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Growth Mindset Thoughts

I don't let the past bring me down.

While I have never heard of Carol Dweck or her research on the growth mindset, I've found that I really identify with a lot of the things she talks about. I've always been more of a "focus on the journey, not the destination" type of person, and I apply this principle to most areas of my life. I love the feeling of improvement, and while the payoffs of that improvement are exciting to see, it's the learning and growing itself that I find the most fun.

The biggest challenge that I've found at OU is that a lot of classes, especially early on, follow a more traditional style that doesn't really support this mindset. The emphasis is on the grade itself and not necessarily the material that you learn. While I can usually make good enough grades in these classes, it makes them forgettable and unenjoyable to me, and ultimately, I feel that that's just a waste of time and money. 

I think it will be fun to learn more about this mindset as the semester progresses, though I am also interested to learn more about its criticisms, as this is definitely not a "cure-all" process. I certainly agree with Dweck's critic Alfie Kohn that focusing too much on how one is doing in a certain task detracts from the enjoyment of the task at hand. It will be interesting to find out more on how to apply this mindset effectively to my other classes throughout this semester.
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  1. DaMythDaLegendJanuary 18, 2020 at 10:26 AM

    Like you, I've noticed that many classes here at OU are focused primarily on grades and overall academic performance. I've had many engineering professors throw fits in class when the class test average wasn't what they were expecting. That's why I'm exciting about the way this class is graded. Since the class is graded based off of our own declarations, we are free to progress through the course at our own pace, which facilitates our own learning and personal growth. It think it captures the essence of the growth mindset quite well while still being a grade-based curriculum.

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