Academic Mindset Argument: Draft #1
A mindset is a view you have on yourself as a learner, and this view affects the way you put effort towards learning. There are two very important mindsets each person is defined as. There is having a growth mindset, and having a fixed Someone with a growth mindset believes intelligence can be developed throughout time. Someone with a fixed mindset believes that intelligence is a fixed trait. Dr. Carol Dweck is a psychologist at Stanford University. In the article, Teachers, Parents Often Misuse Growth Mindset Research , Carol Dweck Says (Carol Dweck), Dweck believes that your mindset was formed when you were a lot younger and it has been affecting the way you learn ever since. She argues, “adults can, instead, help foster a "growth mindset" – the belief that the brain is like a muscle that can grow stronger through hard work.” I agree with Dr. Carol Dweck because I always used to get good grades on my tests, but was not being told the right things due to that the failure hurt me dramatically. It started off freshmen year of high school. I was in my advanced math class, and the class was going easy. I was also doing very well on the tests, and I was always being told my professor that I was very smart. My peers would look at me and say, ”Wow Defrim you are really smart always get perfect scores.” Dweck says, “it's harmful to tell your kids that they're smart because when they eventually do struggle in school, they might think they're not so smart after all. Ultimately, they become afraid of challenges and less resilient when faced with obstacles”. That is exactly what was occurring here. I was being told very “fixed minded” words. As time went by we kept taking test, and I kept being told I was smart. I felt very good about myself, and wasn't afraid of taking test. Failing never crossed my mind. One day I received a test and I had gotten a 64 percent. When I received this I felt as if there was a mistake. This can not be my test. This has to be a joke. Students found out that I got a 64 and they stopped looking up to me like they used too. This dropped my self esteem and the way i felt about the class very low. I did not want to come back to class. Few days later we had another test, and when I received it the thought of me failing again was in my head. Again I failed the test. Before I was not scared to take tests, but now I was petrified. The thought of failing was always on my mind, and I became an awful test taker. Every test I got I would always fail and do bad on it due to this. That is why I believe the way you praise a kid can go a long way to his future. In the article, The Perils of "Growth Mindset Education" [...] (Alfie Kohn), Alfie Kohn believes that the issue is not in the way we talk to our kids, but it’s the system that is failing us. He goes on to say, "The most common bit of concrete advice offered by Dweck and others enamored of the growth mindset is to praise kids for their effort ("You tried really hard") rather than for their ability (You're really smart") in order to get them to persevere. But the first problem with this seductively simple script change is that praising children for their effort carries problems of its own, as several studies confirmed: It can communicate that they're really not very capable and therefore unlikely to succeed at future tasks." I disagree with Kohn on all of what he has said because he has misunderstood Carol Dwecks article. Dweck suggests using phrases such as, “Wow, you really practiced that, and look how you've improved." "See, you studied more and your grade on this test is higher." "You tried different strategies and you figured out how to solve the problem." "You stuck to this and now you really understand it". Phrases like these put a student in the right attitude to keep wanting to learn, and achieve more. Also, they will understand that from failure you just learn, and it makes easier for next time around. Therefore this is why I disagree with Kohn, but I agree with Carol Dweck that teachers, parents, and others have to use the proper language to help a child get that growth mindset. With a growth mindset you can achieve more, and strive for more because of your willingness to gain more knowledge. Finally, I believe that if parents and teachers started praising their students the right way they would see a huge change in the grading part of it. But, they would also see a huge difference in the way students feel about taking tests, or even feel about coming to class. If a student enjoys a class its usually because he is doing well or he has good friends in the classroom. I think schools should place students in classes with their good friends, and praise their students differently. Due to all this there will be a positive dramatic change in the school.
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AuthorHello people that are looking at this. My name is Defrim, and I love motivating others. Welcome to my blog(grind). Archives
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