Fixed Mindset

Ever wondered how students differ and how each and every one of them is unique? According to professor of psychology, Carol S. Dweck, from Stanford University, there are two different mindsets. Fixed and growth, and they’re both vastly different. While students with fixed mindsets may find themselves giving up after a hard task, thus believing they’re not as smart as their fellow students. Those with growth mindsets welcome a difficult task and believe that through hard work and effort they can succeed and learn from their mistakes.

There are diverse ways on how children view efforts. A child with a fixed mindset may believe that their efforts are worthless if they are not immediately good academically and that they are not going anywhere.

. .there’s something disconcerting about how the idea has been used — and about the broader assumption that what students most need is a “mindset” adjustment.” Kohn states that students are less likely to be interested in learning, but to “get the reward or praise.” In Kohn’s article he addresses that in Dweck’s Brainology she did not criticize the mentality of changing children to fit the expectation that society has for them, yet embraced it. Kohn also states, “Until those arrangements have been changed, mindset will get you only so far. And too much focus on mindset discourages us from making such changes.” The structure of schools and the ways of teaching have an immense impact on students. To achieve better students and better grades, the people to work on improving the learning environments and focus on the changing the ways of teaching for the better. The focus on mindsets and changing students has made an impact on grades, however the question may be did it make an impact on the students themselves? Dweck’s team had pilot-tested Brainology in 20 New York City schools. According to Dweck “Virtually all of the students loved it”

However, even without more research the growth and fixed mindsets have become a vast thing in society, businesses and school has embraced growth mindsets and even now seek them out.

Dweck’s research has made an impact on the world, both negative and positive.

In Dweck’s TED talk, she says “I received a letter recently from a 13-year-old boy. He said, "Dear Professor Dweck, I appreciate that your writing is based on solid scientific research, and that's why I decided to put it into practice. I put more effort into my schoolwork, into my relationship with my family, and into my relationship with kids at school, and I experienced great improvement in all of those areas. I now realize I've wasted most of my life."” This 13-year-old boy is an example of most students across the world. The boy mentions that he put effort into more than just school, but with relationships between his family and other children. Brainology can be put into work throughout more than just schoolwork, but also the relationship between others. Therefore showing that grades are not the only important thing for mindsets, but friendship and familial relationships can be improved through hard