Theory Of Growth And Fixed Mindsets And Implications For Learning

Description of the theory of growth and fixed mindsets

1. Use theory about ‘growth mindsets’ and ‘grit’ to describe your experience of mastering something. This may be something you have mastered in the past or it can be something you are still in the process of mastering. You are required to describe your thoughts, feelings and behaviours as you undertake/undertook this activity. You are also asked to identify the mindset associated with these thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Please note it is expected that a growth mindset will be the dominant mindset for this activity although you may have / have had some doubts as you complete / completed the activity. (500 words)

This paper describes how a growth mindset, some grit and an overwhelming reason made it possible for me to recently complete a high ropes, obstacle course. This paper focusses on a particular incident on the course. I identify thoughts, feelings and behaviours indicative of my mindset and grit as they occurred over the incident.

On holidays, my nine year old twins considered completing a high ropes climbing course. But they were hesitant. While all participants are fully harnessed and completely safe through the climb, my childrens’ hesitation was reasonable. The course is ‘12 meters (39 feet) above the ground’ (Wikipedia, 2017). A staggering variety of ‘unstable rope bridges and obstacles’ (Wikipedia, 2017) run between the poles that suspend the course. My children were considering not doing the course because they were afraid.

My first moment of grit came when I said with a forced cheerfulness ‘Come on we’ll all do it’ meaning I would do it with my children. I did not feel like doing this course, but I am ‘passionate’ and ‘persevering’ (both associated with grit) (Duckworth 1998) in insisting that ‘we do hard things in our family’. I want my children to learn to not let fear prevent them from trying new things. I felt my commitment to this value under pressure. I cannot say a growth mindset (Dweck 2013) and its associated belief in my ability motivated me. Rather, I believe just as having a reason to be at university is the single most reliable predictor of student completion of a degree (Willcoxson, Manning et al. 2011) my commitment to that value provided me with a strong enough reason for me to at least attempt the course.

The incident really began when the session ended and I was directed to come down. Unfortunately the session supervisor directed me to walk across a particularly unstable leg of the course as this was the shortest path. That particular leg was one I had specifically avoided till then. I suggested to the session supervisor I take another (longer but more stable) route. The session supervisor eye-balled me and offered to assist me across the unstable path. Less than 2 seconds passed before I responded. In that time, my children were watching, the supervisor was watching, I felt nausea in anticipation of this route. This was the decision point when I had to pick between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.

I did not think ‘I can do this’. Rather I thought ‘I am not a crazy old lady who goes on a ropes course and then has to be helped down’. I did not face this challenge with ‘optimism’ which Dweck (1998) associates with a growth mindset, but rather with steely determination. I simply did not consider failing.

On that final leg I practiced ‘deliberate practice’ as defined by Duckworth (2009, 16 mins. 21 sec). I focused on any errors and corrected them immediately. Consistent with the observations of growth mindset individuals by Moser, Schroder, Heeter, Lee & Moran (2011) as cited by Dweck), my brain was ‘fully engaged because when [I]… made any errors [I]… wanted to learn from them’. Happily, I completed my exit without incident in record time.

2. Use theory about ‘fixed mindsets’ and ‘grit’ to describe your experience of giving up on mastering something. This may be something from your past or it can be something you are still struggling with. You are required to describe your thoughts, feelings and behaviours as you undertake / undertook this activity. You are also asked to identify the mindset associated with these thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Please note it is expected that a fixed mindset will be your dominant mindset although you might find yourself not quite giving up from time to time.

The following paper describes two key fixed mindset, ‘low grit’ behaviours (and their associated thoughts and feelings) that lead me to give up piano lessons. Specifically after outlining the combination fixed and growth mindset I brought to my music lessons I will outline how a fixed mindset came to dominate my efforts and how my inability 1) to strategise effectively and 2) engage in deliberate practice ultimately lead to the cessation of music lessons.

I believe I inherited my family’s combination fixed and growth mindset beliefs about ability. Consistent with Dweck’s (2014) notion of a growth mindset (in which ‘ability’ is seen as something that can be grown), my family believed in the virtue of hard work as a means of achieving success. However, also consistent with Dweck’s (2014) notion of a fixed mindset (in which ability was static) my family also believed that some people were more gifted than others and there was not much anyone could do about that.

This was particularly the case in relation to music. I have a general recollection that I was regarded as ‘having some musical ability’ before I commenced lessons. This is an important indicator of the implicit fixed mindset that my family held. I would not have been offered the opportunity to have music lessons if I was not regarded as having some musical ability. None of my siblings were offered this opportunity. My grandmother and mother were both gifted musicians who had completed their letters in music. My grandmother was a particularly gifted violinist with perfect pitch - so no pressure there!

Personal experience of mastering new skills with a growth mindset

I commenced lessons and did well initially. However as the music became more complex my natural ability to play by ear was not sufficient to permit me continued success. My self-talk and affect, consistent with a ‘helpless pattern’, (Dweck 1998 p.258) were certainly negative and self-derogatory. I felt like a failure, that my ability was fatally limited. I felt I was to blame.

According to Duckworth (2009) grit is the key that unlocks talent and in a completely objective sense at that point I lacked grit. Again consistent with a helpless pattern (Dweck 1998, p. 258), when faced with these difficulties I experienced ‘impaired problem solving strategies’. Grit is indicated by a particularly strategic response to flawed performance called deliberate practice in which ‘one isolates one’s weaknesses and works just on that’ (Duckworth, 2009, 16 mins. 21sec).

My impaired problem solving strategies lead me to avoid practicing passages I did not play well. Consistent with a helpless pattern, I avoided ‘challenges that pose[d] the risk of errors or failures’ (Dweck, 1998, p. 258). As ridiculous as it sounds I think I implicitly assumed talented musicians such as my mother or my grandmother simply did not make mistakes. I made mistakes, and every time I made a mistake, it confirmed I was not in their league. I was therefore a failure.

However, if I had practiced the strategy of deliberate practice I would have isolated those passages where I was making errors and practiced them first and foremost. Given focussed practice I now expect I could have mastered those difficult passages. My mindset has definitely shifted since then as at that time I did not think I would ever be able to do so.

For me the idea of meeting a challenge with a strategy has been a revelation. This is key insight that makes me believe I can embrace a growth mindset more fully in the future. At the very least I certainly hope I have learnt from my piano playing attempts the perils of ineffective strategising and the merits of deliberate practice when faced with a challenge.

3. Use theory related to ‘mindsets’ and ‘grit’ in combination with aspects of your personal experience to discuss the implications of your current assumptions (about your ability) for your study over the coming semester. You are required to describe thoughts, feelings and behaviours you will attempt to avoid or cultivate. (1000 words)

This paper will discuss the implications of my combination fixed and growth mindset for my study over the coming semester. Specifically, I will outline how my current growth mindset repertoire; my preparedness to work both hard and strategically on writing tasks should stand me in good stead in the coming semester. In addition I will discuss my plans to combat the fixed component of my mindset by practicing self-compassion and self-reward to minimise procrastination and self-criticism. I conclude the discussion, optimistic but wary about the grit I can bring to my studies however, given my competing roles as a parent in particular.

I will not just work hard however, over the coming semester. I also want to continue my history of ‘effective strategizing’ (Dweck 1998, p.258) in relation to written tasks. For example, I will continue to break assignments into specific, manageable components such as the introduction and the conclusion and individual paragraphs or individual ideas. Similarly, I will continue to use clear criteria against which I measure my various drafts. For example I will ensure I have a clear theme for each assignment and made sure each paragraph explicitly supports the theme of my papers. I will not just work hard I will work effectively.

Unfortunately I cannot claim to have ever had the undiluted growth mindset of Dweck’s (2014) 10 year old research participants who ‘relished’ difficult tasks. I usually become anxious in anticipation of completing a difficult task and am often anxious while completing the task when I do not complete the task as quickly as I had hoped. In short I seem to lack the positive affect that Dweck (2014) believes characterises a growth mindset. This is a feature of a growth mindset on which I will focus in the coming semester. Specifically I will attempt to treat writing assignments as a learning rather than a performance focussed activity.

I believe I currently treat assignment writing as performance focussed activity. Dweck (1998, p. 258) speculates that focusing on ‘performance goals: the goal of obtaining positive judgments about one’s ability and avoiding negative ones, the goal of looking smart’ makes students (particularly those who doubt their ability) more vulnerable to ‘a helpless pattern of self-blame, negative affect and impaired performance’ when they do fail. In my case, when I write, I often ‘measure’ my ability in terms of how quickly or easily I write and I often regard myself as underperforming in the writing process. Paradoxically, I do this is despite the high grades I have consistently achieved in writing based activities since secondary school and despite the negative consequences that Dweck (1998) predicts, accompany these negative judgments.

Instead I need to engage in the writing process as a learning goal: ‘the goal of increasing one’s ability, the goal of becoming smarter’ (Dweck 1998, p. 258). The advantage of focussing on learning rather than performance is as Dweck (1998, p. 259) indicates ‘when the goal is to increase [one’s]… ability … [one] is not hindered by thinking that [one]… is one already good at the task’.

To facilitate the move to learning (as opposed to performance) goals I will try to minimising self-criticism by developing a degree of self-compassion. Self-compassion includes

(a) self-kindness—being kind and understanding toward oneself in instances of pain or failure rather than being harshly self-critical, (b) common humanity—perceiving one’s experiences as part of the larger human experience rather than seeing them as separating and isolating, and (c) mindfulness—holding painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness rather than over-identifying with them (Neff, 2003, p 85).

Self-compassion allows a non-judgmental (rather than self-critical) view of the self to emerge (Gilbert and Procter, 2006; Neff, 2003). When judgment of the self is suspended this allows a ‘joy of learning in and of itself’ to emerge and with it a motivation consistent with Dweck’s (1996) notion of learning goals (Neff, 2013, p. 93)

Self-compassion should therefore also assist me to combat procrastination. To this end I will also use Neck’s (2013, p. 31) strategy of ‘self-reward’ for commencing written work well in advance of the date due. According to Neck (2013, p.31) self-reward is ‘[o]ne of the most powerful methods we possess to lead ourselves to new achievements’.

Neck (2013, p. 31) specifically identifies self-rewarding ‘internal speech’ as one option. This is the process literally of offering some self-talk praise as a reward for a desirable behaviour. “Yahoo… I did it...I’m the best…Yahoo” is a reasonable example of this (Neck, 2013 p.31). The inherent affirmation in one’s ability in this kind of self-talk seems consistent with (if not a perfect match with) the optimism Dweck (1998, p. 258) claims is characteristic of a growth mindset. Even if rewarding self-talk it is not an exact fit with optimism at the very least it contrast with the ‘self-blame’ and ‘negative affect’ (Dweck 1998, p. 258) that accompanies a fixed mindset, that I find myself sometimes using.

However, I suspect as important as my mindset will be to my study in the coming semester I am concerned that my reason for being at University may not be as compelling as it should be to ensure I have the grit required to complete my studies. According to Willcoxson et al. (2011, p. 20) the single strongest predictor of student completion of an undergraduate degree is having ‘a clear reason for being at university’. As Duckworth (2009) indicates a ‘passionate’ and ‘persevering’ goal is fundamental to grit.

On the plus side, I certainly have as Neck (2013, p.21 -2) suggests a clear specific long term goal of completing my degree. I want to complete my degree and I believe this is important to me and my family. I want to be a positive role model for my children as a University student and I want the additional income that I hope will come from a degree.

However on the negative side, as a full-time employee and as a parent of young children I find my time is already short. In addition as a parent I have a goal of being available for my children when they need me that is very important to me and already under challenge from my work. I worry that my goals as a

parent may be in conflict with my goal as a student. I am unsure if I will be prepared to pull back on my duties as a parent enough to achieve my study goals.

Perhaps I need to adopt a growth mindset in relation to my ability to become a studying, working parent? At least that way I could allow myself (and my children) to be on a learning curve as we all adjust to these new additional and very substantial demands that accompany study.

This paper has discussed the implications of my combination fixed and growth mindset for my study over the coming semester. Specifically, I will try to consolidate my current growth mindset repertoire; my preparedness to work both hard and strategically on writing tasks. To combat the fixed component of my mindset I will practice self-compassion and self-reward to combat procrastination and self- criticism. Finally, I have explained why I remain unsure, but optimistic, about the grit I can bring to my studies.

Description of the theory of growth and fixed mindsets

In this part of the essay, I will be sharing my personal experience of mastering in a particular field and how it feels to try to accomplish that particular course even after facing various hurdles. Moreover, through reflection, I would be applying the theory of grit and growth mindset to work for my mastering Couse in future.

Since my career goal was to become a successful entrepreneur and to start up my own business. For which, I needed to learn various management skills, and the ability to deal in various situations that would occur in the future. I decided to do MBA that is master’s in business administration to achieve those skills after my graduation. After entering into the course as the classes started and the practical aspects of business and related foundation were thought to us theoretically and using case studies and practical aspect. Most importantly they use to concentrate to make us professional and improve our confidence, learning skills, communication skills, time management and much more. In the first semester, our first test was to make a report on the case study provided and presenting that report effectively in class. I was aware that I lose my confidence when it comes to public speaking and I had a problem of anxiety, I thought I would never gonna pass my initial stage of the mastering course (Dweck & Walton, 2014).

Nevertheless, my tutors make me understand that it is not about learning, IQ or any such thing, it is about the Grit, a grit is a perseverance and passion to accomplish something, which does not get over within some days, weeks, or months, it needs year to accomplish that, and a mindset that will keep us going. It is about the growth mindset which will motivate a person to perform and accept the failure, learn through that failure and try again (Dweck & Bempechat, Children’s theories of intelligence: Consequences for learning. In Learning and motivation in the classroom, 2017).

When I went for the presentation, it was very hard to control my anxiety and speak aloud in front of many individuals, but after completing the presentation, It was not well performed by me, but I knew that this is what I am here for, learning, and not afraid of being failed. I knew that I haven’t achieved that yet, but will achieve in near future if I keep trying (Walton & Smith, 2015).

From that experience, I learned that to keep yourself motivated it is important to have a growth mindset and keep on going if you failed once, and you are learning from your failure, you will definitely notice improving yourself in next performance. Moreover, with time and practice, I accomplish my exams and pass in those, and the reason was Grit, which kept me motivated, and makes me accomplish what I desired to have. I get to learn that Grit is our passion to achieve a long-term goal and with optimistic behavior to comes back from the failure and these traits of grit lies in the base of a growth mindset, which becomes necessary to accomplish the goals set and let to develop the grit (Dweck C. , 2017).

Personal experience of mastering new skills with a growth mindset

In this question of reflection essay, my personal experience would be shared, where I give up on something while applying the theory of fixed mindset and grit. This theory can be helpful in studying the human behavior or why I quit from something that I wanted to achieve but because of lack of motivation I give up to learn that skill or matter that particular course (Dweck C. , Carol Dweck revisits the growth mindset, 2015).

I was interested in learning dance, and my parents also ask me to do so, because my sibling was good in dance and had a successful career in the same. That was the reason I joined an academy and admitted to master in dance in different forms that will be completed in two years. I decided to have that degree and skills, and I will not be giving up on anything (Trott & Yeager, 2016).

As and when the classes started, the level of difficulties increases, because I do not consider myself to be very good in dance, I use to believe that it the talent which will make us successful in any field. My sister was very good at dance, from the very beginning of her journey of dancing, which makes me more conscious. I was unable to cope up with the class, I felt that might be I do not have that inherent skill which is needed to adapt to the dance forms thought in the classes. Moreover, the accidents are very normal in dancing or sports, since the physical act is required, I used to fall various time while learning dance. I decided to quit and give up on the course as I felt that it is not my cup of tea. Noticing all the hurdles and difficulties, I strongly felt that I should not be continuing learning these skills, as I do not have this talent in me. Therefore, instead of focusing on developing the skills, I focused more over my basic ability of dancing, and after facing the failure I was not motivated to bounce back and try again, and give up instead (Wilson, 2017).

From the experience, I have learned that, it was the mindset, which works as the reason being a success is grit and as my fixed mind dominates; I gave up on the course. A fixed mindset is when someone believes that the talent is which is responsible for the success and one cannot develop skills later on, and when the mind is fixed that I am going to fail then the motivation level is lowered to accomplish anything. My mindset that I do not have the talent of dance makes me demotivated and I did not try to develop those skills and give up. Therefore, it can be said that it is the grit, which is working, when the fixed mindset dominates, instead of a growth mindset, the result turned out to be quitting, or given up attitude. Grit is all about perseverance, and which was lacking while learning dancing, which results into low grit, and I give on completion of a dancing course in between (Prasad & Vinothkumar, 2016).

Experience of giving up on mastering something due to a fixed mindset

In this part of the reflective essay, the combination of a growth mindset and a fixed mindset for the theory of grit will be considered. Theses aspect will be discussed with the help of my personal experience. For the next trimester, the assumption that is believed, and will be the strategy to achieve good results will be discussed. To initiate my experience for the next trimester study, I would like to discuss the theory of grit and how fixed mindset is different from growth mindset and how the combination of both is required to achieve something in long run (Fiore, 2018).

The mindset weather growth or fixed is something, which is responsible for the characteristics of an individual, which are critical for success in anything. The two types of mindset are quite different from each other. On one hand, individuals with a fixed mindset believe that their ability to do something g is fixed and inherent and which would not be able to change. They are depended more on their talent and intelligence and do not try to improve them or develop to achieve success. According to this mindset, talent can lead to success alone, and further developing efforts are not needed. Whereas on other hand, people with growth mindset have an open mind to learning, they believe that the skills and intelligence can grow if a person tries to learn and develop those skills in themselves. Talent does not play a very vital role according to this mindset. These people believe that they can grow while gaining experiences and their effort will affect their success level, therefore they try better, and they give extra time, to reach a higher position in success level. It is believed that the mindset has a vital role while development of positive habits and attitude (Cain & Stoffel, 2018).

For the learning for next semester, I realized that the growth mindset needs to be dominating fixed mindset for myself to achieve the high grit and have success. For the further preparation of the semester, I decided to do whatever I was lacking before, and try to learn from my previous examination experience, and try to improve in this semester. For this, I had to manage both the mindsets, and develop a growth mindset more so that it will be more useful in working hard for the semester. Initially, decided to analyses and acknowledge my own weakness. While doing so I realized that my weakness is procrastination, which is letting the work to postpone to the next day. Due to this, I am usually late for the assignment, and with lots of pressure, I try to do the assignment in last days, when the submission was close, which will eventually affect my the quality of my work submitted. Next step that I decided to develop grit was to see changes as new opportunities to gain, from previous experience I was knowing that the anxiety while presenting the report in the class was the biggest challenge for me, this time I will practice the same, well before the time with some improvement and tutors help. I will get familiar to the environment before going to the stage, and practice what I have to present and understand that thoroughly. Next thing to do was to get familiar with learning style and apply most appropriate learning strategies (Nicholas & Gardner, 2017).

Importance of effective strategizing for a growth mindset

The performance and learning are two different things if the preparation of semester is according to the goal to perform better and just score well, by any means, or the goal is to learn something new and adapt the learning. I realized that a better way to be a success in the long run, is to learn those skills and give importance to learning than performing only. Moreover, another thing while developing grit while using both fixed and growth mindset is that to remember that every individual has the ability to change their brain and through life. Moreover, for this semester I decided to divide my whole work into pieces and concentrate over one parameter at a time, instead of taking the whole at one time. Moreover, while conducting that portion I will try to do that part of assignment say introduction with full focus, and understanding what all is required, how much research is required, and what structure to follow (ted.com, 2018).

Moreover, to get motivated I can use a reward system to complete my planned task on time and as per schedule with best quality work and learning from the work. Moreover, it is important to understand that there is a difference in improvement scope and failure. If the previous remarks were to improve the performance, does not mean that you fail, or you are not capable of passing that course. To develop a high grit, it is essential to daily reflect in your journal, so that the mistake one day is not repeated on another day, and since you will review yourself daily, the changes in case of deviation can be made immediately and not at the end of the experience, after the exams (youtube, 2018).

From this experience, I learn that it is not always essential that an individual has skills from birth and can be learned gradually in life. Moreover, I understood that it is not always essential to learn from your own mistakes, one can learn from others mistakes as well. Most importantly, I need to cultivated grit with all the passion, having a depth interest in the study; this will get myself motivated and get going for the achievement of better results. The intelligence of a person and motivation to improve and enhance talent will be helpful largely to accomplish the task and success. Therefore, the combination of both the mindset and develop grit (Dweck C. , Carol Dweck revisits the growth mindset, 2015).

References

Cain, J., & Stoffel, J. (2018). Review of grit and resilience literature within health professions education. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 6150.

Dweck, C. (2015). Carol Dweck revisits the growth mindset. Education Week, 20.

Dweck, C. (2017). Mindset-updated edition: Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential. UK: Hachette UK.

Dweck, C., & Bempechat, J. (2017). Children’s theories of intelligence: Consequences for learning. In Learning and motivation in the classroom. London: Routledge.

Dweck, C., & Walton, G. (2014). Academic Tenacity: Mindsets and Skills that Promote Long-Term Learning. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 1.

Fiore, L. (2018). Grit, Resilience, and Motivation in Early Childhood: Practical Takeaways for Teachers. London: Routledge.

Nicholas, C., & Gardner, A. (2017). Selection bias: Examining the feasibility, utility, and participant receptivity to incorporating simulation into the general surgery residency selection process. The American Journal of Surgery, 1171.

Prasad, N., & Vinothkumar, M. (2016). Moderating role of resilience in the relationship between grit and psychological well-being. International Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry, 10.

ted.com. (2018). carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve? Retrieved from ted.com: https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en

Trott, J., & Yeager, D. (2016). Using design thinking to improve psychological interventions: The case of the growth mindset during the transition to high school. Journal of educational psychology, 374.

Walton, G., & Smith, E. (2015). Mind-set interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement. Psychological science, 784.

Wilson, M. (2017). Disrupting structural inequalities of higher education opportunity:“Grit”, resilience and capabilities at a South African University. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 384.

youtube. (2018). TEDxBlue - Angela Lee Duckworth, Ph.D . Retrieved 2009, from youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaeFnxSfSC4