"Growth" vs. "Fixed" Minds

Carol Dweck, professor of Psychology, wrote a novel called "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success". She mentions in the beginning of this video, while telling someone about some research done, that many students base their activities around their intelligence being shown to others. Other students do think that in incorrect, and that they can develop intelligence through working hard and passion. An experiment was done with two groups of students, where one half was taught study skills, and the other half was taught study skills with growth mindsets. The half with fixed mindsets did not do well at all, as expected. Being taught with a growth mindset is letting them know all about how their brain works and so on, and were told things like "No one laughs and babies when they don't know anything. It's just that they haven't learned yet." Don't be afraid to jump out there and learn or admit when you're wrong. You just have to learn! With a fixed mindset, they have a desire to look smart. With a growth mindset, they are taught that intelligence can be developed, so it leads to a desire to be taught and learn.

While doing some more research on Carol Dweck's book online, I found this quote from an article about her: "The key, she found, isn’t ability; it’s whether you look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed." I think that as a teacher, this has shown me that I need to inform my students about having a growth mindset because appearing to be smart is not everything. If you feel as if you are not smart, it is okay because it can be learned. You don't have to go out of your way to make everyone think that you are smart. It can and will be developed, one just has to realize that everyone can learn. It does not matter who are you. But still, as I quote Carol, "One group is really going around the world curious, curious to learn; and the other is going around wanting to be smart." Which one are you?