Entry #8
April 6, 2020
#growthmindsettransformation
Mind, Brain and Education (MBE) research has started to influence teaching more and more. I know that when I was in school, MBE was definitely not taken much into consideration. The more we learn about how we learn and how to apply neuroscience into teaching, the more we have to change about our teaching strategies. Each brain is unique, and each brain requires different approaches to teaching. Having high expectations of students is different from having the same expectations of each student. It is not enough for students to understand a concept If there is no practice to follow it with. Practice and repetition solidify learning; when new knowledge and skills are shown, students acquire information more easily if properly connected to previous learning and personal interests. Understanding this is huge because it comes with the realization that intelligence can grow given the right tools and instruction. Understanding brain plasticity has been a revelation when it comes to how we learn and how to apply this to teaching. So many times, we hear people, especially adults, stuck in a mindset of “I’m just not good at (fill in the blank)” and in our case, art. I myself have been and still am culpable of such mentalities, “I’m not great at drawing. Drawing is not my strong suit. I’m much better at 3D art than 2D.” Understanding this about myself and knowing that, not only do I need to, but that I have the ability to change my fixed mindset to a growth mind set has been a challenge and a goal I’ve set as a teacher.
When stuck in a “fixed mindset,” one falsely accepts that character, intelligence, and creative ability are static and unchangeable. On the other hand, “growth mindset,” sees failure not as indication of lack of intelligence but as opportunity for growth and a challenge for expanding existing abilities. Learning about these two mindsets, I know I fall on the fixed side of the curve. Never had this realization been more poignant (even though, at the time I did not know the term for it) until my children started to get older and more vocal about their insecurities in certain subjects in school. “Mom, I’m just not good at math,” or “I will never be good at writing,” This is when I became more conscientious not only how I express myself out loud regarding my own skills in any area, but also how I think about it and avoid challenges simply out of fear of failure. Once I started identifying my own insecurities in my children, I realized this was something that had to change as an individual and as a parent.
I also plan on implementing a growth mindset in the classroom. I never want to project my insecurities on my students, nor do I want to limit their interest or desire to explore a medium or venture simply because I am limited in an area. I want to embrace challenges and value effort as the path toward skill and I want my students to do the same. I have a very long way to go. With every studio I have taken, I am faced with stepping out of my comfort zone to create art that I didn’t think I had the skill to create. In every step I’ve developed confidence and reinforced the fact that intelligence is not static, I can, in fact, learn and cultivate proficiency in areas my fixed mindset restrained me from exploring. My drawings are morphing in tiny increments to reveal a total picture of transformation in the end, just like my mindset.
