The Power of Yet (EDLD 5302)

The idea and power of a growth mindset seemed to have started in the field of education, but now is visible in just about every field/industry, and rightfully so. As a high school mathematics teacher, I feel it is my duty to ingrain this in my students early in the year. I try to do the same with my baseball players early in the season. This upcoming schoolyear will be challenging for students and teachers alike, a return to somewhat normalcy following a year that impacted everyone in different ways. The idea of “yet” will be more important than ever. “Yet” recognizes the process. Most things do not occur overnight. The best and most recent visual that I can attach to the idea of “yet” is watching my daughter learn how to walk. Each day she inches closer and closer, one day with her baby walker, next gliding along the couch, next holding one of our hands, and so on and so on. She displays courage and understanding as she moves closer to her goal, naturally displaying a growth mindset. She has not been tainted in any way and only knows her brief 11 months but can teach all of us a lesson.

Adopting a growth mindset allows us to put trust in ourselves and those around us that we can continue to grow and improve. A fixed mindset has always struck me as abrupt and concrete, which is not how we develop/work. We have all be told countless times that no two learners are the same. With that said, we all attack goals differently and accept or crave feedback in different ways. Dweck provides us with some evidence on the power of growth mindset within feedback for students. Students often are engrossed by their grades, especially those higher achieving students, so much so that the desire for perfection in the here and now is a detriment to their overall learning and being. I often have conversations with students and parents, especially early in the year, of the importance of being able to deal with and fight through adversity. One test is not going to make or break you. We discuss their overall goals, and they quickly will say “to get an A in this class.” But overall is bigger, what are you working towards?

The internet provides us with an infinite amount of information. If you Google “growth mindset in education” you quickly get 105,000,000 results. I believe videos such as the one we were provided with that discuss Josh Waitzkin’s climb from chess to martial arts are powerful and could resonate with many individuals. We all know the importance of getting to know each one of our students as individuals, the same can be said for ourselves, as learners we want to find resources that we can relate to. This could mean finding those that parallel with our age, interests, and geographical locations. The graphic we were provided with can serve as a cheat sheet on how we live our daily lives, embrace challenges and battle through adversity.