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Chrissy Eld
Lorelei Boschman
EDTS 232
06 October 2015
Article Review: Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives
Carol Dweck states that there are two mindsets with which we view and interact with our world.
Dweck believes that these opposing mindsets affect how we view ourselves, others and how we
approach our relationships. She sums up the fixed mindset as the process is scored by an
internal monologue of constant judging and evaluation, using every piece of information as
evidence either for or against such assessments as whether youre a good person, whether your
partner is selfish, or whether you are better than the person next to you (12). She then goes on
to sum up the growth mindset as the internal monologue is not one of judgement but one of
voracious appetite for learning, constantly seeking out the kind of input that you can metabolize
into learning and constructive action (12). She goes on to say that attributes such as character,
intelligence and creative ability are not changeable in a fixed mindset whereas these attributes
are growing and evolving in a growth mindset. Dweck claims there are consequences to which
mindset you subscribe to, as each mindset profoundly affects the way you lead your life. The
fixed mindset creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over asserts Dweck, in contrast to
the growth mindset that creates a passion for learning rather than a hunger for approval (4).
Dweck uses many research references to back up her claim of these two mindsets and goes on to
convey that they can be reprogrammed, she expresses our ability to teach people the
growth mindset, with its focus on development (5). By simply praising effort instead of ability
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Dweck reports that the growth mindset can be nurtured.

OPINION
I completely agree with Dweck in the philosophy of being two possible mindsets. I have also
witnessed firsthand the examples of these. Dweck spoke of a puzzle experiment and this brought
back memories of a time in the ELP class I was in. There was about 4 or 5 four year olds sitting
at a table doing puzzles, a few were struggling with their puzzles but one little girl had mastered
hers. Once she completed it she would take it apart to do it again, I noticed this and asked if she
would like a new puzzle to try and she said no way, Im good at this one, this showcases a
fixed mindset. Not too long later a little boy came up to the table trying to decide on a puzzle
and he was disappointed because he had already completed them all, he asked for a harder
puzzle, now knowing the two mindsets I can easily define this as the growth mindset. I can
honestly say this article opened my eyes to failure. Nobody likes to fail but too many of us just
stop there, when we should be looking at the failure as a step towards growth. After I read this
article I did some self-reflecting and noticed I rarely speak out in class to answer questions, for
fear of failure. I convinced myself that even if I do get it wrong I will learn, and so I actually
spoke in my English class five times in one day! This article also brought up memories of
another article I read on the reason why Asian students seem to be so much more successful than
North American students, it stated that the Asians praise the effort that went into the work not the
final mark. This is in align with what Dweck was declaring in the article. After I read the article I
was working in a grade one class and I found myself using this logic. The children were working
on a vocabulary lesson and I was praising their effort, hopefully fostering a growth mindset.