Beliefs and Mindsets

    Carol Dweck  has also done some fascinating work in student motivation and learning. She contends in "Brainlogy" published by the National Association of Independent Schools 2008.  I would say my own mindset leans more towards growth. I find that most of my motivation comes from learning how to do something the correct way and getting a good grade for it. However, I can also recognize when perfection is out of my reach, and accept that I am not at that level yet. In the TED Talk video, "The power of believing you can improve," Dweck talks about the idea of "the power of yet," where she says, "...but if you get the grade 'Not Yet,' you understand that you're on a learning curve," (0:34-0:40). Not everyone can do things at the exact same level of everyone else, which I can understand and also relate to in some cases. For example, in high school, although we did not use the "Not Yet" grading system, the curriculum the teachers created and used was based more on the interests of  the students. Because of that, we were able to study things that were more at our own level, or get the help we needed when we needed it. Dweck also states, "...the idea that abilities can be developed," (2:55-2:59). While she is referring to children, I believe it still applies to me. I enjoy learning new things, and if I come across a challenge, I will try to work my way through it if it is something I am fully interested in. The beauty of it is I can choose what I want to learn now, as well as how I want to learn it. Another example of this from my high school is we had a class known as "Genius Hour," where for one period every day, we could choose exactly what we wanted to learn about and how we wanted to learn it. No two students' learning experience was exactly the same because no two students chose to learn about the same thing. It allowed us to cultivate our own interests at our own pace. With all the learning opportunities I have had in my life as well as the support from the people around me, I believe my mindset is definitely more on the side of growth.


Dweck, Carol. "The power of believing that you can improve." YouTube, uploaded by TED, 17 December 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X0mgOOSpLU.

 

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