The Digital Backpack

Back to School Shopping, Mindset by Carol Dweck

Posted on August 12th, 2008 by lindseyb

As the new school year approaches one purchase on the back to school supply list should be Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck. This is a great book to help you effectively coach, cajole, tutor and talk to your kids through the school year. The book explains the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. A person with a fixed mindset believes that their traits and abilities are set at birth and in early childhood and can’t be changed. A person with a growth mindset understands that the mind has plasticity and they can continue to grow, learn and increase their abilities all the way through life. A person with a fixed mindset often has to hide failure and avoid risk as it might expose their true nature, and will disappoint those that believe in their ability. A person with a growth mindset is willing to try new activities and ideas because they know they can learn from whatever happens and will gain the “just in time” skills that will enable them to carry out any task to the best of their ability. They are often looking for the opportunity to learn from each and every experience.
People might have different mindsets for different parts of their lives. Carol Dweck explores the concept from the point of view of the mindset of a champion (sports), mindset and leadership (careers), mindsets in love (relationships) and where do mindsets come from (the role of parents, teachers and coaches).
The ideas presented overshadow the self esteem issue. Boosting children’s self esteem by praising them and telling them how smart they are is not as effective, this praise implies these traits are fixed and are part of the person forever, they are either smart (if they succeed) or not (if they fail). Praising their strategies and praising the work they put in to succeed encourages the idea that their abilities are not linked to static traits, but malleable ones that they have control over. Reflecting on dissappointments and asking what strategies could be used next time shows that the disappointment does not show the child as failing, but only that the strategy was not successful.
The book concludes with a workshop section on how to foster a growth mindset. This involves managing the change from a “judge and be judged” mindset to a “learn and help learn mindset”.
As a teacher and a parent, this is a must read book. It is one of those rare reads that leave you wanting the information stream to continue. I am on the lookout for when the Brainology program is released for teens and young adults.