Amy Conley Growth Mindset

People who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and they put more energy into learning. The two mindsets can be applied to any person in this world. Teachers and professors are able to apply different strategies to help students expand their mind and help develop a growth mindset, particularly in writing classes. What strategies can professors use to enforce a growth mindset in students? A growth mindset will help a student succeed in the long run, they will be more open to change. In Growth Mindset

After reading Drive, Conley concludes that students are “motivated by autonomy, purpose, and mastery.” To fit autonomy she would let students choose their own writing prompts, made deadlines more flexible, and make the writing process fit the student. Conley states that doing this helps the students feel more in control over their process. She changed her assignments from writing to real audiences in a summative assessment to writing to real people for real reasons. Conley’s reading of Mindset brought her to realize that praising students for their work does not always help. Sometimes this results in the student not wanting to change how they do things because they don’t want to lose the label of being “smart,” if they did not do something correctly. She also highlights Dweck’s power of yet. Professors can use this word to help students grow and master writing without crushing them with negative comments. For example a professor could say, “Your sentence structure does not yet match the tone you’re trying to achieve.” This lets the student know they did something wrong but also it gives them a sense of trust that they will get better. Using yet really empowers a student. They feel as if they have failed but there is still room to build upon the mistakes. They want to fix the problem and work to make it better. Yet is a perfect way for professors to encourage students to work harder to improve upon their skills. The use of yet also relates to a statement in the above research. Using this type of wording creates a more positive outlook for the student in their writing. So, as well as enforcing a positive attitude in the student the professor should carry a positive attitude as well. This shows the student that the professor cares about the students progress and wants them to improve upon everything they do. Conley discusses that she would much rather see