How we see the world and ourselves plays an extremely important role in how we live and learn. If we have a pessimistic and negative view of ourselves, it can greatly hurt our wellbeing and ability to learn. The term, mindset, means how we view ourselves and the world. Research on mindset shows that people tend to have two types of mindsets, a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, and which one you have can have a big impact on your life. Those with fixed mindsets see their abilities as fixed, they can’t be changed, and therefore, they don’t try to do better. Whatever intelligence and abilities they have, whether at math or languages, they think that these abilities are fixed, and they can’t get better at them. On the other hand, those with growth mindsets tend to see their abilities as something they can improve. If a person with a fixed mindset does poorly on test, they will usually not try harder and believe that there is nothing to do to improve their score. A person with a growth mindset will be more likely to try to think that they can improve their score, if they make more of an effort. People with growth mindsets are more likely to see challenges and mistakes in life as things that help them to improve.
The good news is people who have fixed mindsets can be taught to develop a growth mindset. These discoveries are very important for learning. Think about whether you have more of a fixed or growth mindset. Do you see challenges as an opportunity for growth or do you often avoid these challenges? Do you think your abilities to learn are fixed or do you think you can improve, if you work hard and put in the effort? These are important questions to ask oneself. I’ve had students who had difficulties learning English mainly because their fixed mindsets made learning much harder for them. They didn’t believe that with the right kind of effort they could improve.
Often, for students who struggle with a fixed mindset, simply explaining the idea of mindset to students and encouraging them to develop a growth mindset enough to help them. However, often life circumstances make altering our fixed mindset more difficult. My students who found it very difficult to change their mindset usually had other issues in their life, such as stress, anxiety or depression, which kept their mindset (and their lives) limited. Dealing with these issues can be are important first steps to improve health and learning potential.
"In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don't necessarily think everyone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it." -Carol Dweck
Links about mindset:
This is post of a TED talk by Carol Dweck, one of the main reseachers on mindset.
This TED Talk discusses mindset in more detail, especially the ideas of learning zone and performance zone.
Khan academy has excellent resources about mindset for teachers, students, and parents.
Mindset works: An organization co-founded by Carol Dweck that, according to it's website, is "the global leader in growth mindset development leveraging the pioneering research of Carol Dweck and Lisa Blackwell. The company's mission is to enable a world in which all people realize continual learning and growth. "
Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives: An explanation of mindset from the site Brainpickings.org.
Explanation and articles about mindset at Psychology Today website.
