Local News Update
Week of Dec. 14, 2015- Dec. 18, 2015.
What do you think? Fixed or Growth?
As we prepare to close out this year and welcome in 2016, it causes me to reflect on what has been accomplished and what has yet to be achieved. New year, new challenges, new thinking. As I continue to seek ways to grow, I want to share some some insight gleaned from Dr. Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset-The New Psychology of Success. She shares there are basically two schools of thought that capture the philosophies of learning. You can either have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset as related to intelligence and learning. The fixed mindset says that our intelligence levels are set and cannot be changed or adjusted. You are either born smart, talented, and gifted, or you are not. Conversely, the growth mindset says that our intelligence and performance outcomes are not so much dictated by what we are born with, but rather the effort and determination we are willing to put toward a task or goal. Fixed mindset people are driven by labels such as “A” student, smart, gifted. When they experience failure, they immediately respond to it by doubting their ability. They feel and/or verbalize their deficits through comments such as “I am not smart”, “I always mess things up”, etc. The growth mindset person views failure as opportunities to change their strategies for learning (more study time, more practice time, form a study group, talk with the teacher, analyze mistakes, etc.). The growth mindset person never gives into thinking that they are incapable. They see themselves as needing to work harder to get to their end goals. They see improvement as the end goal. Students with a growth mindset earn better grades and learn concepts more readily than those with a fixed mindset. This is because those with growth mindsets are convinced that hard work and perseverance lead to learning. Fixed mindset people need the “A” to reaffirm that they are smart.
The holiday season is a time of gift-giving. Decide what you want to give your students. Do you want them to see their learning and ability through a fixed lens in which their outcomes are predetermined? Or do you want them to truly believe that the sky is the limit as long as they put forth effort and hard work to accomplish their dreams? What do you think? Fixed or Growth?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Reminders...
- Please follow Holiday Shutdown procedures
- Teacher's conference on Friday will be during the Christmas sing-a-long.
- Specials, I-Team, Mr. Mac and paras will assist in motoring students during Christmas sing-a-long.