For
many years in the educational system children have been taught that
intelligence is either present or absent. With tests such as the IQ test and
Ross test “smart” students are often identified from an early age while other
students are left waiting in the shadows. This often leads to children becoming
discouraged, unmotivated, segregated and in a fixed mindset before they even
have a chance to learn. Drake, Reid and Kolohon (2014) define a fixed mindset
as an innate and genetic intelligence that cannot be worked on or improved.
This mindset leads to negativity with thoughts of failure, discouragement and
powerlessness in the classroom. When students develop this mindset they become afraid
to try because they know they are going to fail, something that is frowned upon
in today’s educational system. This effectively holds them back from ever trying, ever succeeding and ever breaking out of the constraints that have been placed on them. But what if there were a philosophy shift that could flip education on its head, empower every student to give it their all and teach us that failure is just another step to success? There is, it's called the growth mindset.
http://image.slidesharecdn.com/gritandgrowthmindset-140828125421-phpapp02/95/research-on-success-grit-growth-mindset-and-the-marshmallow-test-5-638.jpg?cb=1409230855
The photo above clearly highlights the main points of both fixed and growth mindsets and shows us just how positive and helpful a growth mindset can in fact be. In the article by Amber Chandler (2015) "What Growth Innovation and Collaborative Mindsets Look Like for Students and Teachers" she summarizes this growth mindset very clearly and provides some insight into how to instill this mindset into the students of our classrooms.
This growth mindset is vital for children to reach their full potential. According to Drake, Reid and Kolohon (2014) students who have this growth mindset only see failure as a temporary condition as they know they can improve on their knowledge and skills. They also welcome challenge and adversity because they know that these obstacles will lead to eventual success. As a student who went through most of my schooling with a fixed mindset I know first-hand how it can hold students back in their educative pursuits and I also know just how fulfilling and advantageous the growth mindset can be. I had never failed a test, project or essay until I got to university however I had also never succeeded. My definition of success going through middle and even high school was to not fail and to get decent marks with the most minimal effort possible. I had never pushed to get higher marks or a higher knowledge, I was plateaued in a comfort zone, scared of pushing myself and thinking that this was success. It was not until my first year of university when I failed my first term paper that I learned what the growth mindset really was and what truly defined success. I had gotten the mark back and was shocked, disappointed and down on myself. However, when this happened I had found myself doing something I had never done before, I was reading the feedback on the paper and started to try much harder in the class. Because of this grade I had gained a thirst for knowledge so that the same result would not happen again. I began to ask questions and put myself out there without a fear of falling in order to uncover the answers and solutions to various questions I had, for the first time I was putting in effort and believing that I could do various things and get better marks than I had been getting. This transferred into my other classes and was the beginning of a new and successful educational pursuit. This same effort increase and motivation in the face of adversity was found by Aditomo (2015) when students who experienced a set back during their midterm exam became more motivated and set bigger goals for themselves.
http://7minutesinthemorning.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/FailureIsTheKey.jpg
We sit children in class for hours a day and tell them to reach for the stars and that they can do and be anything they want when they grow up but do not give them the keys and mindset to get there. In order to truly support students on their quest for knowledge we need to introduce them to adversity and teach them how to persevere and overcome it. We need to teach them the proper mentality so that when they do fall and stumble they have the tools and the confidence in themselves to overcome it and become better. Finally, we need to disassociate failure from bad and start to reinforce to students that failure is really just another step on the pathway to success. I leave here a quick video to once again reiterate the vast differences between a fixed and closed mindset and how it affects students.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brpkjT9m2Oo
References
Atidomo, A. (2015). Students' response to academic setback: "Growth mindset" as a buffer against demotivation. International Journal of Educational Psychology, 4(2), 198-222.
Chandler, A. (2015). What growth, innovation and collaborative mindsets look like for students and teachers. Retrieved from: http://gettingsmart.com/2015/09/what-growth-innovation-and-
collaborative-mindsets-look-like-for-students-and-teachers/
Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom
assessment: Engaging the 21st century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.
Metoyer, M. (2014, September 18). Growth vs fixed mindset. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brpkjT9m2Oo
Reading this blog I'm reminded of a story that most student-athletes have heard countless times; Michael Jordan didn't make his high school varsity basketball team. Thinking back on the times I heard that story, I always thought of Jordan as overcoming obstacles and being successful IN SPITE of them. Reflecting now, with a growth mindset in mind, I see that he might have been successful BECAUSE of obstacles.
ReplyDeleteAs you alluded to, failure has a way of pushing us out of our comfort zone. Without failure it would be possible to remain in the comfort of a 70% average, junior varsity sports or any other performance that can be called good, but not our best. Failure forces us to prove, to ourselves and others, that we can do better and we can succeed. Perhaps those of us who reach the upper peaks of success do so not in spite of failures and set backs but because of them.
Hi Tom, thank you for sharing your insights and personal experiences on the issues associated with fixed mindsets in the classroom. I am extremely interested in the topic of student motivation; more specifically how this can be achieved and I thought you did an excellent job displaying why many of our students “get stuck in the mud”. Interestingly enough, I was one of these students that had a great amount of trouble in high school. I felt like I was putting in a lot of work but could never achieve any real success on tests or assignments. But I absolutely agree with you, it was these failures and struggles that pushed me to become the student I am today. This is something that I did not notice at the time, but was fortunate enough to have teachers with growth mindsets that pushed me to continue.
ReplyDeleteThrough my placements in the classroom, I’ve noticed that certain teachers are unable to grasp the concepts you described. They become focused on the fact that their students are failing and miss the opportunity to teach their students that failing is actually ok. Do you think that this has anything to do with the amount of standardized testing being used in classrooms, that us teachers are getting caught up in the product of learning as opposed to the process? It might also be tricky for newer, less experienced teachers (such as myself) to know when it is an appropriate time to intervene and help a child. As a future educator, how do you find that balance between “nagging” your students to do their work and truly pushing them to be successful?
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ReplyDeleteHi Tom! Thank you for this really informative and insightful post on a fixed and growth mindset. I felt your thoughts were really well organized within your post and I was able to read and understand what you were trying to convey easily. I really liked your topic on the issues of a fixed mindset because it was really interesting and different from the topic I chose to discuss in my blog last week. I believe that all children have the potential to succeed and should never feel that their intelligence level is fixed, as students feel helpless to try or “stuck in the mud”, as you put it. I was always the type of student who had to work hard for my grades in high school and still in university today. I know what its like to fail or do bad on assignments and tests and that feeling of being “stupid” was enough to motivate me to push to succeed, so that I would never feel that way again. I know that so many of my friends or co-workers could relate to your experiences in high school, where they only needed to put in a minimal effort to pass and didn't know the true struggles of studying/work until university. They too found their motivation to succeed and it sometimes takes failure to help someone realize that. Do you still know anyone who hasn't found his or her motivation to a “successful educational pursuit”? Therefore, I agree that teachers should not discourage adversity because it teaches perseverance and it’s on the pathway to success.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how your final paragraph was inspirational in the sense that you clearly stated the steps that need to occur in order for a growth mindset philosophy to take over. Overall, it was very well written and you provided insightful links/articles and YouTube videos to supplement your argument and thoughts embedded within your post!