Growth Mindset

How your brain is like a muscle?

Did you know that new research shows that the brain can be developed like a muscle? 

"Many people think of the brain as a mystery. They don’t know much about intelligence and how it works. When they do think about what intelligence is, many people believe that a person is born either smart, average, or dumb—and stays that way for life. 

But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it changes and gets stronger when you use it. And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn." - Brainology, www.mindsetworks.com  

What is the difference between a fixed and growth mindset?

Through decades of research, Dr. Carol Dweck, a Stanford University Psychologist, found that people’s beliefs about their intelligence differ. Some people believe that their intelligence and abilities are unchangeable. In other words, you have a certain amount of intelligence, and you can’t do much to change it. This is called a “fixed mindset.” Think about the phrase, “I’m not a math person.” This statement indicates a fixed mindset about math because it attributes math ability to an unchangeable quality.

Others have different ideas about their intelligence and abilities. Some people believe that it is possible to grow your intelligence through effort. This is called a “growth mindset.” Think about the phrase, “Math was really confusing at first, but I’ve studied hard all year and I understand it a lot better now.” This indicates a growth mindset because it shows a willingness to dig in deep.

There’s scientific evidence that the neural connections grow and become stronger the more you struggle with learning and correct your mistakes.  Based on research by Stanford Professor Carol Dweck and her colleagues, we know that students with a growth mindset - the belief that intelligence is not just something that you are born with- have higher levels of success than those with a fixed mindset. 

The differences Dweck establishes are well illustrated in this helpful infographic by Nigel Holmes that depicts the significant differences between the two mindsets.

What is my mindset? 

"Our mindsets exist on a continuum from fixed to growth, and although we’d like to always have a growth mindset, the reality is that we can only be on a journey to a growth mindset. The goal is to recognize fixed mindset elements in ourselves and then reflect on feedback and strategies for how to improve." - mindsetworks https://blog.mindsetworks.com/ 

Mindset Assessment

Click on this link Mindset Continuum Assessment for a quick diagnostic tool to understand your mindset on a continuum from fixed, low growth, mixed, growth, and high growth. *NOTE: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google document to complete this assessment.

Tallying Your Results

1. Look at your responses and count how many times you checked statements under each category. Write down the total number of checks for each category below.

• Fixed

• Low Growth

• Mixed

• Growth

• High Growth

2. The category with the highest number of checks represents your overall mindset. NOTE: Your checks are likely spread across multiple categories.  This helps you to understand how our mindset is mixed, with characteristics of both fixed and growth mindsets in different situations.

What are lessons from learning about mindset?

Understanding your growth and fixed mindset can help you approach the following differently.

Challenges (Handling Failure & Taking Risks)

• Giving things a go even if at first they seem a little scary. It doesn't have to be skydiving, it might be a sharing a new idea with your class, trying a new strategy, making new friends or trying something you always thought was too hard for you. Adding some adventure to your life and seeking out a challenge.

• For everything we do there is a first time and in most cases the first attempt is frightening, but unless you give it a go you will never try anything new.

• When you are faced with a challenge and have to overcome your fears to give it a go. When you need to step outside your comfort zone.

Obstacles (Persistence & Grit)

• Keep trying until the end. Don't give in. Keep your mind on the task and see it through to completion. The old line of 'If at first, you don't succeed, try and then try again' is said often because it holds true time and time again. 

• You will never reach your goals if you stop part way. If reaching the top of the mountain were easy, everyone would do it. Achieving goals that matter and are important is meant to be hard; by their nature, they are a challenge and will test your willpower. Persistence is the biggest hurdle to success.

• Whenever you face a hurdle that you cannot get over on your first attempt. When you need to keep at something to the end when the goal takes time and energy over a long period of time. When you are at your limits imagine you are the mountaineer nearing the summit, give up and you fall to your death, keep trying and you can achieve your goal.

Effort[4]

• Students with a fixed mindset may see effort as an indicator that they are not good at something, or may not have the ability to learn a particular subject. These students often believe learning should come to them easily because they are smart, and are hesitant about putting effort in towards a task.  These students tend to shy away from challenges for fear they aren't smart enough. 

• In contrast, students with a growth mindset believe when they are learning, they are making new connections in their brains which, in turn, makes their cognitive skills stronger and stronger.

Criticism (Academic Humility & Asking For Help)

• While effort is an incredibly important part of building a growth mindset, it isn't just about effort. Certainly, effort is key for students' achievement, but it's not the only thing. Students must also be open to trying new strategies and asking for feedback along the way. Students who seek input from others when they are stuck tend to learn and improve more drastically.

How to change from a fixed to a growth mindset?[5]

Step1. Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice.”

As you approach a challenge, that voice might say to you “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.” “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure” “People will laugh at you for thinking you had talent.” “If you don’t try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity.”

As you hit a setback, the voice might say, “This would have been a snap if you really had talent.” “You see, I told you it was a risk. Now you’ve gone and shown the world how limited you are.” “ It’s not too late to back out, make excuses, and try to regain your dignity.”

As you face criticism, you might hear yourself say, “It’s not my fault. It was something or someone else’s fault.” You might feel yourself getting angry at the person who is giving you feedback. “Who do they think they are? I’ll put them in their place.” The other person might be giving you specific, constructive feedback, but you might be hearing them say “I’m really disappointed in you. I thought you were capable but now I see you’re not.”

Step 2. Recognize that you have a choice.

How you interpret challenges, setbacks, and criticism is your choice. You can interpret them in a fixed mindset as signs that your fixed talents or abilities are lacking. Or you can interpret them in a growth mindset as signs that you need to ramp up your strategies and effort, stretch yourself, and expand your abilities. It’s up to you.

So as you face challenges, setbacks, and criticism, listen to the fixed mindset voice and...

Step 3. Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice.

• As you approach a challenge:

  • THE FIXED-MINDSET says “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.”

  • THE GROWTH-MINDSET answers, “I’m not sure I can do it now, but I think I can learn to with time and effort.”

  • FIXED MINDSET: “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure”

  • GROWTH MINDSET: “Most successful people had failures along the way.”

  • FIXED MINDSET: “If you don’t try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity.”

  • GROWTH MINDSET: “If I don’t try, I automatically fail. Where’s the dignity in that?”

• As you hit a setback:

  • FIXED MINDSET: “This would have been a snap if you really had talent.”

  • GROWTH MINDSET: “That is so wrong. Basketball wasn’t easy for Michael Jordan and science wasn’t easy for Thomas Edison. They had a passion and put in tons of effort.

• As you face criticism:

  • FIXED MINDSET: “It’s not my fault. It was something or someone else’s fault.”

  • GROWTH MINDSET: “If I don’t take responsibility, I can’t fix it. Let me listen—however painful it is– and learn whatever I can.”

Then...

Step 4. Take the growth mindset action.

Over time, which voice you heed becomes pretty much your choice. Whether you take on the challenge wholeheartedly, learn from your setbacks and try again hear the criticism and act on it is now in your hands.

Additional Videos

There are many great videos about mindset.  Below are two more to watch.