As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been determined to do well and succeed. When I didn’t get something right, I made adjustments to my approach and tried again. And again. And again. Until I was satisfied with the outcome. Or, until I ran out of time and had to stop working. This was true for nearly everything I did. Learning to ride a bicycle. Playing a video game. Writing a paper. Arranging furniture in my home or in my classroom.
Are you like this, too?
Some may call it perfectionism…and yes, I believe I have a little of that…but this was different. This was an internal drive to get it right. A knowing that I could do anything I wanted if I just kept learning and trying. It is so much a part of my nature and who I am that it never even occurred to me that other people didn’t operate like this.
When I started teaching and had students who gave up when they made a mistake or had difficulty understanding a concept, I was stumped at how to really help them.
Sometime during the season of my life when I taught middle school, I was introduced to the concept of growth mindset. If you aren’t familiar with the term, growth mindset is the belief that with enough practice and effort you can learn and be successful at whatever it is you are doing. It’s what I was demonstrating my whole life by getting up and trying again. Of course, I wasn’t aware I had a growth mindset for all those years. I just called it determination, but now I know, running in the background of my mind there must have been a belief that I could do all those things well if I just kept going. I’m sure other people looked at me and thought I was just good at everything I did. What they didn’t see, and what we often don’t see when we look at the success someone else has, is the work that goes into it. Of course, it’s true that some things come more easily to some people than to others. We are all different in that way. It still takes time and effort and a lot of practice to learn something well.
Let’s contrast that with what is now known as a fixed mindset. We all know people who give up at the first sign of trouble and don’t keep trying. Maybe it’s even you. You strike out your first time at the plate and decide baseball isn’t for you. You do poorly on one test and believe you are dumb. You make a mistake and decide you’ll never get it.
These are examples of having a fixed mindset. A driving belief that some people are born with certain skills and talents you didn’t get.
So, when you say you aren’t a math person, what you are really saying is that you believe math ability is something you are born with and not something that can be learned.
That’s a fixed mindset. In reality, math is a skill that has to be learned. Like hitting a baseball or riding a bike, it takes practice and effort to master. And, I now know it also takes a personal belief that it can be learned with practice and effort. It takes a growth mindset. Am I saying everyone needs to learn advanced calculus and matrix theory? Not at all. What I am saying is that just because you got tripped up trying to graph equations in 8th grade math class doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of learning math and it certainly doesn’t mean you aren’t a math person.
And yet, that’s exactly what happens all the time. We hit a point that requires a little more effort than what we are used to and we give up. This is true for all sorts of things. Not just math class.
The tricky thing about mindset is you can have a growth mindset for some things in your life and a fixed mindset for others. It isn’t usually an all or nothing deal. I don’t particularly enjoy cooking and I don’t think I’m very good at it. I also don’t consider myself to have a green thumb. Do I believe I can improve at cooking and gardening if I put time and effort into learning and practicing? I know I can, but I choose to focus my efforts on things I’m interested in. Is this the same as a fixed mindset? I’m not entirely sure about that one.
So, how does this idea relate to you and your life? What are some things you do well? Can you see the growth mindset you have toward those skills and activities? What are some things you think you aren’t good at? Did you also have a growth mindset in these areas or do you tend to have a fixed mindset there?
Now, let’s think specifically about math. When did you first begin to lose your confidence? When did you first begin to have trouble understanding a concept? How did you react to that situation? Did you seek help and practice a little extra? Or did you decide math wasn’t for you and that you didn’t get the math gene? Did you have a growth mindset or were you more fixed in your beliefs?
I certainly don’t have all the answers here. I just know that in my experience, in school and in real life, the people who tend toward a growth mindset are often more successful than those who don’t. I also know that mindsets can shift. That’s kind of the whole point of this podcast. I give you tidbits of information that I hope will land with you in a way that causes you to rethink your relationship with math.
If you are in the mood for a deeper dive into this idea of growth mindset and mathematics, I’d like to steer you to a TEDx talk by Carol Dweck. She is a professor and researcher who has studied mindset and motivation extensively. I use this video as a discussion starter with my college students, many of whom have not had good experiences with math in the past and tend to not think of themselves as math people. What is presented in the video always leads to really good discussions and I learn something new every time. I encourage you to check it out. If you do, I’d love to hear what resonates with you or what surprises you about her discussion.
One of the things that brings me immense joy is having conversations with folks about math and mindset. I love hearing different perspectives and experiences and I love guiding people to think about things differently. To make little shifts in their thinking that can lead to big changes in their lives. I can’t have those discussions without you, though. So, be sure to give me your thoughts and questions by commenting here on a blog post, commenting on a podcast episode (this topic is Episode 10!), through messages on instagram, or even by email.
What I want to leave you with today is a little challenge to take notice of where in your life you are living a growth mindset and where you might be more fixed in your thinking. I look forward to hearing from you!
