Brittanie.Duran.-Eng110Fall16

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

Wait...What?

The Perils Of “Growth Mindset Education”

In the Perils of “Growth Mindset” education by Alfie Kohn, we are introduced to the idea that we rely heavily on the growth mindset model for answering questions we have about why students are not doing well in schools. Alfie raises many questions as to why this model is being pushed around as the answer to fixing performance in students, one is why are we trying to fix the students when we should be fixing the school system. Throughout the article Alfie uses Carol Dweck’s research on the growth mindset, in almost a sarcastic way, to suggest that the school system is aware its in need of reform, but is not taking any steps towards that revolution. Instead the school system is slapping a growth mindset sticker on every students forehead and calling it a day.

The main focus of this text was answering the question, do we rely too much on the growth mindset, and in this article I feel that Alfie brings up credible evidence to reasonably say yes. Kohn doesn’t discredit Dweck’s research completely, but he does heavily criticize her and how her work is being used, he is suggesting that we look at how the growth mindset is being applied in schools, but also not loose focus on improving schools as well. His advice is for the school system is to look at how they are applying the growth mindset education and if we are too focused on how to praise a student, Alfie says “Our approval is conditional on the child’s continuing to impress us or do what we say. What kids actually need from us, along with nonjudgmental feedback and guidance, is unconditional support- the antithesis of a patronizing pat on the head for having jumped through our hoops.” So what he means is kids don’t want to be praised necessarily the “growth mindset” way instead we seek conversations, guidance and nonevaluative feedback.

Kohn not only brings up the problems of praise in the growth mindset model but also that “fixing” students mindsets distracts our attention from other societal factors that influence the learning experience like poverty, politics, and sexism. He describes women and their course study selection and questions why they choose certain courses , as if being a woman in todays school system has an affect, Kohn goes on and says “why for example, do relatively few young women choose to study work in the fields of math and science?” What Kohn means in this statement is we are still in a place where the education system still harbors prejudices regarding women, and minorities from poverty stricken areas. He goes on to declare “social psychologists use the term "fundamental attribution error” to mean paying so much attention to personality and attitudes that we overlook how to profoundly the social environment affects what we do and who we are.“ Kohn is highlighting that we are not only outdated but our views are conservatively out of touch with the students today, our views on women and minorities as the root of educational downfall, it's important to look at a student as an individual, disregard their race, gender and where their from. With this statement Kohn suggests that we humanize today's students, using this one example I can say I agree with Alfie that we need to rebrand ourselves and focus less on a quick fix diagnoses called the “growth mindset” and use more than just that to reform the system. Letting go of the conservative ideals of how school should be will help women, minorities, teachers, and the general public function better as a whole.

[michaelanicklaus-blog]

“What it Takes to be Great” blog

               The control focus of Geoffery Colvin’s article “What it Takes to be Great” (FORTUNE magazine, 19 October 2006) is research on if talent really has a play in becoming great at something. Colvin states that talent means little to nothing to do with it. Colvin states, “For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don’t exist.” He says that all these talents that decide if you are good at something are imaginary. This leads him to explain that the real reason for mastering a subject is deliberate practice, which is defined as practice with specific goals in mind that require rigorous training. This, according to Colvin, is the real reason for success in any field.

               Colvin present research suggesting that you are in complete control of what you are good at. He says that the true reason is just practicing continuously. While this research is not something I can relate to, I do recognize that it may be true and is definitely a claim I agree with. I believe that all talents are nursed to motivate individuals to work a little bit harder at those subjects, even if they don’t realize it. For example, many believe that being artistic is something you are born with, because even from a young age some seem to be better at sketching than others. But, in my personal observations, some children are praised for doing a good job at coloring, and that may motivate them to try harder at advancing that art skill. While talking about younger children who seem to just master particular subjects so early, Colvin states, “… Those cases generally include highly involved parents.” Here, he suggests the reason for their success was guided learning from their parents, resulting in additional practice which increased their skill in that field.

               Although he did not say so directly, Martinez would likely approve my calendar because of the frequent study intervals that will enforce reviewing homework, notes, and study guides. This will also lead to further connections and question answering in course material, which will in result reinforce metacognition. This idea of metacognition is incredibly important when fully understanding assignments and readings given to a student. Martinez states, “Metacognition is important and consequential for learns of all ages.” He claims that being able to practice metacognition should be something revisited throughout all years of learning. While reviewing each piece of homework or set of notes, my mind will continue to make further connections, and increase metacognitive thinking, and will eventually deepen my understanding of a subjects. Additionally, this study style will help me offer more conversation in the classroom, and on paper. This schedule will also help me stay on track of when I should be studying, and will keep me ‘practicing’ my course work; This will help me model my school success after advice given in our most recent article, ‘What it Takes to be Great”.

 -> As small disclaimer, I have not been able to try any of this schedule, I stopped working (full time) as of this week. Hopefully this change will help me stay on track of school, and will clearly allow me more time to study.

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

I couldn't really tell whether you agreed with Colvin or not. I thought you were going to agree and disagree simultaneously, and that what I'm assuming you were trying to do, it was just a tad unclear for me. But anyways I liked you calendar it was very easy to read, coming from someone who used to work 16+hr days, cutting back on work will definitely free up so much time not just for studying. 🖖🏻

[kyliestrothers-blog]

“What it takes to be great” Blog Assignment

       The article, “What it takes to be great,” by, Geoffrey Colvin, revolves around the idea that “deliberate practice” is linked to greatness. He suggests that, greatness is not a talent or a gift that one is born with, instead to be great, it is something that must be earned. Colvin argues that, the only way to achieve greatness is through hard work and a lot of time and practice. Throughout the article, Colvin focuses on what true greatness is, and how it is achieved.  Further into the article, it becomes clear that the keys to greatness are; hard work, dedication, practice, and repetition.   

        Colvin presents research suggesting that, anyone can be successful if they practice what researchers call, “deliberate practice.”  Deliberate practice is, “activity that’s explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one’s level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.” (Colvin ph12).  Specifically, Colvin notes that, “you will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years.” (Colvin ph1).  Colivin’s point is that, you can’t be great without dedicating a lot of time and effort towards whatever it is you desire to be great at. I have to agree because for me, I love to draw and I want to be great at it, but to do so, I have to keep working at it, and that takes a lot of time and dedication and even repetition when trying to perfect a certain technique. Furthermore Colivn says that, “nobody is great without work.” (Colvin ph8).  Ultimately, Colvin stresses that you can’t make anything of yourself if you don’t do anything. Even if you are not great at something, if you continue to practice, you will improve, and being something is better than nothing. So, to obtain greatness, you must continue to work hard and deliberately practice as much as possible. 

        Although she doesn’t say so directly, Dweck would likely approve of my calendar because I set specific times for myself to work on homework and to focus on my studies. Dweck believes that, students with a growth mindset become more motivated and put, “considerably more effort into their classroom learning, homework, and studying.” (Dweck ph29). I think that by setting aside specific times for study, it helps keep me motivated to stick with my schedule and keep up with school work. Moreover, I think that Dweck would also agree with Colvin’s argument. In her article, “Brainology,” she talks about how people with a growth mindset are willing learners and can improve on whatever tasks they set their minds to. Dweck states that, “…intelligence is a potential that can be realized through learning.” (Dweck ph5).  The essence of Dweck’s statement is that, the more you learn, the more you know, thus leading you towards that goal of improvement and greatness. Again Dweck claims that, “…everyone can improve their abilities.” (Dweck ph5).  This is the same concept that  Colvin makes; that anyone can be great and improve, it’s just a matter of how much work and effort they put into it. Essentially, both writers believe that everyone can improve and anyone can be great.

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

I agree with most of what you have to say in regards to being dedicated and putting forth effort in your studies and your art. If you lack the discipline to sit down and devote time to your passion and education you will find you wont improve. My only qualm with this is I don't dismiss talent, your innate ability is what distinguishes you from others you surpass, your responsiveness and how quickly you learn material is equally as important. Knowing how you're responding to training is your feedback, so when people wonder why student X is doing better than student Y I can't reasonably say, oh one just practiced better. Could that be a factor yeah, but it's not the end all be all.

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

What Does It Take To Be Great?

“You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years… and not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that’s demanding and painful. -talent has little or nothing to do with greatness.”

 -G.Colvin

Geoffrey Colvin suggests in “what it takes to be great” that talent is not a factor in reaching a higher goal or achieving ultimate greatness. Colvin questions a subjects belief that talent is linked to success and instead suggests that you need to practice, and not just repeat an action daily but apply deliberate practice, this is intended to improve your performance, and it provides essential feedback that can be important for improving and applying new techniques where old ones seem to fail. But I want to be the best! This is a recurring thought in most minds today, and according to Colvin you can do that, but you have to be willing to work, hard.  It’s a process you repeat and devote hours, days, and years too, and that’s a great strategy but when presented with obstacles that appear too difficult the question is will you persevere? The words blood, sweat, and tears comes to mind, I can see why Colvin stresses deliberate practice and its superior importance over just practice. Its not enough to simply adopt a new way of practicing your craft, in “what it takes to be great” we visit the idea that you need to also change your mindset, which makes sense right? It is important to have a refined mental approach to what your trying to accomplish, without change how can we see our mistakes, how can we improve?

Geoffrey’s statements hold weight and substantial evidence that indeed talent isn’t all you need, but is its irrelevancy fact? I’d argue no. I am an artist, like Tiger woods in Colvin’s article I was introduced at a young age to art and drawing in general, I’ve been in studio art classes, college level/honors/ap., all of those provided guidance and training. My grandmother, and mother are both artistic and this dominant trait was passed on to me. Over the years as I progress with my artistic journey I have applied practice and have participated in extra training and guidance from superior artists to better hone my skills. With this evidence in mind, and my response to that training being monitored, leads me to think deliberate practice and innate ability are factors, definitely, in achieving a higher greatness, but also apart of a larger more fuller equation to achieving greatness. I mentioned my artistic love stemmed from my mother, my sisters also have artistic abilities, the youngest harbors some innate ability in calligraphy where as my middle sister is a wizard at culinary art, so we have those artistic traits passed on from our mother.

 If there is more to the story, what is it that we are missing if really hard work isn’t enough? Start from the beginning of this greatness equation, for me its genetics, because genetics is entirely responsible for female and male characteristics, it has an enormous impact on performance. Colvin says “there is no evidence of high level performance without experience or practice.” Yes, but how do we know that someone has innate inability over the typical ability to learn an activity? We can agree that hard work and practice are important, but what about the people who may pick up a skill faster or perform better despite the same level of hard work and practice, the light bulb to this dark question is in their responsiveness to training. Responsiveness to training is how quickly the skill or ability can be acquired, difference in performance may be smaller in other areas, for example skilled based activities are not greatly influenced by size, strength, or gender where as a competitive sport may be. This quickness and ability to acquire skills faster than others are symptoms of innate inability, thus proving it does indeed play a part.

Knowing what I know about genetics and what I can positively say was passed on and taught to me was a strong work ethic, artistic mindset, and a desire to be better, at almost anything. Colvin says that “difference in mental approach is vital.” His example was for people in a business setting (work), I’m applying it for school. So knowing where my mindset is helps me now that I’m in a school setting, I’m more focused and motivated because of my age and what my life experiences has taught me thus far. I know that applying deliberate practice is extremely important, and that I need to think a certain way to be fully engaged in what I’m doing, but, I also see the importance of having certain skills innately. Without these innate abilities I don’t think I would respond to training or lectures the same way, I don’t think id apply study tactics the same way.

 Because I am an artist I respond to visual learning more than just reading words in a book, applying Colvin’s deliberate practice model I know that I need to color code things and write in a way that’s visually stimulating. When I take notes the page sometimes turns into a color coded mess, to some that may be confusing but to me it organizes my thoughts and files them according to the color assigned. Doing this daily and even yearly has helped me come up with more strategies where others have failed, because not everything works the first time. My calendar is color coded and designed in a way that helps me stay motivated not just in school but in my outside school obligations. I think Colvin wouldn’t totally agree with my Calendar because it lacks the “deliberate practice” when it comes to my study time. You’ll notice areas of free time, these are subject to change and can be spur of the moment study time. I didn’t deem it necessary to put study time all over the place because I know my capabilities and realistically what time I’m able to offer. I know Colvin would like to see more study time daily/ hourly, but because I know I have the innate ability to retain information and organize my study time effectively without sacrificing other things, I’m more confident that I’m being logical and applying the right amount of practice to achieve my own personal greatness.

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

Some original works of art, for everyone’s viewing pleasure requested by @persnicketyapp …bonus points if anyone knows who that dapper man is!!

[gcenglish110fall16]

I have no idea who the “dapper man” is, but it reminds me of the renderings in Ah Ha “Take On Me” video (from the 80′s).

Yes, I’m old!

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

Haha I see what you mean, I love a ha! 💕 That video has been recreated a few times in parody form if you don't know who a ha is or the high note hit in that song then I assume you live under a rock.

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

Some original works of art, for everyone’s viewing pleasure requested by @persnicketyapp ...bonus points if anyone knows who that dapper man is!!

[safariiiilive]

Story Time

Hello my name is Sarah Danby. This is my second year of college. I did take a year off after completing my first year off school. I was working at the Safari Park as a Guest Ambassador, then right around the end of September I applied to Mesa Airlines. I got the job!! Packed up a month’s worth of food and clothes and flew out to Phoenix Arizona and started my training. A month went by and I graduated Flight Attendant school. On graduation day we were given our base assignment I got Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). So I flew home back to San Diego packed up my car and drove out to DFW. Was flying around for about 3 months when one day I got so fed up with the rudeness of the passengers and quit my job packed up my car again and drove back home in February. And I got my old job back at the Safari Park. And I was working all the time and I was just constantly thinking “am I going to be one of those people that just get stuck at the safari park for life?” One day I received an email from Grossmont saying it’s that time again to enroll in classes, so I did and now I’m here.

I love cheerleading and anything to do with tumbling and being competitive. I started all-cheer in the fourth grade and did it every year until 8th grade when high school came around I made both teams the high school varsity team and a freshman and level 4 all-star cheer. Unfortunately they practiced on the same days at the same time. Knowing that if I quit high school after making the team I couldn’t try out again for two years, I picked high school cheer. Traded in the all-star competitiveness for Friday Night Lights. Senior year I did both teams because I had some extra time on my hands. I made the level 4 team named Wr4th. Our team was very close regardless of the very large age group ages 7-18. In the beginning of the season at our practices we would stick our routine perfectly. But at the first competition of the year our team completely fell apart and ate carpet (the blue mat we compete/practice on… very rough texture sometimes leaving a rug burn in its place). After that our team kicked it in to high gear to get back on top. The next few competitions we received first place and overall best performance. But then just one week before our competition in Vegas my team had a tragedy, one of my teammates got meningitis. She got sick very quickly being in the ICU we couldn’t visit her. The next practice we made her a card to get better soon the whole team signed it. The next morning we got an email stating that Jewel had passed last night in her sleep. I was devastated because the last practice she was at I didn’t attended because of a high school event. My team was once again broken apart, until our coach gave us a new meaning to competition… Do it for Jewel, because she no longer can. At the competition in Vegas my team was the very last team to go on, and we’ve never had a bigger audience than that day. Before we start the music our captain yells “Do it for Jewel” and we all look up to the sky pointing one finger up to Jewel. I don’t think my team has ever hit a routine harder than that day. The news quickly went worldwide that we were doing it for Jewel, that teams from all around the world would post pictures wearing all purple and putting the #DoItForJewel. Our team went on doing every competition for Jewel. That we got a paid bid to Summit, the biggest competition on the year (also the last one). We went to The Summit (cheer worlds for level 4 and below) and my team won! Number 1 out of 900 teams that competed. I missed my senior prom to go to this competition because winning this competition was much bigger than a high school dance. Cheerleading wasn’t always easy and I wasn’t always this dedicated to the sport until I started gaining skill and getting placed on higher level teams. I worked day in and day out in the cheer gym and the regular gym to get to where I am today.

When I first started taking classes and seeing all the older girls flipping across the gym I was just amazed how easy they made it look. And that when I tried doing a backhand-spring I quickly fell into a fixed mindset. And would come to practice no longer motivated to do anything with tumbling. But I am very lucky that I had such supportive coaches and teammates. They would constantly cheer me on and give me new ways to look at how to conquer and new skill. Right after learning the backhand-spring everything after that was a piece of cake.

Here is a link to a tribute of Jewel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

TWIRPPTk61k

And here is a link of Wr4th at Summit, sorry its kinda terrible in the beginning but it gets better as soon as we start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj390V8peHk

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

We had a small discussion in class about cheer. I was discouraged when I couldn't get a back hand spring when everyone made it look so easy. Something about flinging your body backwards in your mind doesn't click the first time, I think you know what I mean. The running back handspring was easier for me when I finally learned. I was a power house as everyone called it, it became regular routine for me to do as many back handsprings as I could during football games, I think my longest time was a running back handspring that started at one end of the bleachers and I ended all the way on the other side, in total I think I did 14. I haven't been in a cheer team in so long but it feels like yesterday, the bond we have with these girls is amazing. We spend hours practicing in high stress situations it's hard not to see them as family. I'm sorry to hear or Jewels passing and hope she sees how lovely of a woman you are and how even though you may not be cheering anymore you keep her memory alive and still do it for jewel! I'm sure it's in the back of your mind and a driving force for you, keep at it girl!! I'm positive you will reach your goal. 🎉

[persnicketypapp-blog]

Who is Shirley?

I always have trouble starting a journal, especially when I have to introduce myself. I find that my self-perception and how others view me are not always the same. But It just so happens that I need to write a blog about myself and how I got to be a student at Grossmont College. So at least I have a prompt to help me.

While this isn’t my first semester at college this is my first time that I’m giving it a genuine effort. After a failed attempt in 2002 and not realizing how to take notes, delegate time for homework or write essays; I found I was a dismal failure and promptly quit after the first semester.

Fourteen years later, I found when it came to my education I had just been spinning my wheels all that time. Going nowhere quickly didn’t settle well with me and I felt that life had taught me the skills to be a successful student. When it comes to my personal talents they are not your typical crafts or sport. The thing I believe that I am truly talented at and actually enjoy doing is logistics. Pure organizational bliss!

For months I wavered back and forth about my ability to learn, after I grew up hearing that I wasn’t college material. Finally I decided that I wasn’t going allow that to hold me back. So I went down to admissions with my head held high, determined.

Drawing on previous experience I was familiar with admissions, financial aid and school programs. While registering, I noticed flyers advertising the Summer Institute Program. I went into EOPS and was lucky to get one of the last spots available. After a quick orientation I was signed up a ready for my first summer back at college.

Initially I was going to attend summer classes anyways as a way to lessen the shock of transitioning back to being a full time student.  But joining SIP turned out to be not only a great ice-breaker to restarting college, but immensely useful to “learn how to learn“ and to be part of a college community. During SIP we divided into three cohorts where we shared an English and Counseling classe for the semester.

Like Carol Dweck‘s article about a  having a “Fixed Mind set” our On Course book from Counseling class touched on similar points like, your belief in your abilities, how you handle set-backs and what keeps you motivated.

In English we learned how to annotate notes, use critical thinking when reading and most importantly how to write an essay. All these were things I lacked and considered to be road blocks to being a successful student. On top of that in our Counseling class we were taught the importance of being a creator in our life instead of a victim. All while forming a bond through shared struggles and desires for success. We laughed, we cried, we learned to appreciate each one of us as an individual and love us all as family.  These people, my new family members are my Ohana.

I was fortunate to have been a part of something that was so much more deep and meaningful than a simple academic class.

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

I can relate to the waiting game of going back to school. I’m a pieces so I naturally tend to swim all over the place with no clear direction. I want to do everything and that sometimes isn't a realistic thing to hold on to. It didn’t take me as long to go back to school but I’m assuming you’re a tad older than I am. It took me 7 years to come back and although I didn’t feel un prepared I definitely had a moment of “okay here goes nothin!” I’m happy you found that group and are able to see your future as a student in a more positive light. ☺️👍🏻✨

[brittanie-duran-eng110fall16]

This is electric kool aid.

Hi there!

My name is Brittanie, I grew up in palm springs but the past year i was living on the east coast. I only recently moved back and have been working like a mad woman to save some cash while i transfer into “student life” which is very strange considering i have not been in a school setting since i graduated in 2009! That is seven years for those of you who don’t want to math right now.

As i mentioned i was living on the east coast this past year, my family is a military family, i say this and people always ask who it is that’s in the service. I think they are surprised to find that everyone but my mother and i are in. My dad is a master srgt. in the us army, my two younger sisters are in the army reserves, and my older brother in an infantry man in the us army.

When the graduations were all done and my younger sisters started their new jobs i made the decision to make the long cross country drive back to California. This time i drove back with my boyfriend who, SURPRISE, is a sniper in the us army. See a trend?

We mapped out our trip and decided we wanted to take about a week to drive and sight see. My favorite stops were seeing the national infantry museum, which just won the best free museum award, and New Orleans. The town was so full of people and unique shops, but the smell!!!! Bourbon street smells terrible, and by terrible i mean walking down this street your eyes water because of all the different smells happening. I will say this, despite the smell New Orleans knows how to party, no matter what day it is, we will definitely go back!

Making it back to California was bitter sweet. On one hand I get to start this new chapter, and on the other i left part of my family and some great friends behind. At least we have In n Out here right?! You don’t know what its like to miss those juicy burgers until they are no longer readily available. (haha!)

So now that we are in sunny San Diego it is my first priority to be in school as often as possible while holding down a job. I intend to go forth and eventually be a nurse, i also have a strong desire to take more art classes and acquire a certificate to teach. Its my true first love being an artist and intend to keep at it for as long as i possibly can. My other interests are running, hiking, areal yoga, and cooking. My interests will motivate me to continue down this educational path because my intention is to be one of those people who does what they love to do.

My family is a big support and with out this support system I probably would’ve ripped my hair out months ago. We are a fun and crazy bunch. I wouldn’t trade them in for a million dollars. This is us this past weekend, we went to a park for a family get together.

Nice to meet you! Till next time. :)