Jmolina

[jmolina1013]

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The Perils of ‘Growth Mindset’ Education??

In Alfie Kohn’s article named “The Perils of Growth Mindset”, Kohn emphasizes that research psychologist Carol Dweck’s idea of growth mindset is a phenomenon that educators picked up and are using incorrectly. Kohn himself writes, “The problem with sweeping, generic claims about the power of attitudes or beliefs isn’t just a risk of overstating the benefits but also a tendency to divert attention from the nature of the tasks themselves: How valuable are they, and who gets to decide whether they must be done?” He then later discusses how the growth mindset didn’t seem to help students when they face the idea of failure. According to Kohn, when students adopted a growth mindset, they “…were even more likely to give themselves an excuse for screwing up- a strategy known as ‘Self-handicapping’- as compared to those with dreaded fixed mindset.” He concludes his article by offering a suggestion about using an alternative to the strict guidelines of the growth mindset. Kohn’s point is that “…The real alternative to that isn’t a different attitude about oneself; it’s a willingness to go beyond individual attitudes, to realize that no mindset is a magic elixir that can dissolve the toxicity of structural agreements.”

Alfie Kohn mainly uses statistical evidence and cites experts when providing evidence. After reading his article, the evidence seems vague in my opinion. The one piece of evidence that seems credible is when Kohn talks about a study that was conducted in 2010. Kohn states “ A 2010 study found that when students whose self-worth hinges on their performance face the prospect of failure, it doesn’t help for them to adopt a growth mindset.” This is the only statistical evidence he uses throughout the entire article. He refers back to Carol Dweck quite a few times but fails to provide any other source of expertise. One example of this is “Social psychologists use the term ‘fundamental attribution error to mean paying do much attention to personality and attitudes that we overlook how profoundly the social environment affects what we do and who we are.” He talks about the social psychologists but does not give credit to one.

Kohn asserts that “fixing students mindsets diverts attention to other societal factors that influence learning such as sexism, poverty, economic, or political barriers.” Although I agree with Kohn up to a point, I cannot agree with his assumption that these mindsets divert attention away from most factors. I would say that growth mindset ignores negative thoughts such as failure or disappointment in one self. It doesn’t shy away from real societal issues that he stated. The growth mindset can give you insight into this topics from a different point of view.

[jmolina1013]

When you are responding to Kohn saying that fixing mindsets will take attention away from other societal factors, you say “... I cannot agree with his assumption that these mindsets divert attention away from most factors. I would say that growth mindset ignores negative thoughts such as failure or disappointment....” From what I understand, you are saying that having a growth mindset will divert attention from societal issues and other factors that could influence learning.

I agree with you when you say that having a growth mindset ignores negative thoughts such as failure or disappointment, but when I read this part of the article I understood it in a different way. What I understood is that Kohn is saying that we are too focused on trying to fix student’s mindsets, that our attention is being misguided from what may be bigger factors to the learning of students. That is what I think Kohn was arguing in that part of the article.

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“The Perils of ‘Growth Mindset’ Education” Blog Assignment

As consistently developing human beings, we are encouraged to embrace the “correct” methods to approach life and its many obstacles. One of the more popular methods of recent times, according to Alfie Kohn, is attaining the “growth” mindset, which generally consists of improving intelligence and abilities through effort. In his article, “The perils of ‘Growth Mindset’ education: Why we’re trying to fix our kids when we should be fixing the system,” Kohn’s central idea is that focusing so strongly on this concept of mindset distracts from larger educational issues that “growth” mindset doesn’t address or resolve. Kohn goes on to acknowledge the faults of the “growth” mindset concept while using data gathered through experimentation and the expert authority of researchers to provide more credibility to his argument.

For example,  Kohn refers to a study that was done in 2010 rather than the study Dweck discusses which he notably acknowledges was done in the 90’s. Not only is this research more up to date, but it contradicts a part of Dweck’s conclusion that those with a growth mindset mostly end up performing better in the long run. Kohn also states, “Social psychologists use the term ‘fundamental attribution error’ to mean paying so much attention to personality and attitudes that we overlook how profoundly the social environment affects what we do and who we are.” When stating this he suggests that those who are considered to be most experienced in this field of work and understanding are basically disagreeing with Dweck’s idea of being so completely focused on one’s self and perspective on the world.

I personally agree with Kohn, however I don’t necessarily find Dweck to be at fault for not mentioning anything about the system or environmental  that we can’t control. I do completely agree with Kohn when he states that we should focus on the larger issues that are being dismissed when we focus solely on our own minds and perspective, but I also believe that it’s important that each individual focuses on being able to grow and prosper so that we may transform and grow as a whole. However, one can’t expect to succeed without acknowledging the world around them and what it consists of, which is why I also agree with Kohn. It’s essential to get feedback and to engage with the rest of the world in order to learn and grow and expand your ability to view things in a different light and also provide new insight or contribute a different standpoint in controversial issues such as Trump being serious about running for president. It’s necessary to be involved and apart of the world in order to improve not only yourself but the environment around you, but also try to contribute to society by growing both with others and individually.

[jmolina1013]

When you are responding to Kohn’s statement of diverting attention from other factors that influence learning, you say “Its essential to get feedback and to engage with the rest of the world in order to learn and grow and expand your ability to view things in a different light and also provide new insight or contribute a different standpoint...” you are suggesting that it would be helpful to engage students with the rest of the world and let students express their own opinions with each other and explore different views and perspectives of the world.

I agree with you, I believe that schools should bring the world into classrooms more to let students learn more and understand the world, also to collaborate and let students explore other ideas and opinions of their peers. School should let students discuss problems that they think are or could affect their learning in positive or negative ways in order to learn more overall.

[jmolina1013]

“Perils of Growth Mindset” Blog

          In the article The Perils of “Growth Mindset” education: Why we’re trying to fix our kids when we should be fixing the system, Alfie Kohn’s central focus is about why parents and teachers are trying to fix students’ mindsets instead of trying to fix the educational system. Kohn starts off by talking about Psychologist Carol Dwecks theories on the mindsets of children–how children having a “fixed mindset” limits their learning and academic success, and how praising children for their effort helps them convert to a growth mindset – being the key to success and becoming smarter. Kohn responds to Dweck and gives his opinions about praising children for their effort. Kohn writes about how the mindsets of children is not the problem with children success, at least not the main problem, that any type of praise to children is in fact harming them eventually giving up and giving themselves excuses for not accomplishing tasks while still having a growth mindset but still finding certain material difficult.  Kohn says that instead of spending so much time on fixing student’s mindsets, we should be focusing on making changes in the educational system such as learning strategies, structures, plans, and curriculums to make sure whether they are effective or need adjustments in order to increase learning in future students.

          Kohn uses statistical evidence in this article and also gives examples to support his argument. The statistical evidence that Kohn uses is when he writes “A 2010 study found that when students whose self-worth hinges on their performance face the prospect of failure, it doesn’t help for them to adopt a growth mindset. In fact, those who did so were even more likely to give themselves an excuse for screwing up – a strategy known as “self-handicapping” – as compared to those with the dreaded fixed mindset.” This evidence is credible because helping children adopt a growth mindset will help them but to a certain extent, such as wanting to learn and trying harder, but over time the child might still struggle with the given academic material and be discouraged to continue learning when it is too challenging. Kohn gave an example of how the school system works when he says “an awful lot of schooling still consists of making kids cram forgettable facts into short-term memory.” I assess this evidence because I remember back in high school how my teachers would just pour out meaningless information expecting us to understand it and remember it, also I don’t remember learning any strategies or being given advice on how to study or be academically successful in high school therefore making it difficult and most likely to fail.

             What Kohn means when he says “the focus on “fixing” students mindsets diverts attention to other societal factors that influence learning such as sexism, poverty, economic, or political barriers,” is that trying to fix mindsets of children takes attention away from whats happening in the real world around them that could be affecting their learning such as sexism, witnessing poverty in their lives, and economic or political barriers. I agree and disagree because other factors of a student’s life can indeed affect their learning and/or motivation to learn. At the same time in my opinion, no matter what is going on in a student’s world, they can still become successful if they learn how to cope with other factors going on in their lives, it might take a little more effort but it can still be done. That is why I agree and disagree.

[jmolina1013]

“Perils of Growth Mindset” Blog

          In the article The Perils of “Growth Mindset” education: Why we’re trying to fix our kids when we should be fixing the system, Alfie Kohn’s central focus is about why parents and teachers are trying to fix students’ mindsets instead of trying to fix the educational system. Kohn starts off by talking about Psychologist Carol Dwecks theories on the mindsets of children--how children having a “fixed mindset” limits their learning and academic success, and how praising children for their effort helps them convert to a growth mindset -- being the key to success and becoming smarter. Kohn responds to Dweck and gives his opinions about praising children for their effort. Kohn writes about how the mindsets of children is not the problem with children success, at least not the main problem, that any type of praise to children is in fact harming them eventually giving up and giving themselves excuses for not accomplishing tasks while still having a growth mindset but still finding certain material difficult.  Kohn says that instead of spending so much time on fixing student’s mindsets, we should be focusing on making changes in the educational system such as learning strategies, structures, plans, and curriculums to make sure whether they are effective or need adjustments in order to increase learning in future students.

          Kohn uses statistical evidence in this article and also gives examples to support his argument. The statistical evidence that Kohn uses is when he writes “A 2010 study found that when students whose self-worth hinges on their performance face the prospect of failure, it doesn’t help for them to adopt a growth mindset. In fact, those who did so were even more likely to give themselves an excuse for screwing up -- a strategy known as “self-handicapping” -- as compared to those with the dreaded fixed mindset.” This evidence is credible because helping children adopt a growth mindset will help them but to a certain extent, such as wanting to learn and trying harder, but over time the child might still struggle with the given academic material and be discouraged to continue learning when it is too challenging. Kohn gave an example of how the school system works when he says “an awful lot of schooling still consists of making kids cram forgettable facts into short-term memory.” I assess this evidence because I remember back in high school how my teachers would just pour out meaningless information expecting us to understand it and remember it, also I don’t remember learning any strategies or being given advice on how to study or be academically successful in high school therefore making it difficult and most likely to fail.

             What Kohn means when he says “the focus on “fixing” students mindsets diverts attention to other societal factors that influence learning such as sexism, poverty, economic, or political barriers,” is that trying to fix mindsets of children takes attention away from whats happening in the real world around them that could be affecting their learning such as sexism, witnessing poverty in their lives, and economic or political barriers. I agree and disagree because other factors of a student’s life can indeed affect their learning and/or motivation to learn. At the same time in my opinion, no matter what is going on in a student’s world, they can still become successful if they learn how to cope with other factors going on in their lives, it might take a little more effort but it can still be done. That is why I agree and disagree.

[jmolina1013]

       ”What It Takes to Be Great” Blog Assignment

In the article What it Takes To Be Great by Colvin, the central concept is busting the myth that talented people are “gifted” or born with talent. Another concept in this article is talent doesn’t mean intelligence. Also that greatness is not a gift, it is achieved through large amounts of hard work in practice. These theories are supported by Colvin giving examples such as Tiger Woods or Warren Buffett, asking what makes them great, and how are they became great. Proving that being great or excelling in something is done by going through an abundance of hard work and practice also being passionate about your goals and the type of practice you engage in.

     I agree with Colvin, when he writes about deliberate practice being the right way to practice. In my opinion if someone is not passionate about what they are practicing, then they will never excel or get better. If someone is not interested in a particular activity, then they will not see results especially if they are forcing themselves to practice. When Colvin used the example of “hitting a bucket of balls,” it made me think of practicing something that I have no interest in. This relates to me as well, ever since I can remember I have found mathematics quite difficult for me. Since math was very difficult for me, I would try to practice but I would still have that mindset of thinking that I will never learn math and I will never understand it, so i would lose complete interest in math and not learn it. All the way until just recently starting college is when I realized that I will never learn math if I don’t try for real. Now that I put interest and really put effort in practicing my math, I have improved a great amount in math like never before.

     Although she doesn’t say so directly, Dweck would maybe approve of my calendar because though I have just enough time to do my homework, I would think Dweck would recommend that I try to make more time to study and/or homework to be successful with no excuses. My study plan in my opinion is okay, most of my study time is on two days of the week. As of now, this study time is working out for me but I might eventually need to cut down my hours at work a little bit less. I shouldn’t make it hard on myself if it is not necessary. If I want to be successful in school, then I need to make time to practice/study as much as I can. What I want to apply to my study plan is more time to practice math for example, as it is my main difficulty at the moment. I need to put just a little more time and practice into my math learning because it is basically my main struggle in college right now.

     I was surprised when reading the article “Brainology” by Dweck to find out that great people are really not gifted, especially when Dweck says “In our society, we seem to worship talent -- and we often portray it as a gift.” Dweck is suggesting that talent is not gifted or that people are not born with talent, that great people are great because of their growth mindsets. After reading this article, it persuaded me to believe that no matter if anyone or even ourselves doubt that we are capable of doing anything, all we have to do is practice more or devote ourselves just a little more to soon excel if we really want it and are passionate towards our goal. I totally agree with the claim that is being made in this article because from personal experience I know that the more time you spend doing anything, especially doing it over and over catching little mistakes I make here and there, I am learning to get better each time I do it and give myself the opportunity to improve in anywhere needed.

[jmolina1013]

[jmolina1013]

Growth Mindset

When i first started drawing in elementary school, i was noticing other kids drawing as well and it looked like they were more talented then me in drawing so it made me not want to show mine to anyone because i felt like it wasnt as good ad others. Then in one of my elementary classes we started to practice on our handwriting, starting off by learning how to write our names in cursive. As we were practicing our names in class i would look over to other papers, theyre cursive looked nice, nicer than mine. I never thought i was going to be able to write in cursive and make it look good like that. Until one day i decided to practice on my own. I would get an empty notebook and start writing my name in cursive, over and over. After filling up pages of my name in sloppy cursive i started to notice my cursive getting cleaner and nicer. I was fascinated by the art of cursive and the letters just flow together so effortlessly and perfect. After i finally mastered my name in cursive, later as i got a little older i had a teacher that almost everyday on the board he would write something in real nice detailed cursive, something different everytime. Sometimes the subject of the day or the month or anything else. He would draw it so quick and it would come out so good everytime. I never thought i would be able to do that after how long it took me to write my name in plain cursive. But i wanted to do that. I thought to myself it wont hurt to try. So then i started writing cursive in different ways, different styles over and over and thats when i realized anything can be learned as long as you want to learn it and put your mind to it. Eventually i was drawing names for friends, family, teachers, classrooms, because everyone would see my artwork and tell me “wow youre really good at this, your a natural”. Though i would accept the compliments, i wouldnt agree. I would think to myself that i wasnt a natural, and i would think back to all the hours of practice i put into my art work and know that i wasnt a natural at this. Though my cursive was almost flawless, no one ever knew how much practice it took for me to get good at it like that. So i would keep that to myself. At times i would have a fixed mindset, thinking i would never learn to draw like that, but my growth mindset over came my fixed mindset and i proved myself wrong and learned that nobody is born with any talent or knowledge. And that anything is possible, what matters is how much you really want it.

[jmolina1013]

I like to do alot of things such as listen to music, all types of music. I enjoy classic cars, playing football, watching games, going to the beach, watching good movies, hanging out with friends. Im really open minded and i love to learn new things. Ever since I was a child, I have always loved coloring, drawing and everything about art. But now I currently really enjoy drawing cursive and lettering. I like to create my own letters and styles in my lettering. This is one of my drawings and the type of lettering i like to draw.

[jmolina1013]

Introduction

Hello my name is Juan, this is my first semester in college. Before I enrolled here at college, I was attending an automotive institute because I am interested in automotive and I wanted to be an automotive technician. But then I decided to pursue a different goal that I have always been interested in for a long time. My new goal is to become a probation officer.