After
watching Carol Dweck talk about growth
mindset and the power of yet, I’ve
started to rethink how I and the people around me think and learn. For me, I
believe I’m somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of a fixed mindset and a
growth mindset, but maybe leaning more toward the fixed side depending on the
circumstances. However, with this newfound information about the benefits of a
growth mindset, I might attempt to push myself into taking failure as an
opportunity and learn regardless of the outcomes. Last semester, I learned
about an interesting concept similar to fixed/growth mindset – mastery and
performance goals. Mastery goals, like having a growth mindset, are based on
the desire to learn and take in information to “master” something. Performance
goals, like having a fixed mindset, focus on temporarily achieving or “performing” something
without the desire to fully learn. For instance, if you want to take a class in order to learn
the material and use it in the future, you may have mastery goals; if you want
to take a class simply because it is a requirement and you need to pass it, you
may have performance goals. A person can have both mentalities for different
occasions, but one may be more predominantly used than the other. Since learning those goals, I have been aiming to become more involved in mastering material, and now I have a new aim to look for challenges and grow from them.
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| Growth vs. Fixed Mindset |
I loved watching this video. I thought it was so eye opening, and really got me thinking about my education, and why I am majoring in what I’m majoring in, and if I’m just learning to continue, or learning to perform. I think it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot because after a lot of thought I realized I’m so much more motivated when I’m not just doing my work to complete it, but really know it. I agree with you on how there are two different mentalities to observe in this concept. It got me thinking about both.
ReplyDeleteI liked your comment about being somewhere in-between, because I feel the same way. I can recognize when I am not any good at something, and can seek help-but I also know when to push through a seemly impossible task. I feel like that is a fragile balance. You want to push yourself to accomplish as much as you can, but we cant be perfect at everything. I believe that recognizing our weaknesses is actually a strength!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post! I like that you used the example of taking classes to learn the information in hopes to utilize it in the future. This is actually a really great mastery mindset. Because most people learn the information to pass the test to get the degree which I guess is fixed mindset. I am working on changing my mindset to a more mastery one. It is challenging but it will be worth it.
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