1. Dweck offers two key terms, Growth Mindset and a 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.

Growth Mindset: Growth mindset is a supportive change, students who struggle in school are told “Not yet” and that somewhere down the road through hard work and determination how you will achieve your goals. Dweck says, “We taught them that every time they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult, the neurons in their brain can form new, stronger connections, and over time, they can get smarter.” 

Fixed Mindset: With a Fixed mindset the student is so focused on the next A or even just doing good that he/she faces defeat and cannot handle it and as Dweck says, “So what do they do next? I’ll tell you what they do next. In one study, they told us they would probably cheat the next time instead of studying more if they failed a test. In another study, after a failure, they looked for someone who did worse than they did so they could feel really good about themselves.” 

1. Dweck names at least two ways to stimulate a Growth Mindset or to building a “bridge to yet” (3:53). What are they? “We have already raised a generation of young workers who can’t get through the day without an award.” Use a quote for each and offer a response. Do these seem reasonable? Yes, this seems reasonable. I am guilty of this for example, “Are we raising kids who are obsessed with getting As” Does something about them bother you? Yes and no. Why? Because although being encouraged to try harder the next time, there is a counter-argument as well. Students that struggle with the same something for long enough get frustrated and very stressed.
2. 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? I see her opinion of “intelligence” as more of something that is gained over time and not something you are born with. Explain with evidence from the text. “But praising the process that kids engage in, their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement. This process praise creates kids who are hardy and resilient.”

1. Write about a fixed mindset moment in your own learning history. 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.

Often when studying for exams I get stressed and worried that I am not going to do good. Furthermore, I then may/do lose my confidence with the material being assessed. However, I then refocus myself by using a “fixed mindset” perspective. I tell myself that if I try another problem then I will be able to go back and do it.