On small section that I found interesting was, " As a New York Times article points out, failure has been transformed from and action (I failed) to an identity (I am a failure)."
It was interesting today to look at the mindsets during school today. We were working on the classroom tablets and the students were taking a placement test on Scootpad with math. They were asked to try to answer a lot of unfamiliar questions and could not go back to make any changes if they were wrong. As they were proceeding through the 30 questions in the right upper corner it would have a number and if they were correct that number would turn green and red for incorrect. Most of the students struggled because there was a lot of questions that they did not really know how to answer so a lot of the best math students were really freaking out because they were getting a lot wrong and they had that constant reminder on the screen. Many of them were complaining and commenting on how hard it was but at the end they were shown what they got wrong and some help for the future. So many of the students were so frustrated that by the end they would not even look at this and clicked right through it. It reminded me about a lot of chapter 2's vignettes about fix mind set students wanting to look at students work that did worse than them and not enjoying the challenge. There was really no consoling them and trying to tell them that it was ok it was just to find out what help we needed on but they were almost unreasonable. It was interesting and really brought me back to this chapter and how so many students taking not doing well on something as being a failure.
Sounds like you made them step way out of their comfort zones. Many students, especially the stronger ones, do have a fixed mindset because society has taught them the ideas from Chapter 2 about how "smart" means things come easy to you and that if you have to put forth a lot of effort you must not be very smart. Kids think that if you have to try harder you must not be intelligent. The growth mindset is something that we are going to have to teach our students since much of their experience in school has, unfortunately, been based on the fixed.
Mrs. Postilli's comment about needing to teach children about mindset because they come to us with specific preconceived notions is valid. It is imperative that students learn that hard work is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of dedication. Too often, students have the message that their hard work represents some sort of deficiency and that truly able students don't have to work hard, communicated to them. It is up to us, as educators, to help our students see the value of hard work by pushing them, and then providing prompt, specific praise that is targeted on the effort they put in rather than on their individual abilities.
These comments brought me back to the beginning of the chapter and the quote from Benjamin Barber, "I divide the world into learners and non-learners" (16). The author goes on to discuss the role a fixed-mindset has on a non-learner. I love the concept of "inquiry-based" learning (or inquiry-based research as we refer to it in the library). However, how do students go from the insatiable desire to know, learn and grow...to "Eh, whatever!" "I can't" or "I don't care." Brandon's example illustrates this so completely. I tell my freshmen that when I started teaching in the library I worked at Ginther School with kindergarteners and 1st graders...where they had an "exuberant" quest for learning...everything was "Why?" or "How?" I ask them to channel their inner 5 year olds and to start asking why and how! Don't worry about the grade, focus on the learning and the quest. They often look at me like I am crazy. I think Mrs. Postilli is right, we need to teach them (or remind them) what a growth mindset is! I understand the need for validation that Dweck talks about on page 15, don't we all crave validation for a job well done?! But, we as educators, need to reevaluate how we give this validation. I love the quote from the 7th grader who states, "I think intelligence is something you have to work for...it isn't just given to you" (17). Perhaps this is the messages our students need to get?
I am really beginning to understand the importance of a growth mindset. I enjoyed reading about the many examples through out this chapter. The one that really resonated with me was from Miranda, who concluded, "If you only go through life doing stuff that is easy, shame on you" (21).
And in this era of testing...it is also frustrating to read that with a fixed mind set, one test can give a child the power to define them. How sad is that...fixed mind set or not.
Just a n opinion...it is often not just one test that causes the self-defined failure. Many of these kids have experienced years of it. Then we make them sit for tests knowing they will fail only to make them sit for more... The system is set up not necessarily to challenge. Some of our kids are placed in classes that are beyond a challenge at this point. Just saying!
When I was in college, one of my professors (my psychology professor) actually talked about the importance of praising children by saying things like, "you are working very hard" rather than, "you are so smart." It made sense when he gave us that advice, and now, reading about mindset, it fits in perfectly.
I struggled reading this chapter as it kept giving anecdotes about all of the success a person will gain with a growth mindset. It finally started talking about the failures that can still occur with a growth mindset and the other factors that contribute to the whole picture (more resources - "Rich, educated, connected effort works better" p. 47). Page 48 talks a bit about how effort is not everything and effort is not created equally. I found this interesting because it appears that we see many different mindsets in our students (and ourselves) and when we look at the whole picture, we better understand what makes these kids tick. We tell our kids to keep trying and to not give up, but our society and our value as a school is based on grades, scores, and tests. It is nice to say that the journey is through the learning and improving, but it seems that improvement alone isn't enough for the sake of the schools and their expectations. The kids are constantly faced with testing and failure, including those that keep trying. At some point, this has to wear a person down. We are constantly playing cheerleader to many kids because we, as an academic society, are judged by grades. If we are looking for personal improvement, the growth mindset is extremely valuable. This needs to be taught and nurtured from the start, and then we would see the positive effects in later years. I do see the value and importance of the growth mindset, yet there are many factors involved and Dweck mentions that she separates growth and fixed for the sake of simplicity.
One quote that I pulled out of this chapter was, "the fixed mindset does not allow people the luxury of becoming. They have to already be." (Pg. 25) This makes me think of my two nephews who are night and day. The one nephew was always very good in school and got into advanced classes. When he suddenly had to work hard to get the grades that he was used to, he ended up deciding that he didn't belong in the advanced class. My other nephew has always struggled with school, and always had to work hard to get by. Now, his hard work is paying off, and he is getting better grades than the older brother. He is becoming "smart," whereas the older brother has always just considered himself "smart." I can definitely see the differences between the two mindsets when I look at them. Hopefully, the older nephew will eventually catch on and change his mindset.
Wow, that's pretty cool that you've witnessed the growth mindset at work! I'm thinking I would have a conversation with your older nephew about the power mindset can have.
It was interesting today to look at the mindsets during school today. We were working on the classroom tablets and the students were taking a placement test on Scootpad with math. They were asked to try to answer a lot of unfamiliar questions and could not go back to make any changes if they were wrong. As they were proceeding through the 30 questions in the right upper corner it would have a number and if they were correct that number would turn green and red for incorrect. Most of the students struggled because there was a lot of questions that they did not really know how to answer so a lot of the best math students were really freaking out because they were getting a lot wrong and they had that constant reminder on the screen. Many of them were complaining and commenting on how hard it was but at the end they were shown what they got wrong and some help for the future. So many of the students were so frustrated that by the end they would not even look at this and clicked right through it. It reminded me about a lot of chapter 2's vignettes about fix mind set students wanting to look at students work that did worse than them and not enjoying the challenge. There was really no consoling them and trying to tell them that it was ok it was just to find out what help we needed on but they were almost unreasonable. It was interesting and really brought me back to this chapter and how so many students taking not doing well on something as being a failure.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you made them step way out of their comfort zones. Many students, especially the stronger ones, do have a fixed mindset because society has taught them the ideas from Chapter 2 about how "smart" means things come easy to you and that if you have to put forth a lot of effort you must not be very smart. Kids think that if you have to try harder you must not be intelligent. The growth mindset is something that we are going to have to teach our students since much of their experience in school has, unfortunately, been based on the fixed.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Postilli's comment about needing to teach children about mindset because they come to us with specific preconceived notions is valid. It is imperative that students learn that hard work is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of dedication. Too often, students have the message that their hard work represents some sort of deficiency and that truly able students don't have to work hard, communicated to them. It is up to us, as educators, to help our students see the value of hard work by pushing them, and then providing prompt, specific praise that is targeted on the effort they put in rather than on their individual abilities.
ReplyDeleteThese comments brought me back to the beginning of the chapter and the quote from Benjamin Barber, "I divide the world into learners and non-learners" (16). The author goes on to discuss the role a fixed-mindset has on a non-learner. I love the concept of "inquiry-based" learning (or inquiry-based research as we refer to it in the library). However, how do students go from the insatiable desire to know, learn and grow...to "Eh, whatever!" "I can't" or "I don't care." Brandon's example illustrates this so completely. I tell my freshmen that when I started teaching in the library I worked at Ginther School with kindergarteners and 1st graders...where they had an "exuberant" quest for learning...everything was "Why?" or "How?" I ask them to channel their inner 5 year olds and to start asking why and how! Don't worry about the grade, focus on the learning and the quest. They often look at me like I am crazy. I think Mrs. Postilli is right, we need to teach them (or remind them) what a growth mindset is! I understand the need for validation that Dweck talks about on page 15, don't we all crave validation for a job well done?! But, we as educators, need to reevaluate how we give this validation. I love the quote from the 7th grader who states, "I think intelligence is something you have to work for...it isn't just given to you" (17). Perhaps this is the messages our students need to get?
ReplyDeleteI am really beginning to understand the importance of a growth mindset. I enjoyed reading about the many examples through out this chapter. The one that really resonated with me was from Miranda, who concluded, "If you only go through life doing stuff that is easy, shame on you" (21).
And in this era of testing...it is also frustrating to read that with a fixed mind set, one test can give a child the power to define them. How sad is that...fixed mind set or not.
Just a n opinion...it is often not just one test that causes the self-defined failure. Many of these kids have experienced years of it. Then we make them sit for tests knowing they will fail only to make them sit for more... The system is set up not necessarily to challenge. Some of our kids are placed in classes that are beyond a challenge at this point. Just saying!
DeleteWhen I was in college, one of my professors (my psychology professor) actually talked about the importance of praising children by saying things like, "you are working very hard" rather than, "you are so smart." It made sense when he gave us that advice, and now, reading about mindset, it fits in perfectly.
DeleteI struggled reading this chapter as it kept giving anecdotes about all of the success a person will gain with a growth mindset. It finally started talking about the failures that can still occur with a growth mindset and the other factors that contribute to the whole picture (more resources - "Rich, educated, connected effort works better" p. 47). Page 48 talks a bit about how effort is not everything and effort is not created equally. I found this interesting because it appears that we see many different mindsets in our students (and ourselves) and when we look at the whole picture, we better understand what makes these kids tick. We tell our kids to keep trying and to not give up, but our society and our value as a school is based on grades, scores, and tests. It is nice to say that the journey is through the learning and improving, but it seems that improvement alone isn't enough for the sake of the schools and their expectations. The kids are constantly faced with testing and failure, including those that keep trying. At some point, this has to wear a person down. We are constantly playing cheerleader to many kids because we, as an academic society, are judged by grades. If we are looking for personal improvement, the growth mindset is extremely valuable. This needs to be taught and nurtured from the start, and then we would see the positive effects in later years. I do see the value and importance of the growth mindset, yet there are many factors involved and Dweck mentions that she separates growth and fixed for the sake of simplicity.
ReplyDeleteOne quote that I pulled out of this chapter was, "the fixed mindset does not allow people the luxury of becoming. They have to already be." (Pg. 25) This makes me think of my two nephews who are night and day. The one nephew was always very good in school and got into advanced classes. When he suddenly had to work hard to get the grades that he was used to, he ended up deciding that he didn't belong in the advanced class. My other nephew has always struggled with school, and always had to work hard to get by. Now, his hard work is paying off, and he is getting better grades than the older brother. He is becoming "smart," whereas the older brother has always just considered himself "smart." I can definitely see the differences between the two mindsets when I look at them. Hopefully, the older nephew will eventually catch on and change his mindset.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's pretty cool that you've witnessed the growth mindset at work! I'm thinking I would have a conversation with your older nephew about the power mindset can have.
ReplyDelete