Creating a culture of helpfulness & growth mindset

How do you interpret the message of "yet"?

 I love the word “yet” because it conveys a message of something about to be achieved. “Focusing feedback on ‘not yet’ creates greater confidence and persistence as well as encourages students to improve. (Rietig pg 13).” When my students say that they aren’t good at Spanish, I say to them, “ You aren’t good at it yet but you know more than you think you do.” Positive affirmations and letting students know that you truly believe in their ability to learn will go a long way to creating a positive mindset in the classroom. Students really respond to a teacher saying, “you are really good at xyz”. The student heard the teacher say it so it must be true. That little statement will ruminate in the student’s mind until they also believe it to be true. True or not yet true, the student will begin to excel or at the very least do better than before. 

How will adopting the growth mindset change the way you learn?

Adopting the growth mindset has already changed how I approach learning. Learning to hear your fixed mindset voice is the first step to understanding where you are in terms of academic growth. Everyone has doubts about their own abilities, especially when tackling something new and challenging. I believe it’s part of human nature to run into doubts about one’s own intellect and abilities especially under those circumstances. The key is knowing that this is part of the process of learning and achieving. Overcoming doubts about one’s own intellect and abilities is part of growth. However, overcoming the fixed mindset is a challenge. According to the article, “The Relationship between a Growth Mindset and Junior High School Students’ Meaning in Life: A Serial Mediation Model.” “When facing difficulties, individuals with more positive psychological resources can recover more quickly and then generate positive incentives for themselves, ultimately forming a higher self-evaluation [53,54]. … When facing difficulties or setbacks, they tend to be more optimistic; that is, they have more positive psychological resources. (Zhao pg 4)” The growth mindset can’t succeed without the will and desire to want to succeed. Even if at times the fixed mindset intrudes, a strong will and desire to succeed can overcome whatever your mind perceives to be lacking in your intellect/ability. Effort and not intellect is the key ingredient to success.

Can the growth mindset help limit some of your own or your students' preoccupation with grades?

I always stress to each of my classes that it’s all about the effort they expend on completing an assignment. My students know that I value effort most of all because it shows academic growth despite errors/failures shown in assignments. For example, one of my students, Melissa, came to my class with a defeatist attitude. At the beginning of our first class, she came and told me that she was terrible at Spanish and would not do well. I encouraged her and showed her how well she was doing on assignments. Eventually, she took an online test that I had prepared where students had the opportunity to take and retake until they got the score they wanted. Apparently, her effort in doing and re-doing paid off. She later came to me and said, “I am good at Spanish. I got a 95 on the assignment.” Her effort paid off in her eyes. In my eyes, I could see her determination to get a higher score by the number of times she re-took the test. “For language learners who endorse a growth mindset, they believe effort is an effective way to become more competent and set goals that focus on the learning process. In contrast, learners who endorse a fixed mindset believe that effort may reflect one’s lack of natural talent and set goals that focus on the learning outcomes or avoiding negative judgment.”  Effort matters, especially when students are given the opportunity to improve their scores not so much for the score itself- although that seems to matter most to the student - but for the opportunity it affords each student to grow in their understanding of the subject matter. 

Review the graphic and compare and contrast the Fixed Mindset to the Growth Mindset and consider where you are on this scale.

I'm definitely in the growth mindset category. That's not to say that I don't have areas where a fixed mindset intrudes. I think we all have areas where we don't quite feel like we're up to parr. I truly believe that effort is what separates truly successful people from those who are merely intelligent or gifted in some areas. Overall my persistence in persevering always wins out.

References:

Rietig, K. (2021). Learning theory and the Personal Growth Mindset Framework in Higher Education: the power of yet and dreaming big. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3912173

Zhao, H., Zhang, M., Li, Y., & Wang, Z. (2023). The Relationship between a Growth Mindset and Junior High School Students’ Meaning in Life: A Serial Mediation Model. Behavioral Sciences (2076-328X), 13(2), 189. https://doi-org.libproxy.lamar.edu/10.3390/bs13020189

Jeffrey, Scott (March 19, 2024). How to change your mindset from fixed to growth: A definitive guide. https://scottjeffrey.com/how-to-change-your-mindset