Mindsets, Chapters 1-6 by Carol Dweck

One of our building goals for 2016-17 is to focus on the mindsets outlined by Carol Dweck.  We are using the book, Mindsets in the Classroom, by Ricci as our guide as we embark on this new-to-us journey.

After attending the 2016 KSDE Excellence in Math and Science conference, Carol Dweck's work was a focus on not just one, but several, sessions.  This confirmed that we are definitely on the right path this next year.  So, as a member of our BLT team, I decided that I probably should read Dweck's work...where the mindsets began...as a supplement to help add to our journey.

My first take-away is that as I started all this research, I KNEW I had the growth mindset.  After all, it aligns perfectly with my teaching philosophy of "moving our thinking".  However, the more I read and the more I understand of the two mindsets, fixed and growth, I realize that everyone has both mindsets.  The fixed mindset can rear its head in many different situations beyond just education.

As an analogy of my findings, I aligned it to the math concepts of theoretical and experimental probabilities.  Theoretical probability of an event is the number of ways that event can happen divided by the total number of outcomes.  For example, when flipping a coin and you call heads, there is only one heads out of two total outcomes.  The theoretical probability is 1/2 or 50%.  Whereas, experimental probability, is the probability of the event occurring out of the total number of outcomes.  If I flip the coin 100 times, I may find that I only got heads 46 times.  The experimental probability of 46/100 or 46% did not match the theoretical probability of 50%.

This is how I felt when learning about the mindsets.  Theoretically, I am growth minded.  Or, I like to think of myself being a growth minded individual.  However, upon careful reflection in other areas of my life, I find that as I go through life and experiment with how I react to situations, I do fall on the fixed mindset in some areas...sports, relationships, and leadership roles.  For example, when presenting at a workshop, I get a little nervous about my topic.  Do I know enough information to help others?  Will this be new information or just review for my session participants?  Will they judge me on how I do things in my classroom?  Will I be judged for how my presentation goes?  When I let these thoughts control me, I have allowed the fixed mindset to set the scene for that workshop.  However, on a flip note, when applying for the PAEMST award, I approached it from the growth mindset from the very beginning...looking at it from a growth mindset.  I was determined to learn what I could from the entire process.  I asked questions from those in charge not only at the KS level but at the national level.  I learned how to watch webinars.  I actually when through the process twice, recording a lesson and writing my first 12 page paper to realize that I could improve, and so began the process again changing things that I learned from the first attempt.

As I continue through this book, I am weaving my notes and new learning into my notes from the first book, "Mindsets in the Classroom" to help add to our understanding of these mindsets.  Below are the important points that grabbed my attention.

* Believe that your qualities are carved in stone -- the fixed mindset -- creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over.

* The growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.

* The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it's not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset.

* Those with the fixed mindset are the most inaccurate when estimating their abilities.  The people with the growth mindset were amazingly accurate.

* The fixed mindset makes you concerned with how you'll be judged; the growth mindset makes you concerned with improving.

* In the world of fixed traits -- success is about proving you're smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the growth world -- the world of changing qualities -- its about stretching yourself to learn something new.  Developing yourself.

* People with the growth mindset thrive when they're stretching themselves.

* People with the fixed mindset expect ability to show up on its own, before any learning takes place.

* Even in the growth mindset, failure can be a painful experience.  But it doesn't define you. It's a problem to be faced, dealt with, and learned from.

* John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach, says you aren't a failure until you start to blame.

* Success is about being your best self, not about being better than others; failure is an opportunity, not a condemnation.

* People are all born with a love of learning, but the fixed mindset can undo it.

* People with the fixed mindset do not admit and correct their deficiencies.

The next chapters address parents, teachers, and coaches about where mindsets come from and how to change mindsets.  My hope is to glean some usable ideas from this next section, so I will devote a new post for what I learn.