TOPIC B -- MINDSET
Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset: Which One Are You? in Richard's 'Michael Graham Richard' Blog (Richard 2007)
- As imperfect human beings, we are bound to have strengths as well as weaknesses, which as students, it simply means that there are subjects which we excelled at and subjects which our performance are moderate. Likewise, having the tendency to put in more effort in subjects which we perform well in will come as a second nature to us and the reverse is also true for the latter. Hence, the notion of "Well! Well! I just do not have a talent for Subject X" will also not be foreign to us anymore. This is when what Psychologists Dr. Carol Dwek and Dr. Lisa Blackwell from Stanford University deemed as the concept of "Mindset" comes into play (Stromberg 2014).
- Just like Dr. Barbara Oakley, who described herself as the "Belligerent Queen of Anti-Math", had used to dread and performed poorly in Math all through Grade School, Middle School and High School, but is now an established Professor of Engineering (Oakley 2014). Dr. Barbara Oakley too, had combat the lack of confidence and drawbacks from the lack of good Math skill foundation when she first started studying Math whilst having to compete with classmates who were fast Math thinkers and high achievers. Her ultimate success comes with having the right attitude or so-called "Mindset", ingrained with patience, resilience and creativity (Week 1, Lecture 5).
- World-renowned Psychologists Professor Carol S. Dweck and her colleague, Dr. Lisa Sorich Blackwell at Stanford University had pointed out that students tend to have either a: (1) "Fixed Mindset, that says, 'I have a certain amount of talent for this topic, and I'll do well until I hit that limit. Past that, it's too hard for me, and I'm not going to do well.'” or a (2) “Growth Mindset, that says ‘learning involves using effective strategies, putting aside time to do the work, and engaging in the process, all of which help you gradually increase your capacity for a topic.’"It turns out that it is the “ Growth Mindset” students to stick with it and persevere in the face of difficulties who will be successful in challenging classes. (Stromber 2014).
- Brainology® Brainology is an award-winning, online program developed by Dr. Carol Dweck and Dr. Lisa Sorich Blackwell that teaches brain science and study skills to middle school and high school students. In the program, students develop a "Growth Mindset", the core belief that abilities, rather than being fixed, are developed over time. Research shows that this powerful belief leads to an increased focus on learning, greater resilience, and superior achievement. The program has been used in schools and homes in most U.S. States and several countries with enthusiastic reviews by teachers, parents and students.In order to overcome all the obstacles or challenges in subjects which we had no solid foundations, just like what Dr. Barbara Oakley, Dr. Carol Dwek and Dr. Lisa Blackwell had pointed out, one has to rid themself of the "Fixed Mindset" and adopt the "Growth Mindset", throwing out the "I have no talent in Subject X" notion and persisting with patience, hard work and effective studying strategies to succeed in whichever Subject they pursue (Dweck et al. 2008).