I adored Carol Dweck's book, Mindset, from the moment I read it. I think what I appreciated most was the creation of a common set of vocabulary words I could use with my students; long ago, I had instinctually surmised a lot of what she delivers in the book (as most teachers do), but it creates a kind of very convincing shorthand for students to grasp and recall. I went through a self-help phase after grad school had sort of damaged my brain (ha, just kidding! not really!) and have since mostly abandoned the lot of touchy-feely books that helped put words to my experiences and encouraged me to work out of my slumps. But Mindset is a keeper for me. And whether they like it or not, it's a keeper for my flute studio at UW, because we devote a studio class to discussing it every fall.
In a nutshell, Carol Dweck's educational-psychological research discovered that a student truly can succeed through hard work, lack of "innate talent" be damned. In fact, she calls into question the existence of "innate talent" altogether, and as a working class kid who managed to achieve some version of my dream with no particular background in academics or the arts, I really want to believe that she's correct. After teaching at state universities and pre-college programs in the Rockies for two decades, where my students have absolutely not had the advantage of "starting out ahead", I also feel like they are living proof of this concept. Hard work wins. This is perhaps the most American concept of all.
Dweck's research boils down to two different ways of approaching a challenge, which she labels "growth mindset" and "fixed mindset". Students with a fixed mindset believe that their own intelligence and talent are innate traits that don’t change (“I just can’t count.”). These students typically worry about not looking smart, get upset by mistakes, and give up sooner on tough tasks. Students with a growth mindset believe that ability can change as a result of effort, perseverance, and practice (“Rhythm is hard for me, but if I keep trying, I can get better at it.”). Students with a growth mindset see mistakes as ways to learn, embrace challenges, and persist in the face of setbacks. High-performing students and low-performing students may have either mindset. Whether or not students are aware of their mindset, Dweck's research has shown that what they believe about their own intelligence can affect their effort, engagement, motivation, and achievement as measured by test scores, school grades, passing rate in post-secondary education, and other metrics.
Parents and teachers play a crucial role in training a certain mindset in students. If you've ever told a student they were naturally gifted at something, or called them intelligent or talented, you've veered into the area of fixed mindset, which may discourage students from engaging in new challenges for fear of losing their reputation for brilliance. I had to really train myself to replace that kind of praise with "your hard work paid off", "you've clearly worked hard at this and it shows", etc. kind of language. Did I ever hear that from teachers as a kid? I can't remember it. I do remember being told I was smart a lot, and I also remember not wanting to ask questions in class or venture a guess at a teacher's query for fear of being wrong in front of everyone. Today, I'm constantly practicing a growth mindset for myself and my students now, and it's as much work to maintain as good tone on the flute.
Performing arts are particularly tricky, because each performance is supposed to be as close to perfect as possible. What all constitutes a performance? When I was a student, I certainly treated each lesson as a performance; I respected my world-famous teachers to the point of self-induced intimidation (most of them were actually quite kind). What about rehearsals with peers? I was always nervous that I would screw up in front of them--which we all inevitably did!--but I sure hated when it would happen. In the practice room, if someone I respected was on the other side of the wall, I would squander that precious time performing for them, rather than doing the hard, ugly-sounding work I needed to do. As a teacher, I emphasize a sense of "lab learning" to my students--prepare as best you can for each lesson, rehearsal, and concert, but know that if you screw up in any of those settings, it'll be great information for the next time. It's a tough sell and takes a while for my students to trust me on that one. And then I have to make sure their grades, as well as my feedback, reflects my "lab" philosophy; I've said some version of "no puppy's going to die if you miss a note" so many times in lesson that my students quote it back to me.
I love this Growth Mindset Framing Tool from Mindset Works, co-founded by Carol Dweck and Lisa Blackwell. It's a great cheat-sheet for prompting thoughtful, encouraging responses to students' frustrations as well as their triumphs. It is a privilege to work one-on-one with each of my students for an hour a week, 2-5 years in a row; I can really get to know them and cater my teaching to suit each one of them. Over the course of their college degrees, I know that I may wield the most influence over their way of seeing the world and choosing success. And as much as I hope to get through a great big chunk of flute pedagogy and literature in that time, I've come to realize that modeling and fostering a growth mindset for them is probably the most important lesson they'll get from me.
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