Growth Mindset and Learners at All Levels
Carol Dweck changed how I view education and my feedback as an educator
Earlier this week I decided to explore the experiences of young students. Driven by the reality that our son is about to enter the Chicago Public School system, I felt it necessary to do a dive into the world of K-12 education; a world I am definitely not experienced. Many of the students in these articles were in middle-school, others in elementary. The entire time I was reading these articles I found myself wondering how these theories and ideas can be translated into college students. As a sociology instructor for the better part of the last decade, it has been my observation that students come into college classrooms with varied levels of preparedness for critical thought. Many of my colleagues share in these observations, and we often commiserate about the effects this has on the student, our attempt to teach, feedback, and more at conferences and other meetings. Much of what was presented in the articles this week resonated with my experiences, and gave some insight into how research related to cognition can be applied to my own practice.
For most of my students, the ultimate goal for them as they experience college has very little to do with the actual college experience. In the beginning of every one of my classes, I ask…
