Week 15 Growth Mindset Challenge: Ready for a challenge!

Found at the Growth Mindset Blog

I chose this meme for my growth mindset challenge this week because I have several big challenges coming up in my life. The first is finals week. Obviously. We'll see how that goes...

The second is my student teaching semester in the fall. I will be working at a school with a 98% free and reduced lunch student population. It is going to be a big challenge! But this is the path I have chosen for my life and I'm ready for my first real test as a public school educator. 

Third, I have recently begun to address some health concerns with a counselor and although I'm dreading the long slog through my own unhealthy brain, I know that this is important for my own happiness for the rest of my life.

Week 14 Growth Mindset: Multiple Intelligences

From the Growth Mindset Blog

I'm a big believer in the idea of multiple intelligences and the potential of ALL humans to make contributions and shine in their unique talents. I like the different examples Marek Bennett has listed here of ways one can be gifted and intelligent .
However, I worry that this idea -- and some of these specific categories -- lend themselves to a mindset of limited growth. For example, a class I took for my music education coursework had us take a "musical aptitude" test, to see where we rate on our inherent aptitude for melodic and rhythmic capabilities. I am a decently accomplished musician and feel confident in my musical intelligence, but I scored very low on aptitude in both areas. If I had taken that test as a kid with an idea of multiple intelligences, I might have thought of myself as not "intelligent" in this field and been discouraged from devoting myself to it. I think it's important to remember that even though intelligence is a much wider field than its typically thought of, hard work is still the most important factor in success!

Week 13 Growth Mindset: Even geniuses have to work hard

This week I reflected on this little nugget of wisdom from our favorite internet cats. In many areas, but for my life particularly in music, I think we tend to be more impressed by people who can perform tasks effortlessly than those who have the dedication and courage to work really tirelessly at something; this seems totally backward to me! 
For one, even those who perform effortlessly probably put in a ton of work just to get to that point. See my last growth mindset about the difference in what we see with regard to preparation versus performance.
Two, working really hard is in itself an ability -- that's why music teachers stress not just the importance of practice, but the importance of GOOD practice. Even at my level, with musicians who will go on to lead big, important careers, I know of peers who have reputations for not being able to practice well. They get by on natural talent, but everyone knows that the second they find a piece outside of their ability level, they won't ever be able to conquer it because they don't have that skill set or mindset.

From the blog

Growth Mindset Challenge: Preparation vs. Performance

The growth mindset meme about a butterfly undergoing radical changes before it is appreciated reminded me of this image macro I've seen floating around Facebook lately. This idea that one only sees a tiny part of what goes into a finished product can help in two ways:
If you're an observer, don't forget to appreciate the work you don't see,

and if you're a performer, don't forget to keep the image of the finished product always in your mind!

Posted by Classic FM on Thursday, March 17, 2016

Growth Mindset: Practice to Get Good Results

Source

As a musician, I connected to this Growth Mindset in two ways. 

One, consistent practice is the only way to get better. Duh! This one was obvious, and it's something that every practicer of any skill knows. However, it can still be a tedious, time-consuming activity; therefore, one must remember the reward!

The second is less obvious, and even more difficult: if practice is the act of repeating something until it's easy, then I have to make sure what I'm repeating is absolutely the perfect result I want. It's tempting during long practice sessions to speed things up, get a little careless, and let a few mistakes slip in without much worry. However, there's a mantra musicians repeat to ourselves that I think can be applied to much of life: Don't practice until you can play it right. Practice until you can never play it wrong.

Growth Mindset

I LOVE the idea of the growth mindset!
I have heard this idea before and am familiar with Professor Dweck's research, but I had never seen these specific videos explaining the concept in more detail.
I have mostly seen this concept discussed in terms of Dweck's thoughts on praise. At El Sistema, we make a conscious effort to recognize students' efforts, perseverance, and progress, rather than their initial talents or successes. 
I myself struggle with maintaining a growth mindset rather than a fixed one; I have a natural knack for academic measures of intelligence, so I was often praised for being "smart" as a kid. I now know that intelligence is a largely arbitrary concept that is widely misunderstood, and I'm a strong believer in the theory of multiple intelligences. Just because my intelligence presented itself in the form of good standardized test scores doesn't make me more intelligent, and certainly not more valuable, than someone whose intelligence resulted in different forms of success. However, I often felt pressure as a "smart" kid to maintain my results, so I really identified with Professor Dweck's description of the children with fixed mindsets, including their frustrations and fears regarding failure. 
Luckily, as I've gotten older, I've learned to embrace challenge! Learning about the idea of a growth mindset and understanding the source of some of my anxiety regarding failure has DEFINITELY helped me become a happier, more confident person. In fact, I've found that the areas in which I am not so naturally inclined, but learned to work hard for success , are more rewarding and less stressful. 
The biggest example of this in my life is music! I'm no prodigy; I have to work extra hard in a lot of ways in order to be successful in this field. However, I've had some great teachers along my path who have taken care to give me the exact right kind of praise: recognition of effort. Thanks to them, I've learned to approach every challenge as an opportunity to learn!

I hope that throughout this, my last semester of class, I can continue my growth as a student and as a person. I'm really ecstatic to have this course to keep me on check with my personal goal of maintaining a growth mindset. :)

My pup demonstrates his unwillingness to accept limitations in any form. 

Picture by K Crego, made on cheezburger.com