1.5 Fixed Mindset Characteristics

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  Posted by CUNY Mindset Initiative on March 11, 2024 at 11:02 am

  💬  Reflection/Discussion: 

  • Reflect on your own experiences and identify instances where you have exhibited characteristics of a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. How did these mindsets influence your approach to challenges, setbacks, and learning opportunities? What strategies or shifts in mindset have you found effective in cultivating a growth mindset or overcoming the limitations of a fixed mindset?

• Carrie Gheith (she/her)

  Member

  March 25, 2024 at 1:01 pm

  I think my strongest characteristic of experiencing a growth mindset has been my openness to contructive criticism. I did not find it discouraging, but as a learning opportunity to improve. If anything it would encourage me to try harder given the feedback I had to work with. I was able to incorporate the criticism into self-awareness and idenitify the tools I need to continue to improve. This has been most helpful in challenging my implicit biases.
  Jean-Yves Plaisir (He/him/and/his)

  Participant

  March 29, 2024 at 4:20 pm

  Growing up, I was fortunate to have many people within and outside of my family who believed in me and encouraged me to keep trying my best no matter what difficulties I was facing. Their belief in me boosted my confidence.  As a result, I became encouraging of others, and the more I encouraged my students and my colleagues I received a lot more encouragement. Though a growth mindset may start within a close circle of immediate family, friends, and community members it has the potential to spread over large national and international areas. Therefore, a growth mindset has no boundaries.
  J. Elizabeth Clark (she/her/hers)

  Participant

  April 4, 2024 at 12:14 pm

  Hi Carrie,

  I love this! I think being able to use feedback to grow is a great example of growth mindset. Are there ways that you have used this with students? I try to incorporate this into reflection / metacognitive assignments that follow the completion of a larger course project, so students can consider how they might continue to grow (and revise) using feedback.
  J. Elizabeth Clark (she/her/hers)

  Participant

  April 4, 2024 at 12:15 pm

  Hi Jean-Yves,

  It must have been a wonderful experience to grow up surrounded by such encouragement. I can see how that would lead to confidence. Are there concrete ways you encourage students that contribute to a growth mindset? Are there ways you approach that encouragement systematically?
  Seth Lehman

  Member

  April 17, 2024 at 9:32 am

  I wasn’t familiar with the concepts of growth mindset/fixed mindset while I was an undergraduate, and as I reflect on my own college experience, one takeaway is that getting good grades does not equal exhibiting a growth mindset. I was not quick to engage, ask questions, or admit that I did not know something in college; and while I ended up with good grades, I now see ways that my learning experience could have been much richer and more fulfilling if I had exhibited growth mindset characteristics.

  One practice that is helping me build a growth mindset is to reflect on how I respond when my knowledge and skills are “tested”. In my current experience, this could be a teaching evaluation, a question from a student that is difficult to answer, or an inquiry from a colleague about the rationale for my preferred teaching practices or pedagogy. Do I see these conversations as a threat or as an opportunity for personal growth? Am I taking time to reflect on and engage with critiques that others may have, or is my objective to simply convince people that I am right? And am I staking my sense of identity and self-worth on a public image of being “smart” and having everything figured out?
  Deborah Greenblatt, Ph.D. (she/her)

  Participant

  April 17, 2024 at 11:56 am

  My question for the group about this post is:

  How can you make students open to constructive criticism?
  Are we ACTIVELY working in our rapport and boosting their confidence so that they are hurt or defensive?
  What are some CONCRETE ways we can do this?

  
  Denise Sands Baez (she/her)

  Member

  April 22, 2024 at 1:34 pm

  When students ask me questions about their curriculum I am unable to answer, I tell that one of my best qualities as an Academic Advisor is my willingness to admit my ignorance and refer them to an office/person that can answer the question.  Sometimes the question pertains only to that specific student; other times, the question will involve an issue or policy that triggers my own investigation into the proper answer so that I’ll have it ready for the next time.  Decades of operating this way has made me a valuable asset to students and colleagues in ways that would never have come into being if I’d simply stuck to my job description.

  I’ve had two wonderful supervisors in my decades in my job; one at the beginning and the current one.  In the middle, I had a supervisor who actively discouraged any attempts at growth on my part.  In time, I learned to embrace a fixed mindset as a survival tactic.  When that supervisor was replaced by someone who actively nurtured the staff, it took me a long time to be able to trust that I could resume my previous level of engagement with my field, esp. in terms of professional development.  Those experiences–all of which took place well into my adulthood–makes me ever so much more conscious of and careful about the impact I can have on the lives of my students in the classroom and in the advising session.
  Casandra Silva Sibilin (she/her/hers)

  Member

  April 26, 2024 at 4:22 pm

  I’ve heard of the “sandwich” approach to providing criticism, that is, pointing out something good, then constructive feedback, and then reinforcing the positives. For example, this could be in the context of providing overall comments on a draft.

  Now I’m wondering how growth-mindset-friendly this approach is. Maybe it’s not needed to make a “sandwich” if you are making the constructive criticism itself more appetizing through a growth-mindset-friendly environment? 😉

  What do you all think?

  
  Casandra Silva Sibilin (she/her/hers)

  Member

  April 26, 2024 at 4:34 pm

  I’m with you there. I will admit I was hesitant to answer this discussion board question because I wasn’t sure where to start… and maybe I’m uncomfortable thinking of my own fixed mindset in the past! 🤔

  But, in the spirit of growth mindset & belonging, reading your post reminded me of something about my own college experience. Like you, I was very focused on grades. Also, here is my confession: I never went to office hours on my own. I believe the only time I went was because it was required by a professor as part of the process of writing a paper and it was only in my senior year.

  Now I try to encourage my students every semester to come to office hours. This is the message I put with my office hours this semester:

  “You are always welcome to come to office hours for any questions or just to say hello and check in on how the semester is going!”

  Did anyone else struggle a bit with answering this discussion board question and revisiting fixed-mindset experiences?
  Casandra Silva Sibilin (she/her/hers)

  Member

  April 26, 2024 at 4:56 pm

  It’s great to hear academic advising brought into this discussion!

  I love that you are directly explaining to students the value of admitting ignorance and asking for help. (Actually reminds me of Socrates’ spin on wisdom–wisdom is to admit what you don’t know!)

  Students have told me it’s very stressful when they don’t hear back from their advisors. Often, the delay is probably due to general work overwhelm, but I wonder how many times it’s an issue of not having an answer to a question. Your approach can reassure the students and teach growth mindset values at the same time.

  Others – how could growth mindset values help with academic advising?  
  J. Elizabeth Clark (she/her/hers)

  Participant

  May 2, 2024 at 2:16 pm

  Today, I’m an avid scuba diver. But, I had a very long road to get where I am today and I have a lot more to learn. When I first started, I definitely had a beginner’s mindset: I didn’t know what I needed to know and I was awash in all there was to know. And, because diving is skills-based and academic (you need to understand a lot about physics and water), I was also terrible at it. However, I desperately wanted to do it, so through many, many, many trials, I worked to get better at it. I did a lot “wrong,” but since I didn’t have the pressure of the semester or a grade, my instructors would gently correct my mistakes and I would do it again. I built a great deal of confidence over time because once I knew a skill, I really knew it. I’ve tried to apply a lot of that to my classroom teaching, thinking about how to offer many opportunities to try and try again instead of a one and done approach. This growth mindset has served me well in both diving and teaching because I think about the evolution of learning in a different way now.
  J. Elizabeth Clark (she/her/hers)

  Participant

  May 2, 2024 at 2:18 pm

  Hi Casandra,

  Thinking through how to help students view office hours as a resource has been a challenge. Your language and invitation are so friendly!

  I changed the name of mine to “Drop in Student Hours.” I don’t think it’s addressed the core issue (I’m not sure what the core issue is), but I do think the shift in language has been helpful in my tone for my syllabus, etc.
  Faiza Peetz

  Participant

  May 3, 2024 at 2:40 pm

  Reflecting on the rich experiences shared here, I am struck by the varied ways we all approach cultivating a growth mindset in ourselves and in those we teach or advise. The openness to constructive criticism that Carrie mentioned is a foundational aspect of embracing growth. J. Elizabeth, the way you incorporate feedback into metacognitive assignments is an excellent practice, offering students a structured way to learn from their experiences.

  Deborah’s questions about how to foster receptiveness to constructive criticism are crucial. Building rapport and boosting confidence are indeed vital. The “sandwich” method Casandra discussed can be a gentle and effective way to deliver feedback, although I agree that fostering an environment where constructive criticism is naturally more “appetizing” might reduce the need for such strategies.

  Jean-Yves, your experience highlights the infectious nature of a growth mindset. Encouragement breeds encouragement, spreading from personal circles to broader communities. Seth, reflecting on how we respond when “tested” is a powerful personal audit for growth mindset—it’s all about seeing challenges as opportunities.

  Denise, your career journey illustrates the significant impact of leadership on growth. The ability to admit ignorance and seek answers not only models growth mindset for students but also enhances our roles as educators and advisors.

  I believe a growth mindset can fundamentally alter how we approach learning and teaching, encouraging resilience and a lifelong commitment to personal and professional growth. How do you all see these principles playing out in your settings, particularly with new or challenging students?

  Looking forward to hearing more insights!
  Elizabeth Klein (she/her)

  Member

  June 9, 2024 at 3:26 pm

  Dear Casandra,

  Thank you for your honesty. I found this article by Adam Grant a while back on the feedback sandwich that helped me, especially in giving feedback to students. https://adamgrant.substack.com/p/stop-serving-the-compliment-sandwich

  If you have trouble, copy into your browser. I hope that you like it.

  Best,
  Liz Klein

   
  Elizabeth Klein (she/her)

  Member

  June 10, 2024 at 7:30 am

  Having beginner’s mind is essential When I am in the zone of having a beginner’s mind and seeking the right mentors, I am able to do my personal best. Sometimes character flaws such as ego, wanting to compare myself with others or a desire to escape comes up when I am out of ideas and I just want a rest. It is then that I try and read for inspiration. This helps me stay in a growth mindset. Another helpful approach to stay in the growth zone is to be still and to listen to my inner voice. As a busy New Yorker, this is not always easy. I have to intentionally take time to be still.  I try to meditate daily for one or two minutes. It may not sound like a lot of time, but it actually helps. Also, free writing in a journal is amazing. Sometimes, I just list ideas or write random notes on how to improve myself or use the same technique to plan the initial stage of a project. I have been investigating more ways to brainstorm, as this helps me to think aloud so to speak.

  When promoting growth-mindset in my classroom, I am thinking about how to consistently promote growth mindset. For most projects, I provide student exemplars and also examples of my attempts at the project. I talk out what I discovered along the way. This has worked well to allow them to see my growth mindset and vulnerability. This works with most students. There are still some non-believers who choose to want to satisfy the assignment and nothing more. If they are open to it, I will invite them for a private conversation about growth mindset, but they also have to be willing, open and ready.

  Summarily, I continue to try and keep a beginner’s mind. This means continual awareness of character flaws when they come up. I am finding new ways to speak about growth mindset in my classroom and design projects and working teams around growth mindset. I am no means there yet, but I am working on it.