The incomplete truth about “The Growth Mindset"

There's more to learning than just telling yourself that you can learn.

If you’ve ever been part of any mandated motivational/self-help training, a phrase that’s commonly repeated is the one about having a Growth Mindset. There’s a growing amount of this trickling down into schools and classrooms across the world.

But before I go deeper into a rant of why ‘The Growth Mindset’ alone is insufficient, here is some Dilbert to lighten the mood.

Oh and some Calvin

Now getting back, here’s a brief history of the Growth Mindset. It is popularly attributed to the Stanford professor Carol Dweck who wrote about people being on a continuum between having a fixed mindset or a growth mindset in her 2006 book, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”.

It became popular, was used in corporate training, teacher development seminars, understood, misunderstood, and everything in between. In many follow-up pieces over the years, Dweck herself clarifies that people are not one or the other. We are both, and in varying amounts based on different situations. The next time you use these ‘fixed-mindset, growth-mindset’ words, I’d highly recommend you do your homework first. 

A Part of the whole

David Dockterman at Harvard University shows us in his article that research highlights how having a growth mindset is only a part of the bigger puzzle. There are in fact three learning mindsets:

1. Growth Mindset: Believing that you can learn.

2. Belonging: Believing that the community around you will respect and support your learning.

3. Purpose and Relevance: Believing that what you learn matters, to you and to the world. 

But there is a need to go further than just having the mindsets, we must also focus on doing the work needed. If this is all confusing I’d highly recommend reading this article - https://www.hmhco.com/blog/growth-mindset-essential-but-theres-more-to-learning

But here’s an example to illustrate some of the differences

Imagine you are trying to learn how to code and build your own mobile app. 

1. You need to believe that if you put your mind to it and try, you can learn how to develop an app. (Growth Mindset)

2. You also need to know that there is a community out there that will help you when you get stuck and support you as you learn. (Belonging)

3. Does it mean a lot to you personally to build this app? Do you think it’ll change the world? Even better. (Purpose and Relevance)

4. Do you have access to good instruction? (Teaching)

5. Is there a mentor, perhaps someone else who has built an app recently who is a text away to help you? (Coaching)

6. What will you do when you’re stuck? ( A learning plan)

7. Are you aware of how you learn best? (Metacognition)

Learning something new is wonderful and complex. So the next time you’re telling your children or employees that you need ‘A Growth Mindset’ remember you’re telling them a tiny fraction of the story.

Ask yourself if you’re providing an environment that fosters all the other pieces. 

References and links you’d enjoy

1. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40745.Mindset

2. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/how-praise-became-a-consolation-prize/510845/

3. https://mindsetscholarsnetwork.org/learning-mindsets/

4. https://portal.cornerstonesd.ca/group/yyd5jtk/Documents/Carol%20Dweck%20Growth%20Mindsets.pdf

Is there something that you’re learning and teaching where you were stuck and overcame it with a cool strategy? Let us know and we’d love to share it with everyone

Prasanth