(Learning perspective, Source Pinterest)
While the name Carol Dweck is vaguely familiar to me, I
could not place her until I started reading about some of her ideas. Several of her concepts, such as
“tyranny of the now,” “growth mindset,” and her take on appropriate praise have
been presented to me in the past.
The former two concepts were discussed in psychology classes while the
later I learned about from an online forum about child rearing. It is the later that has had the most
impact on my life as it is something I actively practice when speaking to
children, especially my own.
(Meaningful Praise, Source Pinterest)
I would like to think that my position on the mindset
spectrum is dynamic at the moment.
Before coming to college, I had rarely been challenged academically and
was used to copious praise in exchange for relatively little effort. When faced with challenging material or
unfamiliar formats, I felt lost and incompetent. My performance and confidence suffered. Despite a few hiccups, I have managed
to grow and learn to accept failure as an opportunity to learn and improve. Now when approached with a novel
learning experience or difficult material, I willingly throw myself into the assignment
and learn “on the fly.” This
strategy has helped me grow not only in the academic sphere, but also at work,
home and in social situations.
One of the “Growth Mindset Challenges” that I am looking
forward to is the writing challenge.
Attempting one (or several) new writing style(s) will push me out of my
comfort zone and may be the impetus I need to grow as a writer. I also plan to use some of the growth
mindset concepts in some of my upper level science courses to improve the
quality of my understanding.
(Push yourself, Source Pinterest)
Sadly, this semester is my final semester and because of
this I am taking as many classes as I can handle and focusing on improving
areas where I feel a personal deficit.
One of my main goals is to become a more comfortable and productive
writer. I’m also trying to be more
involved on campus and reach out to new people. I feel like this class will help me get to know others
through their writing while working on my own.
I love the pictures you chose for this post!
ReplyDeleteAlso, your comments were so insightful and you managed to explain how I felt about the 'Growth Mindset' project in a way I just couldn't (yet!). This is my final year in college and I too have been trying to grow and better myself. I want to leave OU with more than just memorized facts and details. I want to grow as a student and as an individual, because we've always got room to improve!
I sincerely wish you the best in your final semester!
I know exactly what you mean! I like to be the big fish in the small pond, so to speak. It makes me feel very confident, and therefore happy. However, when I am the small fish in the big pond, I feel sort of defeated. But, the Growth Mindset ideaologies are really inspring for me.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture you had about if you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room--I think that is so important, and I need to take heed to that more!
Hi Kalin! I also enjoyed reading the pictures you posted with quotes not them. They are very motivational!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you regarding how you have a dynamic view about this concept. I also came from a place where I was always praised for “being smart” and when I did not perform well, it blew my confidence to pieces and I wanted to run into a hole to wallow in my own self pity. Also, my family thinks that the one way to motivate someone to do something is to say “you’ll never be like so-and-so,” which generates a heavily fixed mindset because it placed unintended limitations upon my own self. Thank you for your posts and pictures. College definitely changed that to me. I enjoyed reading about your ideas on the growth vs. fixed mindset!
I can completely relate to you when it comes to the academic efforts and praises prior to college. I feel like I never really worked for my good grades and praises in high school, then my first semester of college came around and kicked my butt. It took me a good semester and a half to really understand that I would have to work harder and focus more. Much like you, I finally got it together and will be graduating this semester as well!
ReplyDeleteIt's very cool that you had heard of Carol Dweck before this class. Most of the Growth mindset posts I have read had no clue who she was (not that I knew of her prior to this class either). I went through the same challenge you went through when it comes to academia. It is hard to transition from not really trying to having to put forth effort. I think you have set reasonable growth mindset challenges and I hope you reach your goals this semester!
ReplyDeleteI decided to read your growth mindset post since I have already commented on your introduction. I can relate to your post because I have struggled with a few of my courses (especially science) here at OU. I went to a junior college first where I was able to obtain an associates and I felt like I was not near as challenged there. I always did well in school and here has been a definite struggle for me! I have tried to manage my time well but I can only imagine how that is for you. I remember reading your introduction and seeing how busy you were. Good luck on the next 8 weeks!
ReplyDelete