Growth mindset
"We are not predisposed to believe the startling proposition that we are all created equal"
(Meier, 2002).
Growing up
When I was growing up, my dad would never just give me answers to things. He would always respond to my questions with more questions as he attempted to lead me to the answer with what I already knew. He would interrupt me from my drawing on a road trip to direct my attention to the landscape and ask why the rocks on one side of the highway look different than on the other side. He taught me to build things instead of buying them. He never felt as if something he wanted to try was out of his reach, even making a skunk-skin cap from roadkill, digging his own well with a shovel, a garage door opener, and a wagon, or constructing a telescope from cardboard tubes. I saw this in him and believed it to be true about myself. While all these projects were failures in many ways, it never stopped him from trying something new and foreign to him when the interest arose. It is a quality that has been a great source of happiness in my life, so I strive to lead everyone around me to develop a growth mindset like my dad taught me to have.
What is a Growth Mindset?
Trilling and Fadel (2009) explain that creativity and innovation are often overlooked, partly because of the misconception that they are innate skills that cannot be taught. This fixed mindset is what leads so many art students to walk into our rooms already defeated, saying things like:
"I'm not good at art."
"I can't draw."
These phrases ring in our ears during the first days of school. But what can be done to change those fixed mindsets into growth mindsets?
Talent is a myth
Triling and Fadel (2009) support Bob Ross' perspective that we learn about and get better at what we're interested in, but take it a step further to acknowledge that these things we learn outside of school are rarely recognized within school. Students' interests cannot always be incorporated into the classroom, but it's important for them to understand the connection between what they've chosen to spend their time working on and what they do well. Alternatively, they also need to make a connection between what they avoid spending time on and what they are not good at.
Ricci (2017) advocates teaching students, parents, and school staff about neuroplasticity to train the entire community that our brains are flexible as opposed to fixed. While you certainly could spend some time actually teaching the science, it's important to remind students constantly that being good at something is the product of dedication and perseverance.
Praise
Even praise can be situated in a fixed mindset. Be careful to avoid praise that suggests a student has an innate ability, such as "you are so smart" (Ricci, 2017). This type of feedback can lead a student to believe that they don't need to work hard because their ability is part of who they are. Eventually they fail and their thinking shifts to a belief that they aren't smart after all (Ricci, 2017).
Instead, Ricci (2017) suggest you focus your praise on effort or actions. When I talk about something cool I've made recently, I always share the failures and practice involved. When a student is successful at something, I point out how long they worked at it or how looking very closely at their reference paid off.
Ricci (2017) also reminds us to use the power of "yet." The power of yet has become a very popular phrase in the last decade or so spawning the creation of countless posters, hallway displays, and even a Sesame Street segment with Janelle Monae. When a student says "I can't draw," all you have to do is reply with a smile...
"yet."
Assessment
Feedback to someone who has a growth mindset is used to help push them forward into a greater or deeper understanding of what they've already learned. Therefore, assessment must be presented in a way that allows students to see it that way. Grades should never be set in stone. Assessment should take the form of feedback that facilitates improvement and resubmission of work for full credit (Clumpner, 2021; Farah, 2021). This type of feedback tells students they can be more successful and you will help them do it.
Application to the Plug and play curriculum
Before attempting their first goal, students are asked to reflect on the difference between talent and practice and what types of behaviors will help them to achieve their goals.
discussion
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references
Clumpner, J. (2021). Art curriculum authenticity: Elevating secondary-student voices in the creative process. Art Education, 74(2), 22-29.
Farah, K. (2021, March 7). How to set up mastery-based grading in your classroom. Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/mastery-based-grading/
Meier, D. (2002). The power of their ideas: Lessons from America from a small school in Harlem. United States: Beacon.
Ricci, M. C. (2017). Mindsets in the classroom: Building a growth mindset learning community. United States: Prufrock Press Inc.
Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills: Learning for life in our times. Germany: Wiley.