Mindset: An attitude, disposition or inclination.
A few years ago a group of Harriet Beecher Stowe Teachers started reading and meeting about a mindset theory that we hoped could help us to encourage all our diverse learners to engage in their educational experience in more responsible, optimistic, enriching, and meaningful ways.
Carol Dweck in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, defines two specific types of mindset: Fixed and Growth. She cites, and has led research studies, to show that intelligence is malleable. She piggybacks this with brain research that proves that neurons and pathways can continuously be created and strengthened in significant ways with use, practice and effort. This would all be called a Growth Mindset perspective. A Fixed Mindset is about seeing smarts and success as gifts, not as earned and effort driven processes. People in a Fixed Mindset would be stuck in proving a given or perceived label about themselves instead of working towards improving. Dweck’s work challenges us to think: Do we as a society value and promote the idea of natural, effortless accomplishments over achievement through effort? Is there really such a thing as an “effortless accomplishment”?
Our Mindset Group at HBS is trying to help develop an understanding that learning is about a relationship between potential and effort. There are several missed opportunities created when smarts are labeled so heavily by test scores, grades and groupings. Our goal is to integrate throughout our teaching the idea that there are actions, character traits and attitudes that influence our learning experiences and outcomes.
We hope learning can be seen as a life long process where growth, change, and achievement can continuously happen for all through curiosity, practice, perseverance, and effort.