Impact of the Growth Mindset

One wildly important goal I have for technology in my career is to be intentional with its incorporation within my classroom. Sometimes I do things on a whim and will think of them on the spot while teaching my lessons. Although my lessons usually turn out to be well done when it is spontaneous, I would love to see how far I can take my students with being intentional about how their technology is used. Thoroughly planning these lessons will help grow my students’ knowledge because I can set goals for them and we can identify aspects that would benefit from adjustments. After self-reflection, I have been operating in a fixed mindset, thinking my third graders could not do the activities and projects I wanted to have them participate in. In contrast, my students have taught me not to underestimate them and know that with proper guidance, they can achieve an abundance of things. So, currently, I have been engaging in more of a growth mindset, because my students don’t have everything they need YET, but as their teacher, I must provide them with the tools and resources to get them there.

The most important thing that is important when it comes to learning and pursuing life goals will always be the WHY, in my opinion. I get discouraged at work, and even when I am working on ADL program assignments, so I often must refer back to why I am doing something. I have an awful habit of comparing my work to others, in both my professional and academic life. Once I realized what I was doing, I made the intentional effort to learn from my peers, take their feedforward, and apply it to my projects as needed. Also, at work, I have been working to collaborate with teachers whose work I admire instead of wishing I was able to create those same ideas. I originally observed that I have been working in a fixed mindset, but I have been making subtle changes to transition into a growth mindset. I also used to think that once I was able to incorporate a growth mindset appropriately and strategically, THEN I could pass it on to my students, colleagues, and even friends and family. But the truth is, I can relay these small changes to them in real-time. This is the purpose of the growth mindset, that we are continually and intentionally working toward a better version of ourselves. There is no need to withhold this critical information when I could be helping others maximize their potential as well.