What is a Growth Mindset?
A mindset, according to psychologist Carol Dweck, is a self-perception or “self-theory” that people hold about themselves. People can be aware or unaware of their mindsets and it has a profound effect on their learning achievements, skill acquisitions, personal relationships, professional success, and many other dimensions of life.
A fixed mindset is a belief that basic qualities, like intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits.
Talent alone leads to success, and effort is not required.
Want to appear intelligent, because a fixed level of intelligence cannot be modified.
Avoid various challenges for the risk of failure.
A growth mindset is a belief that abilities can be cultivated with effort, learning, and persistence.
Realize that effort has an effect on success, so put in extra time, leading to higher achievement.
Basic abilities are simply a starting point for their potential
Taking on new challenges is a big part of developing as a person
Growth Mindset & The Brain
Many people believe that the ability we are born with is unchangeable. We often hear statements like " I just don't have a math brain" or "I am just not good at writing" etc., implying that our brains do not grow or change with time. But deep down we know this is not true. Recall the last time you wanted to learn a new skill: surfing, juggling, playing an instrument, or learn a new language for that Italy trip you had planned. Having intrinsic motivation probably helped you learn the skill.
The key term here is Neuroplasticity: The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment.
Neuroplasticity is the reason our brains do "grow", i.e. form new connections. Our brains are shaped by experiences, learning, and adaptation. Watch the video below for some more information on neuroplasticity and the brain.
Personal Stories
I have always considered myself an athlete and someone who could pick up sports fairly readily, therefore I had a strong growth mindset when it came to physical abilities. That was until I moved to Hawai‘i and tried my hand at water sports. I moved here as a 22-year-old who was desperate to surf and imagined myself cruising through the barrel of a wave during my first week. Much to my surprise, surfing was infinitely harder than I had originally thought and there were many times I laid on my board quietly sobbing because I had been held under by a wave, pearled for the tenth time that day, or was just flat out exhausted. I seriously considered giving up many times.
Learning to surf proved to be a huge life lesson for me. For the first time, I had to put real effort into learning something new. I also had to learn patience which was something I did not have an abundance of at that time. I went every single day despite the fact that the improvement between each session was incremental. However, after a few years, I was out there, surfing those overhead waves I had once only dreamed of. This experience marked a huge shift for me towards utilizing a growth mindset. Prior to learning to surf, if something seemed hard, if I thought I would fail, I simply wouldn’t try. After, I applied the lessons I learned through surfing and a growth mindset to many other aspects of my professional and personal life, saying yes to opportunities even if I was scared, didn’t think I would be good at it, or thought I would fail. More often than not, I am successful in those daunting endeavors, and even if I’m not I certainly learn something along the way.
By R. Lindsey
Growth Mindset & Assessment
There are many studies out there showing relationships of how we learn and brain function, but one study is especially interesting. The article Mistakes Grow Your Brain on the YouCubed website discusses a study by psychologist Jason Moser. He looked at the neural mechanisms that operate in people’s brains when they make mistakes (Moser et al., 2011). Moser and his group found something fascinating. When we make a mistake, synapses fire. A synapse is an electrical signal that moves between parts of the brain when learning occurs.
Moser found that when people make a mistake the brain has two potential responses. The first one is called an ERN response, where the electrical activity in the brain increases when we realize the difference between a correct response and an error. It is fascinating to note that this brain activity occurs whether or not we realize that we have made an error. The second response, called a Pe, is a brain signal thought to reflect conscious attention to mistakes. This happens when we realize that we made an error and are fully aware of it.
You may find yourself saying brain activity only occurs if students correct their mistakes and go on to solve the problem correctly. But this is actually not the case. In fact, Moser’s study shows that even if we are not aware that we have made a mistake, those brain sparks occur. This neurological research on the brain and mistakes is hugely important for math teachers and educators in general because it means making mistakes is a good thing. Mistakes are not only opportunities for learning, as students consider the mistakes, but also times when our brains grow.
This leads to the question of how do we connect the idea that making mistakes is a good thing and should be valued to the type of assessments we do in our classrooms. Do your assessments celebrate and value mistakes? Use the PADLET below to share ideas regarding assessments that value growth mindset.
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Moser, J. S., Schroder, H. S., Heeter, C., Moran, T. P., & Lee, Y. H. (2011). Mind Your Errors Evidence for a Neural Mechanism Linking Growth Mind-Set to Adaptive Posterior Adjustments. Psychological Science, 0956797611419520.
Boaler, J. (2015). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Personal Stories
My partner and I have been looking forward to our wedding for over a year now. Venues booked, perfect dress found, save the dates and invites sent. Not only did the perfect day, my grandmother's would-have-been 100th birthday, fall on Memorial weekend, but many of my family members from Germany were able to take time off and planning on visiting the US and Hawaii for the very first time. It couldn't have been more perfect. It was all just meant to be. To top it off, we had planned an epic 8-week honeymoon through Europe.
But this virus had other plans and we had to make the painful decision to move our wedding and cancel our carefully planned honeymoon. I resisted it, I threw small tantrums, had some good cries, but in the end, I needed to look forward. I put my growth mindset training to the test and kept trying to think of the silver linings and ways to turn this situation to something more positive. We had close friends that would have missed our wedding but now they will be able to join. I had to let go of that perfect date, but it will always be special as it was my Omi's birthday. We had been a tad stressed and behind on the planning regarding food and drink, but now we have another year to really throw an epic party. We love each other and that won't change and now we just get to enjoy being engaged a tad longer.
By N. Wolff
Activity #2
Use a piece of paper and create the shown structure.
Record your thoughts while working through this. How much time did it take? What was your process? Did you ask for help?
Now imagine your students as they are working through new challenging problems and what are some ways we can support them through that process.
