Being in college and going to OU I think this is a tough idea to learn. With honor societies, parents and professor constantly telling you that grades are the most important thing. It put tremendous pressure on you, which can cause you to feel weighed down by others expectations. I really enjoy classes that have a blog/commenting aspect, because I feel like this fits into growth mindset. Instead of the professor telling you constantly that you either pass or fail, blog comments allow both the professor and student to challenge you, encourage you and help you. I feel like this form of feedback is also less threatening because at the end of the day, you can understand that they are just trying to help you get better.
A goal I have for this semester is to learn how to accept feedback. It is so easy to get defensive when someone challenges you or questions you, but I want to learn how to accept what they say, see where they are coming from and understand that they are just trying to make me better.
I think this is the biggest thing that college students need to know. While grades are important they aren't the end-all-be-all and the best chance to grow is to ask questions not only from your professors but from your fellow classmates. There will always be someone who can teach you something, you just need to listen!
Thank you so much for this post, Katie! I was literally just sitting here working on ways to better organize the growth mindset stuff for class to make it more fun and useful, and I saw your post pop up in my blog reader. I hope it is okay with you that I shared your thoughts over at the Canvas Community network. I've been trying to share growth mindset stuff with the other instructors there, and your post makes it so clear why this really is important. Also, I love the graphic. You know I am going to snag that for the class announcements!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, Katie! I completely agree with you that this whole idea of growth mindset is so hard to learn. We kind of get taught to do stuff based on performances rather than actually try to learn any materials. Society places so much emphasis on grades and requirements that we all tend to miss the point in going to school. BUT! I’m glad you’re making goals and actually trying this whole growth mindset thing. Good luck on everything, and I hope everything works out!
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