In psychology you learn that positive reinforcement is a powerful tool. However, you need to make sure you are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTXrV0_3UjYreinforcing the correct behaviors. In this clip Carol Dweck discusses the difference between Growth and Fixed mindsets.
I am interested in your thoughts about the clip? Do schools need to focus on mindset more? Will a growth mindset lead students to have more GRIT? Does it give hope to those who have given up on school? Are we as teachers the problem in developing the wrong mindset among our students?
Looking forward to your response.
We are part of the problem and part of the solution. I really don't see any absolutes here, except that helping anyone establish a growth mindset will open new possibilities for them. Teachers/administrators/parents/students would all benefit from having growth mindsets. It is possible to change, one just has to want to and then try. Is that growth mindset?
ReplyDeleteThere is a relationship between growth mindset and GRIT, but one could also have a fixed mindset and still have GRIT, though the diversity of problems/tasks one chooses to encounter might be more limited in a fixed mindset. It is probably easier to teach GRIT to a growth mindset individual.
So, which is better for the individual? Who would be more successful? Growth + GRIT, Growth + Limited GRIT, Fixed +GRIT, Fixed + Limited GRIT.
How can we teach students to have a growth mindset and how can we teach ourselves?
I think that there are certain things that schools do, that kind of put all their students into easily sorted boxes. People will take the path of least resistance to the desired end, by telling students that anything they work on and turn in will be converted to an alphanumeric equivalent the school is discouraging individuality among the students. If schools were to attempt to emphasize a growth mindset and work ethic now, they would be met with resistance by the students and parents. For so long, schools have been focusing in on test scores and grades, that they have created a generation of students that have a hard time seeing beyond test scores and grades, with parents that only see test scores and grades.
ReplyDeleteWhilst a switch in focus would make the most sense from a holistic standpoint, I wouldn't want to be the test case. Until SAT scores aren't among the first things a college looks at, I think you'd be hard pushed to find anyone college bound willing to be a test case.
Slightly unrelated: is a growth mindset considered a teachable skill? If so, to what degree?
Amy,
DeleteFirst of all, having a growth mindset does not discourage you from getting good grades. It just puts the emphasis on the process not on the final result. It also does not reinforce the notion of the kid who does nothing that people call "smart" under the idea if he only tried.
Dweck has done research in which she taught students about the brain and how you can make yourself smarter. When convinced of this, children usually develop a growth mindset and also do better in school.
There are students who are thought of as naturally gifted. What many of us do not know is that their parents read to them, those kids read a lot and that this helped developed the talent they now have.
Thanks a lot for responding to the blog
Mindy sent this to me and gave me permission to put it on the blog
Deletehe way she talks is annoying but what she says is rather insightful.
I often find myself resentful of people who boil me down to "smart". I do well in school because I'm "smart". I am good at badminton because I'm a "smart" player. My knowledge of music theory is because I'm "naturally good at music". But the truth is all of this comes from years of conditioning. When I was in preschool and elementary school, I was a supremely voracious reader. I read Jane Eyre and Mark Twain when I was 10. My vocabulary, "innate" handle on grammar, and spelling abilities aren't so much natural as they are from my educational background. With music theory, it's the same thing. I took weekly piano lessons for five years. When I started taking music theory lessons, the piano was an immense help and gave me a leg up. I was able to skip grades. Then when I took AP Music Theory in junior year, I did very well because I had a solid foundation in theoretical music. With badminton, it's practice. Someone first starting out has no idea how to find the gaps in the court - the areas where the other player will not be able to reach in time. For an experienced player, the mind has been trained through hours and hours of practice - and more specifically, having your own gaps exploited - until it comes to the point where it is instinctual. A half-second choice.
I don't really know what smartness is. Maybe quickness? Maybe the ability to connect across different concepts? The ability to apply theories to practice? But whatever it is, I think that in most cases, it can be learned and honed.
Regards,
Mindy.
Delete---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm sure that all of us would agree, that their is more to a student then his/her mindset and GRIT. To be honest, I believe we aren't tackling the root of the problem, but in saying so, it is almost impossible to fix the problem. But, if solutions could be put in place, this is how I would imagine it.
First off, I believe the relationship between teachers, students, AND parents need to be changed. When a teacher has to tend to a student, in my definition, it is to not only teach and educate the student, but to connect to the student on an emotional level; I can only imagine that it gets to be very difficult, when you get up to lecturing 20-30 students in a single class, let alone having multiple classes of the same size; and to put it frankly, I can only imagine that it would be impossible to do. If that weren't enough, I would add that; being able to understand the mindset of his/her parents would be an amazing help to any teacher. All of our authorities/parents/guardians are there to educate us and help us, and we should have an increased open/free communication between them and the student.
Furthermore, as we all know, each person is different, we previously learned in economics that as equality decreases we can increase efficiency, but as we decrease efficiency, equality increases. The teachers and students of this nation have been molded to go through the school system, or a "factory" and "conveyor belt" of some sort. With the astounding number of students passing through our school system today, we simply don't have enough time or teachers to be able to fully interact with each student. We are forced to go through a standardized check list of whether or not we're academically suited for the lives ahead of us.
But to answer your question directly, I agree that the academic system needs to stop rating students based on their academic score and grades. GRIT, discipline, and a "correct" mindset are all important factors of a student, but if we could tend to each student individually and uniquely, all of these factors should increase naturally. Teachers who follow their passion to teach, will indubitably do a great job at it and help the cause. Additionally, I will respect them immensely for that; but as you have said before, their are simply not enough good, passionate teachers right now.