My Thoughts About Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset

My thoughts

I had never heard of the idea of a fixed or growth mindset until I watched the three videos by Carol Dweck. I liked the idea of the grade, 'Not Yet', instead of 'fail' being used in the High School in Chicago. It is a lot more positive and suggests success in the future is possible. Generally in terms of school work I tend to have a fixed mindset. Challenges such as new courses and unfamiliar surroundings tend to make me nervous and anxious in case I don't succeed at them. As I set about learning new things, I worry that the lecturer will speak too quickly, not do enough examples and that I will not be able to process it all. I tend to be hard on myself and have a fear of failure. When I find things difficult, I lose concentration and find it harder to stay focused. I tend to be hard on myself and have a fear of failure and often believe others are better than me at the work. I would like to learn about the Growth Mindset this semester. The notion that effort and focus is praised appeals to me. A personal learning goal for me this year is to learn from my mistakes and to take feedback and constructive criticism to improve my work. I will try to apply the growth mindset to modules I find challenging and realize I am learning from these challenges. I could also apply it to my fitness program for my next Karate belt.

Growth Mindset Beyond College

An area in my life where I apply the Growth Mindset (but I didn't know it was called this), is in my passion for Anime and Manga. To further these interests I bought books, watched videos, attended conventions and have taught myself to draw anime characters. Over the years, I have worked on my art for hours as I mastered the simple poses and moved on to more complex examples. I used online tutorials and drawing books to teach myself. I now do all my work free hand, experimenting with different media, paper types and have lately tried using a Drawing Tablet to challenge myself. Not all my efforts are successful, but I have learned a lot on the way. By trying new techniques, facing challenges and not being afraid if something does not work out, I feel I have developed my potential as an artist. 

 - Photo credit to Mrs Wyllie. I think this poster is very effective and inspiring visual to show the growth mindset and to encourage students to try their best.