Growth vs. A Fixed Mindset

In the Stanford University video Professor Carol Dweck discusses the difference between people with a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset. She begins by saying that people who have a fixed mindset go about their work trying to prove their intelligence and gauge success on how smart they appear to be. However, people with a growth mindset believe that the mind can grow and that intelligence is achieved through passion, studying and education. In order to test this theory they decided to set up an 8 session workshop to teach the growth mindset. The students in the study were divided into two groups. Half were taught study skills to try to increase their academic performance. The other half was given the study sills along with the sessions on growth mindset.

In the growth mindset workshops, students were taught how to apply their mindset to get optimal performance. Students are taught that mistakes are inevitable, however what you do with them makes the difference. She compares it to driving a race car, you have to be in the zone, the difference is after mistakes are made, can you stay in the zone.

At the end of the semester, the students who had just the study skills course showed no signs of improvement. On the other hand, the students who had the study skills session along with the mindset sessions showed significant progress and a rise in grades.

Dweck says that there are two groups in the world, one group is curious to learn and the others just want to feel smart. As a future teacher this is extremely important to remember. I think that it is important to never be complacent with where you are as a teacher. If you want to succeed, you must continue to exercise your brain. Teachers who get set in their ways and don't try new things lose the interest of the students. I think this is easier said than done though because this requires more time from teachers outside of class. I think that teachers need to share ideas and collaborate, learning and sharing ideas with one another is an easy way to pick up new ideas. I hope to be a teacher with a growth mindset.