Module #5 (Fixed vs. Growth Mindset)


Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset
Chapter 12

***It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. Theodore Roosevelt***  
            The mind is a place full of limitless wonder and potential but what happens when that potential is limited by belief—belief set in a fixed state. A fixed mindset is a state of mind that limits growth and potential. When I consider the fixed mindset, I consider people who exude signs of cognitive dissonance. These people hold onto their beliefs, even when new information is presented—there is no growth or evolution of thought. The Woolfolk text describes students with fixed mindset as exhibiting performance avoidant behaviors. These students aim to protect their self-esteem by setting easy goals and seeking out situations that make them look smart. This mindset occurs often within students who experience learning disabilities. Decreased motivation is a direct outcome of a fixed mindset—working hard is too big of risk.  
To have a growth mindset is to have a state of mind that is ever evolving and ever changing—evolution of the mind. People who exhibit this mindset are able to take risks and understand that challenges are a fact of life to be overcome. Belief in one’s self can improve your ability helps you focus on the processes of problem solving and applying good strategies, instead of on the products of test scores and grades (Chen & Pajares, 2010). Students who hold a growth mindset are motivated and able to set moderately difficult goals. These students tend to have higher self-efficacy, belief in their abilities.
As an educator I consider the students whose mindsets are fixed, I consider my own children who both have Individual Educational plans. There are times they give up when a subject becomes too hard for them. One of my sons told me the other day that he couldn’t go to a good college because he is “bad” in math now. He just finished fourth grade and he has already begun to set a belief that he is no longer good in math because it has become more challenging. This statement my child made to me shows the work I, as a mother and his first educator have to help him change within himself. Explaining to my son that although things in life get hard and he may fail (many times) is just a part of life, is a good start in helping him develop a growth mindset.
The first step in assisting any student (child) with overcoming obstacles is by providing a safe environment to share beliefs, failures, and successes. The Woolfolk text gives a great suggestion about reaching out to students when it comes to mind set by designing lessons about the brain and how it functions. Design the lesson to show that when difficulties, challenges, learning, retrieving and application of knowledge is presented to the brain, new connections are formed— “Learning changes the brain and struggling is good!”

Woolfolk, A. (2019). Educational Psychology. New York, NY: Pearson Education America

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