growth mindset: cats

(cheezburger)

I chose this meme to use as I feel like I constantly need to remind myself of this in college. It's hard to think in this way when you are just starting out college, but now, as a senior, I am always trying to get the most out of my classes. It takes time to really realize just how much money is being put into each minute you have with a professor and it's so important to really learn from them so you don't just waste your money and time.

(cheezburger.)

I chose this meme because I think it reigns true for all of us and is sometimes hard to remember. Although we all come from different backgrounds and are going through different things in our lives, we must think positively. We must always remember that we are moving forward from the lowest of lows and that the worst things are just the beginning of something better. 

growth mindset: sharing the mindset concept with someone

This week, I chose to share growth mindset with someone. I decided it would be a great time to share this concept with one of the students I tutor in Human Anatomy. This course can often seem overwhelming and many students tell me I'm just "naturally smart." 

I started tutoring a new student and that's exactly what came out of her mouth when we first met and I told her that if I can do it, so can she. I immediately stopped her and explained her thought process. I asked her if she really and truly thinks that I just did good in anatomy because I am who I am. She snickered a little and said, "Well, not literally. You know what I mean!"

I snickered back and pulled out the piles of notes I made the semester I was in the course. Immediately, she went silent. I then explained that everyone can really achieve the grade they want in this course and that it's all about the learning process. I explained that the course took so much energy out of me, but I had a goal in mind and that was my motivation.

At this point in the conversation, I actually showed her the Carol Darwin video I read for another growth mindset challenge and we wrote down achievable goals from this point on in the semester. I think it went really well and motivated her to trust herself and her abilities!

(Photo from PixaBay.)

growth mindset: how to get better at the things you care about

This week, I decided to listen to a TED Talk by Eduardo Briceno titled, "How to get better at the things you care about."

Right away, I was drawn in as I just assumed this talk was going to be about work or school. It also applies to things that truly mean the world to you such as your family, religion, passions, ect. This made me thankful that I clicked this topic because this is something I have been struggling with and working to improve. After have a semester of 20 credit hours and 20 hours of class, I forgot how to grow my relationships and relax. I am hoping to get some guidance as I continue the video.

Although I didn't have the exact words to tie to it, I definitely have realized how much we live in the performance zone. I noticed this yesterday when I had to make a graphic for Class Council. I realized that I haven't gotten any better really since freshman year. I actually took some time to learn from someone more skilled than myself and it helped exponentially!

One thing new that I learned was the power of breaking things down into components during the learning phase. Even though we were trained to do this all growing up through revising papers and such, I have not applied that concept to my life in a while. This will help me a lot!

My goal for this week is going to be to focus on improving tutoring so I can practice the techniques with something tangible, but I plan to then apply the concept to improving my relationships. I plan to improve my tutoring by reading or creating at least one new way to make information stick for students. It can be creating an acronym, reading about a clinical story, or anything else that will help both myself and my students grow.

(Meme made by me.)

growth mindset: building my creative confidence through calligraphy

After watching David Kelley's TED talk over building creative confidence, lots went through my mind.

The video confirmed the fact that you can always improve, no matter the subject. This is something I have learned through several training sessions.

A new thing that I did not apply growth mindset to before is creativity. I almost think of creativity as a born trait still rather than a skill one can acquire.

I am excited to incorporate this new way of thinking about my own and others creativity to my life. I am going to do so by taking on a task that I have want to learn for a while, but have been too scared to try. The task I will be trying is calligraphy.

For years I have been saving up Pinterest posts of beautiful calligraphy, but I have never started due to the fear that I won't be creative enough to make such beautiful art. I am also going to watch a growth mindset video over perfectionism next week as I think this is also a reason why I have not yet tried.

I am excited to make a leap past this fear of not being creative enough and to see the progress I make throughout the semester!

(Photo from PixaBay.)

growth mindset

Every semester at the Peer Learning Assistant training through the Student Learning Center I get the opportunity to dive a little deeper in my understanding and application of growth mindset. Last semester, we actually watched Carol Dweck's TED talk. It amazes me how a thought that seems so simple truly does control much of what we do everyday and is much more complex once you begin making the change. I get to see both growth and fixed mindsets in Action Center every time I tutor and TA Human Anatomy lab and my goal is to end the semester with more growth minded conversations than fixed.

This graphic is from a blog post by Jackie Gerstein: The Mindset of the Maker Educator. I am leaving this hear as these are many of the thoughts that go through my head after I leave a lab, tutoring session, class, workout, and more!

In case you are unable to read the text from the graphic, here is it typed out:

• Was I resourceful in terms of finding information, resources, and materials?
• Did I ask other people for feedback and information, to collaborate?
• Did I share my work and findings with others?
• Did I learn something new?
• Did I play and have fun?
• Did I try to either make something better or create something new, rather than just copy something that already exists?
• Did I approach learning as an open-ended process, open to new and all possibilities?
• Did I accept failure as part of the process and use it to inform my learning?

In high school, I most definitely had a fixed mindset. I did not want to be challenged and, when I was, I would blame my failures on everything but my lack of effort. I was not stimulated by the information or teaching methods and had to intention to ask for help.

My senior year of high school, I finally asked my mom if I could go to a psychologist as I could not even recall what subject we were talking about in a class the minute I walked out. After talking to someone, it turned out that I had a decreased amount of serotonin being secreted in my brain, just as was seen in the photo of a "fixed mindset" brain. I was diagnosed with both ADD and ADHD as all of my test results were off the charts.

After completing my first semester at OU on medication, I fell IN LOVE with school. My friends from home never believe me when I tell them that I am the tutor and am the one making good grades and wanting to learn more than I need to in courses. The funny thing is that I really thought it was purely this medication that was giving me some "instant smartness" that I could not acquire on my own. In reality, I did not put the fact that my Gateway professor and graduation coach both talked to me about growth mindset and it stuck ever since. 

Once I became a Peer Learning Assistant and got to attend a training specifically over growth mindset, I gained the confidence in my own capabilities without giving credit to some "magic pill" that I have to take to get myself to shut up and sit still. Now, I understand the self-talk I must engage in that can completely change the way I approach a topic that may not have my interest, such as chemistry. 

I have learned that, in order to perform well in a course, I cannot limit my learning to what's required. Some topics are more difficult for me and often times become easier when I dive a little deeper into details beyond what I will be tested over. I have learned that memorization is no good and I pay tuition in order to truly learn and better myself with the help of my professors. Without my introduction to growth mindset as a freshman, I am not sure I would still be on this campus as I took a 180 degree turn around in my academic career because of it.