Growth Mindset Development Plan

The Growth Mindset

The mind is one of human’s most powerful tools, utilized in different ways to achieve a variety of things. However, the mind is a very complex tool, and depending on how use it, that tool can have great effects or very damaging ones. This is where our mindset comes in. “A mindset is a way of thinking that shapes our beliefs and opinions and subsequently, our world. It is a lens through which we see the world and perceive different things around us, similar to a camera lens” (Bhateja, 2023, para. 3). So, with mindset influencing such a large aspect of who and how we are as people, what determines our mindset?  “Your interactions with your environment, Friends, family, TV, music, books, and the internet all contribute in one way or another to formulate your way of thinking” (Bhateja, 2023, para. 4). Mindset is broken up into two types: fixed and growth. The mindset I want to focus on is growth. When just looking at the two words, one could contextualize fixed as being permanent, stuck in one place, whereas growth, is almost naturally associated with the blooming or advancement of something from one stage to another. That is the essence of the growth mindset and why it is such an important, needed mindset to have.” A growth mindset leads you into an upward spiral of continuing development, reaching ever-higher levels of personal mastery” (Jeffery, 2024 para.8).

The 4 step Enactment

The growth mindset is a very important mindset to have, yet many of us are not born with a growth mindset. On the contrary, most people more commonly, initially develop a fixed mindset. Now, does this mean you’re doomed to have a fixed mindset forever and never know the benefits of a growth mindset?  Not. Individuals, much like myself, who have or have a fixed mindset can shift to a growth mindset with work. “To change your mindset, you have to be able to identify the situations that trigger a fixed mindset and observe when you’re falling into it” (Jeffery, 2024, para. 20).  To help with this process, Carol Dweck identified a four-step strategy to help alter one’s mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. The four steps are as follows: Learn to hear your fixed mindset, recognize that you have a choice, talk back to it with a growth mindset voice, and take the growth mindset action. Each of Dweck’s steps has its own set of actions required to facilitate the maturation from a fixed to a growth mindset. To know your fixed mindset is to know what those intrusive and doubt-based thoughts sound like. To integrate step one, “anticipate these thoughts in advance. Then, simply listen inwardly for it” (Jeffery, 2024, para. 27). Step two, owning your choice. In step two, you can choose your perspective when those thoughts come knocking. A person trying to advance to a growth mindset, as you are, will simply perceive the thoughts as a challenge or motivation rather than doubt of your abilities. Moving to step three, communicating back to fixed thoughts with growth thoughts. Communication is not one-way and you can back up a growth perception with growth-like thoughts of your own. Finally, moving to step four growth actions. After finding your voice, gaining growth perception, and integrating growth thoughts, it’s time to take on the embodiment of all four steps combined through action. In this final step, you should simply take what you’ve learned and move like someone with a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset.

Other Considerations of the Growth mindset

Developing a growth mindset is a very critical part of learners fully realizing the vast capabilities and opportunities the journey of learning provides. As someone who has undergone this transformation, highlighting the importance of a growth mindset to others means a lot to me. The first aspect of helping other learners develop a growth mindset is as facilitators, we must have a firm understanding of what having a growth mindset intel. “A lot of teachers are saying ‘yes, I have a growth mindset’, without doing the work and without making a journey to deeply understand it and to know how to apply it” (Harapnuik, 2019, para. 7). As facilitators, we can’t begin to create and apply alternative learning if we don’t understand what that means from a foundation level. Once we have engaged in the work ourselves, we are now able to impact the second most important variable, which is the learning environment itself. “If you wish to help your learners adapt and grow a growth mindset then you make a structural change and create a significant learning environment in which you give your learners choice ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities” (Harapnuik, 2019, para. 1).

Passing the Growth Mindset to others

As I’ve gone through why the growth mindset is important and how one might alter one’s mindset with the help of Dr. Carol Dweck, I now want to share the importance of embracing the journey of developing a growth mindset and what that means going forward.  Dweck illustrated a very important point on appreciation for not just the growth mindset, but the journey to a growth mindset and learning in general, through her video, “The Power of Yet”. Dweck perfectly describes how, when people become so focused on the end, it can lend itself to creating a fixed mindset of doubt based on a pass-or-fail rubric. However, nothing in life is as cut and dry as pass or fail and that is the message of yet. Learners must understand that learning is not solely based on a grading scaling, “creating learners that only seek validation of getting an A or passing the next test” (Dweck, 2021, 3:43). Instead of focusing on a grade or result, “Yet” emphasizes the power of praising the journey, not necessarily the result. “Praise the process that kids engage in: their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement. This process of praise creates kids who are hardy and resilient” (Dweck, 2021, 4:38). A big aspect of ensuring kids especially, get this intended message is relatability. How can we highlight these incredibly complex messages in a way for young people to relate to? With the advanced technological world that we live in, resources such as the internet, social media, and even video games can all be used to relay the message to our young brilliant minds of the future. “Game scientists from the University of Washington created a new online math game that rewarded “Yet”. In the game, students were rewarded for effort, strategy and progress” (Dweck, 2021, 5:11). With benefits like extreme confidence, peak performance, and self-mastery, the growth mindset should constantly be promoted throughout learning institutions on all levels. There is never too late or a bad time to promote the advancement of the growth mindset.

Changing Focus

As a U.S. Army instructor, a big key for me in trying to develop a growth mindset amongst soldiers is developmental empowerment. Development empowerment consists of not only encouraging initiative thinking and actions but also creating and allowing soldiers to interact and lead their learning environment in real time.  One way we do this is by having soldiers create and conduct a training or course of their choosing with their peers and receiving developmental feedback to improve training and planning capabilities. The goal in facilitating these types of training environments is to allow a soldier to collaborate their skills and abilities paired with the vast technological capabilities available to them to innovate their professional developmental tools and tactics. I found that when a soldier is engaged in these types of training environments, they focus less on what the end criteria are for the course and more on how can this information and training benefit me in my pursuit of being the best soldier I can be overall. 

Going Beyond the Growth Mindset

The pursuit and focus on constant and consistent improvement are not achieved just by creating a growth mindset amongst learners. The growth mindset certainly is a great foundation to build from, but it alone won’t push the action button within your learners to fully recognize their learning potential. “The growth mindset and the innovator’s mindset are simply part of the learner’s mindset. These aforementioned mindsets provide beneficial pathways to restoring or reinvigorating aspects of the learner’s mindset that have been quenched” (Harapnuik, 2021, para. 5). The growth mindset serves as a spark to ignite action, it cultivates the mind of possibilities, but actions come from transforming a growth mindset into a learner’s mindset.  “The learner’s mindset also addresses some of the most significant limitations and criticisms of the growth mindset. Research has shown that simply adopting a new way of thinking, belief, attitude, or mindset without addressing other factors like changing the learning environments has no impact on improving learning or achievement” (Harapnuik, 2021, para. 6).

This Course and I

As someone who has just recently fully embraced the growth mindset, I’m truly excited for what my future learning journey will encompass.  Going into this Master’s program, I must admit, I had a lot of self-doubt about everything from schedule to ability, and belief. However, I sit here today, in large part because of the benefits of altering from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. “In a growth mindset, you believe you can develop any ability through dedication and hard work” (Jeffery, 2024, para. 7).

Reference

Bhateja, R. (2023, October 15). The importance of mindset. Medium. https://medium.com/illumination/the-importance-of-mindset-b308b97c9b44

Dweck, C. (2021, December 13).  Growth Mindset – The Power of Yet – Ted Talk. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxa2r8kpWcg

Harapnuik, Dwayne. (2019, April 5). How to Grow a Growth Mindset. Harapnuik.org. https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=7955

Harapnuik, Dwayne. (2021a, February 9). Learner’s Mindset Explained. Harapnuik.org. https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=8705

Jeffrey, S. (2024, April 21). How to change your mindset: A definitive guide (4 steps). Scott Jeffrey. https://scottjeffrey.com/how-to-change-your-mindset/