Hacker News Reader

Comment by 4WIW | Hacker News Reader

I think the key to the growth mindset is to help in maintaining the feedback loop: work & effort -> reach your goal -> feel happy. The "fixed mindset" breaks the loop in a way that no matter how hard you'd work you'd never reach that goal because only "gifted" reach it and you are not gifted enough.

Another extreme is "false growth mindset" that also breaks the feedback loop but in a different way: no matter the results, you will still get praise for "effort", so there is no point in trying harder.

"Growth mindset" is helpful but it is not a magic replacement for hard work and learning to deal with frustration.

View on HN

What a lot of GM proponents seemingly don't want to admit is that the loop can also be broken when people repeatedly don't reach their goals despite putting in more effort than people who do reach those same goals. I'm not sure conventional educational methods and institutions have a method or mechanism to respond constructively to that situation.

So part of the idea isn't just putting in raw effort, it is about trying alternate methods and strategies. Figuring out why the goals weren't reached, and determining multiple different strategies for achieving those goals. If they just put more effort into the same failing strategy, it just doesn't work.

Do the same thing a different way, in essence.

I guess what I'm getting at is that to do that for children in school implies that the schools themselves have to either become more adaptable and less rigid or cede some of their authority over education to give students space to try other approaches. It's presumably a much better sell at an institutional level if you can just say "look, we have Growth Mindset worksheets and posters and pamphlets that you can slot into your lesson plans".

The way I understand it makes it seem like a principle applied at the teacher/classroom level. The material that needs to be learned is the same either way. The important part is having the teacher teach and inspire their students in a way that encourages a growth mindset. The ideal case for physical material is in training teachers to effectively encourage the growth of that mindset.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com