Reflections by using the Mindset Assessment Tool quiz from Carol Dweck (2014)

I had the opportunity to have a Mindset assessment tool quiz and showed the following quote:

“You understand that your intelligence is something that you can increase. You care about learning, and you’re willing to work hard. You do want to do well, but you think it’s more important to learn than always to score well and is what we call the “growth mindset.”

Based on the assessment, I came out to be predominately a growth mindset. However, I have some areas would be beneficial to keep working on the sole growth mindset. Dr. Dweck (2016) stated that people are terrible about estimating their abilities (p.11). This reminded me into my overachieving things and overstressing about them, making this process. I had a personal subconsciousness because of accepting everyone’s point of view about me instead of trusting my abilities turning into creating what people wanted instead of personal outcomes, leading into a neurological condition. After this assessment I realized that my need to grow from the fixed mindset is to trust and love myself to create a growth mindset for self. 

As reflecting… There is a process of understanding how you could benefit from learning and how to cultivate your growth mindset practices. For example, you may seek challenges and perform at a high level but sometimes feel uncomfortable with criticism even if well-intended or be rather hard on yourself for mistakes. You may have more potential than you are using! People who believe that they can increase their intelligence through effort and challenge get more innovative and do better in school, work, and life over time. They know that mental exercise makes their brains grow smarter—the same way that exercise makes an athlete more substantial and faster. And they are always learning new ways to work smart and build their brains.”

Impacts on growth and fixed mindset

According to Dweck (2014), the rewarding process gives perseverance and confidence to students. As a formal school Principal from an elementary school, it was essential to communicate daily with every student by letting them know about positive messages about perseverance. It was the positive mindset that kept students to keep motivated during the day. 

 As teachers, one influences students positively by engaging them as part of the process and determining students’ expectations and outcomes. Neurologist Dr. Willis (2014) also exposed in the video that students should recognize their emotions, let them know they could be changing, realizing their choices, and execute functions risk analysis versus immediate gratification. A student with a fixed mindset needed people around them to inject that positive reinforcement to analyze their own decision and praise for their outcomes. Students in the growth mindset also need that injection to surpass by valuing their effort for learning. Therefore, teachers must be part of the mindset process to create an integral person who could establish their challenges and adjust their mindset to obtain proactive outcomes for their decision-making process for their future.

What can I do from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset?  

There are programs in school in which teachers could use teaching strategies to support students obtaining from a fix to growth mindset. A teacher used a research projects about the growth mindset by using the Khan Academy software to help students’ mindset “transfer” while doing their work by praising them for their effort and progress, not their ability (Durnin, 2020). While teachers were using innovative platforms and other strategies for school improvement as a process into a creative and innovative approach for success. It also allowed the students to complete their tasks, building leaders to connect to their own goals from the process point of view.

Schools should focus on keeping students engaged in academic work and a growth mindset to obtain outstanding results. Stephen Duneier (2017), an expert of an institutional investor, outdoorsman, professor, decision strategist, coach, business leader, mindfulness extremist, author speaker, and Guinness record holder, realized during college that he can change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. How Duneier showed his goals were clarified by realizing that his c grade level student from High School could become an active participant to obtain small task into goals. His unique technique made him realize that everything is possible if one could be true to their expectations during the process instead of the outcomes. His commitment and determination were the keys to accomplished success. Even though he was moving forward, Duneier also indirectly encouraged that a fixed mindset could overcome challenges to achieve a growth mindset. It is in oneself who needs to understand what should be needed by understanding challenges and expected personal outcomes. Therefore, if schools realized how important the fixed growth mindset could develop students’ outcomes, it would create fantastic student success. 

Question: How can we support our students in the dance class from a fixed to a growth mindset?

Reference:

Durnin, S. (2020). Mindset: It’s a learning process. 

https://blog.mindsetworks.com/entry/mindset-it-s-a-learning-process

Dweck, C. (2014). Carol Dweck: The power of believing that you can improve. [Video file] 

Dweck, C. (2016). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Ballantine Books. (p.11) 

Laureate Education (Producer). (2012e). Promoting a growth mindset. [Video file]. Author 

Tedx Talk (2017). How to achieve your most ambitious goals. [Video file]. Stephen Duneier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQMbvJNRpLE