Growth Mindset Fall 2017

(Image Information: Growth Mindset

Spencer Burton. Source: Twitter)

~~~

     When I think back from my childhood education up until this point, I have always been praised on my intelligence. People would say things like, "Oh you're so smart" or "Wow, I wish I was that smart". I always would love this type of praise, but after watching several talks by Carol Dweck, I now know that that type of praise is actually detrimental. 

     I actually heard this talk by Carol Dweck last semester. I was previously in Dr. Gibbs Epics of India class. This talk really enlightened my view on the different ways we learn, and how we can approach learning to achieve the best benefits. I have tried to continue to use this philosophy throughout my coursework since I heard this talk. This especially came into play this summer as I studied for several classes.

     In elementary school, I was much smarter than all of the kids around me. This had to do with my desire to learn before even going to school. My parents taught me how to read and write before I even went to Pre-K. Because of this, I ended up going to 1st grade the next year. I had skipped a grade.

      I continued my education in a private school after that because my parents wanted me to engage in an education curriculum that presented more challenges. The principal at this school wanted me to skip another grade, but my parents didn't want me to be in a class where the age gap was very big. I continued to be told I was "so smart" and "very intelligent".

     In high school, I returned to the public school system, where I took all AP classes. I received a lot of AP credit, enough to amount to one year of college. I also scored in the 96th percentile after taking the ACT. I thought college was going to be a piece of cake, that I was going to be able to maintain a 4.0 GPA, and I was going to graduate early. This was not the case.

   From Carol Dweck's teachings, I have come to realize that even up until this day, I have a fixed mindset. I have always relied on my intelligence to get me through college. Whenever I got bad grades, I would lose confidence and think my intelligence is running out. I became to realize that I'm average compared to everyone else. 

    As a science major, every new semester brings new challenges. No science class is the same. For me, it has been super hard to grasp the best technique when studying for science classes. However, having heard this talk I have begun to find what works for me. I have also been approaching learning from a growth mindset point of view.

  With the idea of a growth mindset, I hope to continue to take challenges head on through my classes this semester. I am excited to see how this mindset plays out throughout the rest of my schoolings, career, and even things in the future. 

~~~