Summary Of Carol Dweck's Brainology

730 Words3 Pages

Imagine going to school and really succeeding; you understand everything, you’re getting good grades and all the praise you can dream of from your parents and teachers. But then you move up and things get harder, you don’t understand everything, your grades are dropping and you are scared that you will no longer get that praise. You have two options, you can either take on the challenge and get back to where you used to be, or you can sit down when you feel threated by the hard work. In “Brainology” by author Carol S. Dweck, we are shown research concerning those two options or “mindsets” and how we can change them. This excerpt is divided into four main parts; first, Mindsets and Achievement , where the thought-processes are first introduced. Then, How Do Students Learn These Mindsets?, here we are presented with the argument that praising students is not …show more content…

The growth mindset believes that their potential intelligence comes from learning, while the fixed mindset thinks they only have a certain amount of intelligence. Along with their differences in learning, these students also have a difference in school priorities. The students with the fixed mindset only cared how smart they would appear and turned down opportunities that were critical to their success. Students with the growth mindset thought about their efforts, and when they work harder it will show in their abilities and accomplishments. I agree with this because everyone will react differently to a setback, especially if they already react differently to education. Dweck explains this in better detail when she says, “… the belief that intelligence is fixed dampened the students’ motivation to learn…and made them want to quit after a setback”. She also shows us the other side, when intelligence is thought to be developed, students are exposed to a passion for learning and are more determined with presented with a