I recognize Dweck’s spectrum of growth vs fixed mindsets in peers who breezed through grade school with natural talent and intelligence, and then hit stumbling blocks in college. In grade school, they didn’t have to work to get succeed, so it became natural to assume they would never have to. They never developed study habits or time management. College is different—even if you understand concepts upon first being introduced to them (which probably won’t happen), the sheer workload requires much more time and effort to get good grades. Students who were great in high school flounder in college. This is a generalization, but I’ve seen it happen, and I’ve been the student in question.
Instead of a desire to cultivate skills, there’s more a sense of “I found my limits, and I cannot change them.”
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Everyone, I would bet, is keen on growing one or two sets of skills. I know I can always improve on writing. For my mom, it’s learning new computer skills. Several of my friends play and master new, challenging video games for fun. But on the reverse side, I think everyone has skills they’re insecure about and perceive as fixed in place. Despite twelve years of effort, I’m still terrible at reading sheet music.
So, I doubt it’s as cut-and-dry as a TED talk makes it sound, but the spectrum of growth vs fixed mindset is a useful model for comparison.
Image: Night speed sign by Litljltlj. Web source.
Hi again, Taylor!
ReplyDeleteI have already commented on your intro post and I wanted to find a new post to comment on so I found this one. I totally agree with your example of how a lot of students who did well in high school struggle to do well in college, because even if you understand the content, it takes so much more time management and work ethic to make good grades, I know I was definitely one of those students, and I am still learning!