Week 8 Growth Mindset

Growth:  Pixabay

I have a love/hate relationship with Growth Mindset.  I like the idea and I think it is especially helpful for little kids, but since I never used it growing up, I find it hard to use on myself.  I definitely think I have grown up using some of the characteristics of the program but I still get frustrated sometimes when I am doing something difficult- who doesn't? 

I think I do a lot of the things on the chart in the directions here, but there are some things I don't do very well and need to improve on.  I usually try to do my best work which is above the bare minimum.  I am usually pretty self motivated because I know where the goal is but it can be harder for me when the goal is not in sight.  I am bad about staying in my comfort zone and I need to work on that by trying new things.  I am also bad about focusing on grades- I always want to keep my grades up and I am unhappy with my grades when they aren't good even when I am learning.  However I think that when you are learning the grades are high as a result.  I am not comfortable with change and that is something that I need to work on in school and in life.  If I can try more new things little by  little perhaps I will get used to new things.  I think I have taken a long term view and set good goals for myself and I am working hard on reaching them.  I could work on taking more risks and being more confident, especially when I am writing stories.  I could also work on trying to do harder things and expecting to work hard on them.  I like to do my work and get it done so I have a hard time choosing to do something that is more difficult than it needs to be.  I am usually pretty good about working ahead and not leaving things to the last minute so I don't think I really need to work on that.  I get excited about school when it is a subject that interests me and I am really hoping I get into the dietetics program I applied for because it will be full of subject matter I am truly interested in.  This class has helped me to learn to be open to all feedback, not just positive feedback.  I have also learned that I can learn from my peers and from my mistakes.  I have also learned that I can make a lot of progress in a little amount of time, but I still need to learn to ask more questions. 

Overall, growth mindset is a little bit mixed up for me.  I feel like I have accomplished some of the things that are good for me from this technique, and there are others that I could definitely work on. 

Growth Mindset: An Introduction

The Brain Pixabay

The mind is a powerful thing.  We are always hearing about new studies telling us the best way to learn and new strategies to get the most out of our brain.  Growth Mindset is one of those new and upcoming strategies that can help us learn. 

I first heard about Carol Dweck and her Growth Mindset studies last semester when I was taking Physiology.  Our teacher had us do an assignment about having growth mindset versus a closed mindset, and how to change it.  We took a quiz and talked about how we planned to use our growth mindset to pass the class.  Unfortunately, I believe this class was using the concept of Growth Mindset all wrong.  They used it as a way to make the class so much harder than it should have been, and everyone in the class was struggling so much that they ended up giving out about 6 to 8 percentage points of extra credit at the end. 

I really like the idea of Growth Mindset, and I believe it can be especially helpful to small children, because it helps everyone get on the same level; whether they are from a good or bad background, and whether or not they have the same resources.  I like that this method of teaching lets children know that they are all more than capable of doing whatever they want to do.  I think that the closed mindset really does hold a lot of children back in life, especially when they are in sad situations where they hear that they are not good enough, or that they will never have the opportunity to go to college. 

Growth Mindset can be helpful to all kinds of people.  For me personally, I have always challenged myself in school.  I always wanted to get the work done faster, and I ALWAYS had to have an A when I was younger.  Unfortunately, while I think that Growth Mindset could be really beneficial, I don't think it is necessarily for everyone when it comes to school.  Some people (like myself) are easily stressed, and when a Growth Mindset is applied to a classroom in the wrong way (like the Physiology class I mentioned above), it does not produce a conductive learning environment. 

When applied properly, the idea of Growth Mindset can help us to build our self confidence and grow, which is why I believe it would be very beneficial to young people with developing brains.  It will give them a "you can do it!" attitude and they will be able to reach their dreams. 

I plan to continue to try to use Growth Mindset to help myself learn and achieve my goals.  I want to challenge myself to create good blogs in this class, and as the blog for the class suggested, I want to try to vary my writing style when I do my creative writings.  I am also applying Growth Mindset to other areas of my life by trying to change my sleeping, eating, and exercising habits to be healthier.  I may even apply growth mindset to my hobbies, and challenge myself to create a blog with my vintage glass collection, so that I will find more information on each piece and accumulate it in one place!