Changing Perspectives A study found that many 10-year old students consider cheating to be a better way to improve their test grades than studying more (Dweck). According to a theory developed by Stanford psychology professor Dr. Carol Dweck, this is due to the prevalence of a “fixed mindset” in today’s students. Dweck’s theory outlines two opposing mindsets: the fixed mindset, and the growth mindset. Those with a fixed mindset believe that people are born with a set amount of intelligence that cannot be changed (Barshay). In contrast, those with a growth mindset believe that intelligence is something that can be improved and developed through effort (Barshay). Dweck states that students with a growth mindset perform better academically because they see challenges as learning experiences rather than evidence of failure (Dweck). I personally agree with Dweck’s theory and believe that adopting aspects of a growth mindset can be beneficial to someone who is struggling with school. In the past I had a fixed mindset and was easily overwhelmed by school work that took any effort at all, while changing my views in college has made it so that I can cope and successfully do things I would have previously given up on. Developing a growth mindset has helped to make me a better student because I can now see that challenges are meant to be persevered through, not taken as a sign of failure.
One way that adopting a growth mindset has made me a better person is that I no longer base my self-worth on how well I’m doing academically. According to Dweck’s theory, children develop a fixed mindset when they are praised only for the results of their actions, such as getting an 'A' on a test, instead of acknowledging the effort and studying it required to earn that positive result (Barshay). This type of praise causes them to believe that their success is due to inherent (i.e. fixed) qualities such as being “smart”, and to base their self-worth on these qualities (Dweck). I agree with this, as I was considered to be “naturally” smart as a child and as a result developed a fixed mindset. As a result of developing a fixed mindset, many children believe that they are naturally good and bad at certain things and that struggling with school means that they aren’t smart and have no chance of improvement (Barshay). Accordingly, when school work became harder for me in high school and I had to work hard to even get mediocre grades, I shut down and started to feel worthless and depressed because I wasn’t “smart” anymore. Adopting a growth mindset in college, however, has helped me to move past those feelings of self-doubt even when I don’t receive as high of a grade on an assignment as I would have liked. Part of the growth mindset theory involves the concept of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to adapt and form new habits by strengthening and weakening pathways between neurons (Sentis). Although I may not have the capabilities of a genius like Stephen Hawking, neuroplasticity still allows anyone to apply themselves and become their best selves. Growth mindset is about looking to the future and seeing your own potential, instead of dwelling on past failures. Adopting a growth mindset has also helped me to no longer give up on challenging tasks as easily. Throughout my childhood I never had to put effort into doing well in school as getting good grades just seemed to come naturally to me. As a result, because I didn’t have any experience with having to struggle at something before I became good at it, I would give up on any hobbies or activities that were difficult before I even had a chance to begin improving. Dweck’s ideas support this negative aspect of having a fixed mindset, showing that fixed mindset children show a greater tendency than those with a growth mindset to give up on challenging tasks and base their self-worth entirely around the end result instead of acknowledging their own progress (Barshay). The growth mindset addresses this issue, and encourages teachers and parents to praise students for their effort and the strategies they used to accomplish a task (Barshay). Dweck also encourages teachers and parents to work with their children to help find problem solving strategies that work for them, instead of pushing a child to continue putting in effort without results (Barshay). I agree that doing well in school is often more about being willing to put in effort and having good study habits than it is being inherently smart or talented. If I don’t do as well on an exam as I would have liked, instead of giving up and deciding that I’m just not good at that subject and That Is That, I reflect on what I did to prepare and think about strategies I can use to do better on the next exam. I feel that adopting this attitude has greatly helped me to stay motivated and maintain a good GPA in college, instead of giving up like I would have in high school. Although Dweck's theories are widely considered to be valid, there are still some that disagree that students' mindsets are as important as she proposes. Alfie Kohn, for instance, states that, “no mindset is a magic elixir that can dissolve the toxicity of structural arrangements.” He argues that a major flaw in the idea of fixed and growth mindsets is that it places the blame of doing poorly solely on the student’s mindset and fails to address possible problems with the learning environment that may be inhibiting the student’s learning ability (Kohn). I agree that Dweck’s theory is not perfect, but think that there are clear benefits to that should be acknowledged. Growth mindset, far from being philosophical speculation, is based on the legitimate scientific concept of neuroplasticity. As explained by Sentis in their YouTube video about neuroplasticity, the way we see our lives and feel about situations actually is influenced by our frame of mind: Say we think about something differently -- learn a new task or choose a different emotion. We start carving out a new road [within our brain]. If we keep traveling that road, our brains begin to use this pathway more, and this new way of thinking, feeling, or doing, becomes second nature (Sentis). So, for instance, a student actually can to an extent choose to abandon bad study habits or feel less stress and anxiety about test taking simply by changing their mindset. Dweck has also done studies with children in non-ideal learning environments and found that growth mindset teaching is still beneficial to them, in one study allowing a class of Native American students to go from the worst performing class of their district to the best (Dweck). Additionally, Dweck acknowledges that parents and teachers can play a part in a student developing a fixed mindset, and stresses the importance of praising a student’s effort and process as well as positive results (Barshay). While Dweck’s philosophy is not perfect, I don’t believe that there is yet a better alternative to the growth mindset. I believe that having a growth mindset has helped me to accomplish more than I could have with a fixed mindset. Having a fixed mindset made it easy to give up on things, since you can’t be faulted for not being born good at playing the flute or doing gymnastics. Now that I have a growth mindset, though, I’ve become a more motivated, responsible person because I know that if I want to succeed at something it’s up to me to put in the effort. Even though I’ll never be as talented as some people, I can still become better than the person I was yesterday. Works Cited Barshay, Jill. "Teachers, Parents Often Misuse Growth Mindset Research, Carol Dweck Says." U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report, 23 Nov. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017. <http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/11/23/teachers-parents-often-misuse-growth-mindset-research-carol-dweck-says>. Dweck, Carol. “Carol Dweck: The Power of Believing That You Can Improve.” TED, Nov. 2014, Web. 21 Feb. 2017. <www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve>. Kohn, Alfie. “The perils of “Growth Mindset” education: Why we’re trying to fix our kids when we should be fixing the system.” Salon. Salon Media Group, Inc., 16 Aug. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017. <http://www.salon.com/2015/08/16/the_education_fad_thats_hurting_our_kids_what_you_need_to_know_about_growth_mindset_theory_and_the_harmful_lessons_it_imparts/> Sentis. “Neuroplasticity.” YouTube. YouTube, 6 November 2012. Web. 23 April 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g>
1 Comment
Sabatino
4/26/2017 07:28:55 am
This draft shows progress from the first draft. I notice you provide a clear thesis statement, clear topic sentences, specific supporting points, and relevant and credible source materials to support your claims. You also provide a counter-argument and rebuttal, which adds perspective to your argument. I appreciate how you accurately represented both Dweck's and Kohn's arguments. The conclusion about being better than your former self provides a lasting and succinct closing to your overall argument.
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