Growth Mindset

image from: https://cdmonline.ie/multidev1-2021/growth-mindset/

"students had to pass a certain number of courses to graduate, and if they didn't pass a course, they got the grade "Not Yet." And I thought that was fantastic, because if you get a failing grade, you think, I'm nothing, I'm nowhere. But if you get the grade "Not Yet", you understand that you're on a learning curve. It gives you a path into the future." This beginning of Carol Dwecks video (https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve/transcript?language=en#t-89412) stuck with me. As a perfectionist everything I ever did always had to be 100% perfect and if it was anything less I couldn't live through imperfection. I would always think I can't improve anymore therefore the beginning connected with me from my past experiences.

"How are we raising our children? Are we raising them for now instead of yet? Are we raising kids who are obsessed with getting As? Are we raising kids who don't know how to dream big dreams? Their biggest goal is getting the next A, or the next test score? And are they carrying this need for constant validation with them into their future lives? Maybe, because employers are coming to me and saying, "We have already raised a generation of young workers who can't get through the day without an award." This part of the video shows that it's not our generations fault as we have been trained from the youngest age that there are no room for mistakes and if we do something perfectly we need to get a trophy or star while the rest don't. In my primary school every week one student would bring a "Student of the week" trophy him for one school week therefore there were students who never got the trophy and felt like they can't ever achieve that level of perfection.

'Let's not waste any more lives, because once we know that abilities are capable of such growth, it becomes a basic human right for children, all children, to live in places that create that growth, to live in places filled with "yet". I liked this part because I truly feel like my childhood was lost because of the constant expectations of perfection with no room for mistakes that can help with your growth. Miss Dweck is truly so inspiring in this video.

In this video (http://growthmindsetmemes.blogspot.com/2014/07/resource-make-challenge-new-comfort.html) I disagree with Carol Dweck. Yes constantly working on an easy task won't improve your abilities but constantly having harder and harder work for children is not good.

"We should have kids asking for harder work", This statement is wrong because personally I feel like this causes massive strains on mental health.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl9TVbAal5s) I agree with this video as many of us fall into a fixed mindset easily because of expectations and society as we don't want to look "dumb".

• have you heard of Carol Dweck and/or the growth mindset before? how did you learn about it?

I never heard of Carol Dweck until we had to do this assignment. 

• how do you see yourself on the spectrum of growth-fixed mindset in your schoolwork? what about other aspects of your life? (for example, if you are an athlete, can you relate to this from a sports perspective? music? travelling? cooking?)

When I was younger sometimes I would doubt my abilities in my art skills. After a while I understood I will gain greater skills over time as long as I practice often. 

"Practice makes perfect" is a common quote but everybody should apply it to their lives. 

Personally I think the "Never give up" quote is also the perfect quote for motivation when you want growth.

I have kept most of my drawings from my childhood to compare it to my art today. I knew one day I would look back and see how far I have come.

Example: my drawing in 2014 vs 2021

Another aspect to this post topic would be maturity. As a child you may have thought an action against you might have been unfair but when you get older you realise you were in the wrong as it was for your own good.

• what have you learned about your own learning while you’ve been at OU? what are your biggest challenges as you set about learning new things?

I have learned that I grow my learning better by doing things I like/ have interests in. My biggest challenges as I learn new things are not understanding at first or a little bit of confusion.

• do you think you’ll be interested in learning more about the growth mindset this semester?

Yes i'll be interested in learning more about the growth mindset this semester. Everyone would improve mentally to be less fixed.

• do you have any personal learning goals for this semester? any class that you are really excited about? or a class you are worried about? (I would be really happy if learning about growth mindset could help you in your work not for just this class, but in other classes too!)

My personal learning goal this semester is animation and game making therefore this module! For future careers I would like to use these skills the most. 

I am excited with this module. 

I am worried about Digital Video Techniques as I found the first lab a bit confusing on campus. I will have to do all the future labs at home.