It’s important to believe you can do something. However, the idea that mindset alone can accomplish goals comes across as a bit tone-deaf and overly simplified. What about things like social circumstances and access to resources? For example, right now there are 2 million people in the United States without access to safe drinking water. Some of them are our students. This is bound to affect their ability to pay attention in school. I realize that Dr. Dweck isn’t saying that mindset is the only factor. But to imply that people are beholden to their mindset under such difficult external circumstances rubs me the wrong way. The fact that no one has been able to reproduce her work and that her website, mindsetonline.com, cannot be reached leaves me with more questions than answers. That being said, I’m going to try to approach these videos with a clean slate.
Growth Mindset
In her TED Talk, Dr. Dweck makes many researched-based claims (2014). One of her most prolific claims encompasses the concept of “yet.” When a person claims “I can’t do that,” the addition of the word “yet,” with feeling and truth demonstrates their ability to learn. This is an example of a growth mindset. When someone has a growth mindset, they bank on their ability to grow continually as a learner rather than intrinsic ability. Someone with a fixed mindset has faith that their genetic and intrinsic abilities are fixed qualities, for better or for worse. For example, whether someone sees themselves as “smart” or “stupid,” if they have a fixed mindset there’s not much that can change their opinion. According to Dweck, adopting a growth mindset enables one’s ability to learn and grow as a human throughout the rest of their life.
Her book, Mindset goes into more detail. In fact, regarding my statement above – mindset alone can accomplish goals – is heavily rebutted. She states, “People have different resources and opportunities” (Dwick, 2006, pp. 47). She continues to say, “People with fewer resources, in spite of their best efforts, can be derailed so much more easily” (Dweck, 2006, pp. 48). In other words, Dr. Dweck recognizes that other factors beyond mindset have a role to play in student success.
Growth Mindset, Part 2
In his TED Talk, Eduardo Briceño fully supports Dr. Dweck’s research (2012). His team has developed a new website – https://www.mindsetworks.com/ – and continues to espouse her teachings. Eduardo defines the mindsets much like Dr. Dweck. He calls them physiological manifestations and says that:
- A fixed mindset worries how they are judged and sees setbacks as a fact of who they are. This causes people with a fixed mindset to lose interest and withdraw.
- A growth mindset sees setbacks as part of the process. People with growth mindsets are concerned only with their learning.
Eduardo also noted the pronounced effect in minority groups.
Love & Logic
I don’t disagree entirely with Dr. Dweck’s findings. In fact before Dr. Dweck’s 2006 book Mindset, The New Psychology of Success, this concept was addressed in the book Teaching with Love & Logic (Fay & Funk, 1995). Fay and Funk talk about “golden language” and using “I notice” statements as a means to build relationships. For example, instead of saying, “I like your drawing!” and providing positive feedback, a teacher might say, “I notice you like to draw.” This puts emphasis on the student and their intrinsic desire rather than placing the emphasis on the teacher’s opinion of student work. Anecdotally, this worked wonders in my classroom with many a reluctant student.
Maybe it’s Personal
I think I see a lot of myself in the fixed mindset thinking. And it’s not pretty.
I’m from a small town. In that small town, I was labeled, “smart” and “gifted.” Then I grew up. At the university level, I wasn’t just nobody… I was failing. Advanced chemistry ate my lunch! I will never forget walking back from the first failed test, test in hand, openly crying in the elevator. My mindset was fixed – I thought I was gifted or smart and that was enough to get me through! When I switched to an easier chemistry class, I bounced back pretty quickly. Also, my mindset definitely shifted quite a bit as I learned how to learn.
On a very personal note, I suffer from anxiety and depression. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, I am incapable of digging myself of the fixed mindset hole, from a physiological standpoint. On the other hand – all the work I did and continue to do to combat mental illness is because of my growth mindset around mental health. In fact, Dr. Dweck’s work supports a connection between a fixed mindset and depression (Dweck 2006). She also compared fixed mindset peers and growth mindset peers with depression and found that growth mindset peers became determined in the face of depressive episodes (Dweck, 2006). Finally, Dr. Dweck taught depressed people a growth mindset and found that “it changed the way they reacted to their depressed mood. The worse they felt, the more motivated they became” (Dweck, 2006, pp. 39).
This particular research helped me understand a lot about who I am – someone with bouts of depression and anxiety who wants more than anything to be a learner.
Whether or not Dr. Dweck’s work is overly simplified, there is some merit. I am really curious about what others’ opinions. Please share your thoughts!
For more on my thoughts about the growth mindset, read my previous post.
References
Briceño, E. (2012, November 19). The Power of belief — mindset and success | Eduardo Briceno | TEDxManhattanBeach. YouTube. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc&feature=youtu.be
Dweck, C. S. (2007). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Ballantine Books.
Dweck, C. S. (2014, October 9). Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck. YouTube. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ
Fay, J., & Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with Love & Logic: Taking Control of the Classroom. Love and Logic Press.