Monday, November 3, 2014
Chapter 1
Dweck says, "... as you begin to understand the fixed and growth mindsets, you will see exactly how one thing leads to another-- how a belief that your qualities are carved in stone leads to a host of thoughts and actions, and how a belief that your qualities can be cultivated leads to a host of different thoughts and actions..." What connections can you make to this?
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If a person believes that change cannot occur, that person will not bother trying to create change. However, if a person believes that he/she can foster growth within him/herself, he/she will take specific actions to make that change occur. It goes back to the basis of one's beliefs. A belief is a choice, though, and if a person makes a choice to change, then that change will occur to some level. I do believe part of who we are is set to a degree. This does not mean that it cannot be improved upon in some way. I look at successful people in the world and analyze how they became successful. It is rarely on talent alone. It appears to be a combination of some innate skill that, in combination with other qualities like positivity and perseverance, pushed a person to his/her potential. I read a book called The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother which compared Eastern and Western parenting styles. There was an idea in there that the Eastern parenting believes that kids won't "break" when pushed, however, Western parenting is afraid that their children will break and self-esteem will suffer; yet, the Eastern parenting seemed to produce kids that accepted challenges, pushed harder, and expected more of themselves. They possessed the idea that there was always room for improvement. That belief fostered growth in many ways. Since the expectation was that there is more potential, the kids were not satisfied with mediocrity. Yes, there were flaws in this book, but the overall idea supports the growth mindset.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that connection Maria! We see the effects of Western parenting all the time in school. I never made things easy for my kids when it came to school and they have wonderful work ethics and respect for learning. I do believe that some level of "talent" needs to exist though. We use that argument all the time when our students tell us they are going to be professional athletes...
DeleteI never make things easy for my kids either, however, because they have some level of "talent" that gives them the mindset that they don't have to put forth the effort. This is where I hope that I can teach them to have a growth mindset so that they aren't crushed by setbacks and failures.
DeleteThis quote makes me think of how our mindsets not only impact our own actions and thoughts, but our words and conversations with others can impact the mindsets of others. Saying "you're smart" versus "you worked hard" seem to be similar compliments, but each promotes a very different mindset. I actually had a conversation with one of my Kindergarteners this week after he said that he does not like writing because it is "soooooooooo hard" (his words :) ). I explained how he can choose what he does when he feels like something is too hard for him. He can either say "I'm not going to even try because I can't do it and next time it will try to trick me again" or say "I'm going to work hard and make my brain figure it out so that I learn and then next time I won't think I will be tricked". He seemed really surprised that a teacher would understand his feelings and where he was coming from rather than just telling him "do your work" or "you can do it". I realized that maybe most children (and maybe people in general) are not used to talking openly and explicitly about feeling challenged/not smart, making the concept of mindsets foreign. I know that it is easier to just give quick automatic responses, especially in super busy classrooms, but I feel like the time and energy it would take to match our words to our mindsets will have huge payoffs for our students.
ReplyDeleteYou made me think hard about working with students with disabilities and how we avoid having realistic conversations about where students "are" and what we hope for them. Maria's comparison of Eastern and Western parenting may be a reason for that. Who wants to tell a parent just how limited their child is, when we are all looking for that student to work hard and persevere to his or her fullest potential. I don't know. I loved the way you addressed his complaint though.. great job!
DeleteI think that the section on IQ illustrates this perfectly. I found it interesting that Binet never meant for IQ to be a person's unchangeable intelligence, rather a tool to design educational programs that would get students that were "at risk" back on track in the public schools. When I was in high school the guidance counselors would meet with kids in 10th grade to talk about what path they wanted to take after they graduated. The counselors were always conscious of covering the IQ where it was written on the student's permanent file. I asked my counselor why they did that. He responded that they didn't want students to be defined and influenced by a number. I wonder if these guidance counselors knew that their mindset was one of growth? Each student could choose to pursue whatever they wanted without being defined by their IQ. Instead of letting students have the opportunity to take the path of the "self-fulfilling prophecy" of their IQ they were pushed to follow their passions. Unfortunately not every person guiding students' future were of that mindset. I have started think about my own teenage daughter and know that she has a fixed mindset. Her self esteem falters constantly because of this. She will talk about "giving up" or quitting whenever she has a setback in school or dance. It is scary how many of the descriptors she fits. The blame game and never being wrong are two of her biggest coping mechanisms. If things get too challenging she loses interest and shuts down. Now that I understand she can be taught to have a growth mindset I feel hopeful and can't wait to get to the chapter on it!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading chapter one and just listening to different conversations around me....it has become like a game to me to try and figure out who might have a fixed mind set and who might have a growth mind set based on the comments they are making. I find myself putting those folks into mental image categories of who will be putting on their big boy and girl pants and giving things a go or who will be sitting in the corner pouting and sucking their thumb because things aren't going their way. Now, how do we coax those in the corner to come out and get them to understand that the big pants aren't so bad and that they can trust and be successful with the growth mind set?!
ReplyDeleteI think Liz poses a great question.....how do we coax/motivate those with a fixed mindset to embrace the endless possibilities a positive mindset can have on one's life? I feel I deal with this on a daily basis in all facets of my life. I try and celebrate small successes and highlight these small successes when I can. I think we also have to concentrate on what we can control in our lives and not allow the constant obstacles we face to undermine our determination to grow. I think we have to recognize qualitative improvements in our students, colleagues, and administration before we expect to see quantitative improvements. I don't think we can expect huge changes over night, but I've witnessed the growth of mindset firsthand in some of our students and staff which is a wonderful feeling. We have a long road ahead of us, but being able to openly discuss mindset with all of you is a great first step.
DeleteI'm hoping the third time is a charm - I have typed this twice already...
ReplyDeleteI recently attended a workshop about RTI. The presenter cited Hattie's work, and it makes even more sense to me after reading chapter one. The number one indicator of a child's success is self-efficacy. That shocked me after hearing how little influence other variables had. After reading the chapter, I understand more that students had to believe that they could improve with effort, and then they had to put forth that effort. I think too often kids who struggle have given up on trying at all any more. It is easier for them to not work and fail if they believe that they will fail anyway.
I really want to be sure to have a growth mindset for myself, and I want to be able to help my students share in that growth mindset!
I will be the first to admit that I have a fixed mindset, so I am curious to see if I can change that over time while reading this book. While reading the first chapter, I struggled with a few ideas. We all experience failure and learn our strengths and weaknesses over time. The way I look at it, you can only say "I will get them next time" so much. What is wrong with accepting that we have areas that we will never excel? I believe in effort but when all efforts fail, then what? Also, what about non-motivated students? How do you foster growth mindset when it is more a lacking of caring? Do non-motivated students see a hard task as failure? Just questions to think about. I am hoping the book will offer suggestions and answer some of my questions along the way.
ReplyDeleteThis book has made me think about my own thoughts when dealing with different challenges. As I was reading, I thought about some of the challenges that I have faced and the complex emotions that have impacted my own mindset. When initially making a mistake, I have found myself in a fixed mindset and been afraid that those setbacks would define me. This makes me think about my students and how they may feel when they struggle to comprehend something. I think that things can be overcome and people can maintain a growth mindset, but need some success to reinforce themselves.
ReplyDeleteAlso as I reflect, I am thinking about how much I have depended on my family to support me in those times where I could easily fall into a fixed mindset. This reflection makes me think about how important it is for the support network around us to have individuals in it that have this growth mindset. As a father of two young children, I want to hold onto this thought and push myself to always be that supportive figure that will encourage my children to have that growth mindset. Also, as a first grade teacher I hope to model this mindset for my students in the hope they will follow this and it will help them get through the challenges of life.
I was intrigued with the concept that you could be fixed mind set with regard to intelligence, but have a growth mind set for personality. I think I probably fall into this category. But...was happy to know that mind set can be changed! As Mrs. Postilli posted, I too was fascinated to learn that IQ was never intended to summarize a child's unchangeable intelligence...but rather it was developed as a way to identify students that might learn better in a different educational setting. This was eye-opening. How many students have been labeled or identified under this auspice...and what an impact it must have on their learning. Michelle Guerreri refers to this with regard to special ed students.
ReplyDeleteI think the line that resonated with me the most was on page 6: ...the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. As a parent I reflect on this chapter and wonder if I imparted on my children a growth vs fixed mindset. Both my children are now young adults, at crossroads in their lives with regard to school and careers. I am planning on emailing them this line! And they may get the book for Christmas.
I also liked the concept that, of course not everyone can be a Beethoven or Einstein. But with a growth mindset we need to embrace the idea that we don't know what could happen with years of "passion, toil or training."
I attended the Restorative Practices training and was fascinated at how much that connects with the idea of changeable mindsets and with mindset in general. The whole premise behind Restorative Justice is that people can learn, grow, and change if given an opportunity to truly make amends for harm they have caused. To accept Restorative Justice, one must really possess a growth mindset because the process does not always result in a "punishment" that is deemed appropriate by everyone who views it.
ReplyDeleteMy second comment regarding this is that I think it is important for us to work to change our students' mindsets. Many students come to us with a fixed mindset, particularly regarding intelligence. Helping students see that it is effort, not what they are born with, is critical to both engage and encourage them.
I was working with a student a few days ago who stated that he was not smart. I later heard that he was giving up in his reading class because he told the teacher that no matter what he did he would never be able to read. This leads him to be horrible in her class. Since he thinks he cannot learn to read, he doesn't try. Since he doesn't want to try he finds ways to keep distracted and pull others off task. We see this all of the time with our "behavior" problems. Often, students who are acting out in class, probably are the same students who have fixed mindsets. They give up on school or particular classes because they don't see the value of working hard to do well.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I actually had a conversation with the aforementioned student about growth mindset. He at least seemed willing to listen. I may not have won him over, yet, but I will keep trying!
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