Growth mindset is when someone is more open to learning or experiencing something new. They persevere from their setbacks, engage themselves, and learn from their mistakes. A fixed mindset is when someone is gripped into their own thoughts and views instead of thinking of others. They run from difficulty and do not like to face challenges.
Dweck tells the readers to stimulate a growth mindset by “praising the process that kids engage in, their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement.” This allows the kids to grow their mindsets and create new strengths. Another way to stimulate growth mindset according to Dweck is to “push out of their comfort zones.” This makes the students learn new things and create stronger connections to what they are learning. I do not think these stimulations bother be because it is teaching kids new ways to think and get through hard situations which would overall result in a better outcome.
Her model of intelligence indicates that anyone can learn and become smarter when they are praised and when they are taught to think differently. This is shown when Dweck’s ideas are instituted in an elementary classroom in Harlem, New York to students who barely knew how to read and write. These students using this mindset allowed their class to become the best grade in the whole state of New York.
I used to have a very fixed mindset. It was hard for me to allow myself to think from someone else’s perspective. Through me having a fixed mindset, it was harder for me to communicate with my friends and family and to relate to them. These years in my life were harder for me to connect with people. Through trying to think differently and form someone else’s perspective, I able to connect easily and relate more to others around me. Having an open and growth mindset allows people to have more opportunities and connect with various types of people.
