade, I always wanted my work to be easy. I never intentionally pushed myself. The only time I was pushed out of my comfort zone was when a teacher recognized that something was too easy for myself and my peers (which was infrequent). The result is that we were not maximizing our learning experience. I made good grades, but as Carol mentioned, that isn't what we should be chasing. I made a shift toward the Growth Mindset when I moved to Norman to attend college. I do continue to push myself out of my comfort zone and I have seen a very noticeable difference in both the classroom as well as the cockpit. I personally believe that complacency is probably the single greatest hindrance in the learning process.