Carol Dweck’s Tedtalk

Reading Questions for Dweck

1. Dweck offers two key terms, Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset. Explain these two concepts. Use a Dweck quote for each as part of your explanation. Be sure to offer your explanation in a way that a friend might understand it.
   1. There are two kinds of people. One type of person, fixed mindset, likes the challenge of problems, thinking of different solutions to solve the problem. While another type of person, growth mindset, runs from the problem, not facing the challenge and thinking of solutions. Dweck’s experiment on ten year olds showed that the students with growth mindsets were excited about the math problems. The children said “I love a challenge” and “You know, I was hoping this would be informative”. The growth mindset realized that they could develop their brain to push through issues. Dweck said the fixed mindset children found it tragic and catastrophic. They saw their abilities being judged causing them to not want to try the problems. 
2. Dweck names at least two ways to stimulate a Growth Mindset or to building a “bridge to yet” (3:53). What are they? Use a quote for each and offer a response. Do these seem reasonable? Does something about them bother you? Why?
   1. The first way is to “praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent”. This makes sense because some students are very smart but do not conform to the teaching and grading methods, making it look like they are bad students. Some schools teach by spitting out information and having kids regurgitate the information back. I do like the other way they stimulate growth mindset by using University of Washington’s math game. The math game awarded kids efforts, strategy, and process. The kids were engaged more and gave more effort.  I also like this way of learning because some people work harder than others but the reward always goes to the final product, not the process. Having the awards throughout the process is better to encourage and motivate people. 
3. Intelligence. Dweck’s ideas may suggest a notion of intelligence or smarts that is different from what many might think about when considering intelligence. How do you see her model of intelligence? Explain with evidence from the text.
   1. I see her model of intelligence is more supportive of the process not outcome. Mrs. Dweck says that most people are concerned about getting an A or having good grades. Her view of intelligence is the process, effort, and engagement in solving a problem when the world is more concerned with the outcome and solution. This is very different, in Asia most schools do not care about how you solve a problem just that you get the correct answer. Dweck’s intelligence focuses on the process and effort given to push through and solve a problem. 
4. Write about a fixed mindset moment in your own learning history. If you have one from your reading and writing experience, consider using it as an example. Explain how that moment worked out for you. Be sure to offer enough detail for a reader to grasp the situation, your approach/experience, and the outcome. (We all have them at some point!) Make sure to explicitly link your experience to a specific idea (or ideas) in Dweck’s talk. You’ll be making what we call a “text to self” connection here.
   1. I have been at the same school since preschool. Senior year I was taking two AP classes. Originally I started in the co ed classes, and the lower reading and writing level. I thought I was always going to be there at the bottom, always seen as a co ed student. However my teachers and counselors through the years knew that If I worked hard and tried to work through I would make it to the regular classes. My counselor made me take special reading and writing classes that would test my progress every week. They would encourage me to keep trying that I was getting better, encouraging the progress I was making. Of course my fixed minded self was angry and mad that I had to do extra work to get better. I felt that people were judging me, thinking that I was slow, stupid, or dumb. When in reality none of them cared. In middle school I finally moved into normal classes but still had to do the testing to make sure I was on the right track. I was happy excited that all my work paid off, that I finally made it into the regular class with my friends. My mind went though “I am smart, I am average, I am at a normal reading and writing level with the rest of my peers”. In high school I was still taking the test but I did not have to sit in the learning center anymore and have extra teaching. Freshman to Sophomore year was regular classes, nothing special. My teachers and counselor would still come talk to me separately saying that I need to put more effort and time into working through my problems. Being judged by my peers that Iwas dumb was a huge fear of  mine, that they would think I was lesser to them becuase I could not comprehend that information as fast as them. My mom was a big support helping me get tutors at a young age to help me excel, saying that it would be hard to get better and reach the level of my peers. She never discouraged me , she would tell me that it was okay that I was a bit slower than the other, that my mind worked differently from my peers, and that if I work as hard as I can and not try to compare myself to others. All my hard work from preschool to senior year paid off. My mom and I were so excited when the school allowed me to take an AP course. I was so happy, I was a smart kid, no one could say that I was stupid and that i was going no where. My mom was so proud that I went from a co-ed student who needed tutors, extra teaching, and had to take a progress test every week to being able to take an AP class and also being eligible to take a college course class. My teachers and counselor were happy that I put in the work and effort to get my grades up and reach the learning level of my fellow students. My joy was through the roof with the previous news and then I was told that I was able to switch to a 504, which would help me in college where my previous learning accommodation did not. 

All my life I was not a hard working student and I still to this day need to work on it. If I had gone to another school I do not know where I would be. Dweck’s model of intelligence was how my school ,teachers, and counselors saw my intelligence. They could see when I put in the effort and when I did not. My counselor used a stimulus that would help me change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset by encouraging my effort and work instead of punishing my failure and focusing on my defeat. I do  wish that my schools used computer programs that encouraged the work and that it was fine to not get the correct answer. My school believed and encouraged me to face my problems and work through them instead of saying I can not do it and not push myself to work hard and engage my brain. I am so happy and thankful to the teachers and others who saw my potential, did not give up on me, and encouraged me when I would try to give up and when I needed some rewards to help through the tough time.