W2 - What is the link between “tinkering”, “hard play”, and the “growth mindset”?
I had to turn this one over in my mind a bit to think about what I “thought” each of these terms mean and how they might apply to mechanical applications in a classroom. As I am not in a K-12 classroom, often my learning design revolves around rapid learning of a system or process to ramp to proficient quickly. With this said I have always been a tinkerer at heart as I enjoy figuring out how mechanical things function and maintain them myself...maybe because I am super cheap! I can imagine that “hard play” might involve challenging games or puzzles that require an organized approach to solve. As far as the “growth mindset” I would surmise that this is similar to my own philosophy around continuous self development to become more powerful at work, play, and life. I began with the Mindsetworks.com featuring the work of Dr. Carol Dweck. Having connections with Neuroscience and the plasticity of the human brain the growth mindset is the idea of abilities and intelligence can be developed in the right conditions. Dr Dweck has a Ted talk that looks at the ways we reward learning and the effect it can have on a students mind set, and potential. So is there a connection to tinkering and hard play? The short answer is yes, the underlying premise of the growth mind set is opposite of the “fixed mindset” in that there is not right or wrong answers only discovery of what might, can and would work. This open concept also curbs the desire to cheat as the consequences are not build around a fixed assessment structure. Kids will be kids but Dr. Dweck work shows significance of fostering a growth mindset but also an environment in which it can thrive.
MARTINEZ, SYLVIA LIBOW. STAGER, GARY S. (2019). INVENT TO LEARN: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom. S.l.: CONSTRUCTING MODERN KNOWL.
Decades of Scientific Research that Started a Growth Mindset Revolution. (n.d.). Retrieved June 2, 2019, from https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/