Asian mindsets Dr Rob Waring

North East Asia Two basic mindsets – ‘fixed mindset’ and ‘growth mindset’ Fixed mindset – Adults and children – Very common beliefs – We aren’t all of one or all of another but Fixed mindset Belief that one’s basic abilities are fixed you have a certain amount Growth mindset

The ‘fixed’ mindset beliefs.. We have a certain amount of ability or talent and these are fixed traits People are talented or they are not talented and are often revealed in these ways Sue is smart because she gets good grades, I never do, so I’m not smart Ken went to University X and it means he’s smart I’m just not a musical person. I’ll never be able to do x I’m too old to do learn something new They don’t want to risk failure and stay within their abilities that don’t stretch them So they never want to look dumb or stupid because they don’t want people to look down on them They believe, if you are good at something you don’t need to try hard, but if you have to try hard, then you are not smart, so they believe even effort makes them feel stupid

The ‘fixed’ mindset beliefs... They worry about the next test of their abilities They avoid challenges or risks that may show their lack of abilities They give up easily They don’t like criticism (they may cry or get upset) A lot of disruptive classroom behavior comes from kids who are trying not to reveal their fears about their perceived inabilities So often students stop trying because they don’t want to look or feel stupid, or they cause problems to deflect attention away from their abilities

Growth mindset beliefs …. My core abilities and talents can be developed by myself, good strategies, help from others, hard work My education is journey and I don’t know where I’ll end up My potential cannot be known from today’s tests Tests say nothing about my character, determination to work hard, ability to take risks, willingness to take on challenges, an a never give up attitude I enjoy effort; I like to persevere if I meet problems; I like to take risks, I like challenges I’m not concerned with current abilities but with growing their abilities in the future I’m not afraid of bad test results It does not mean I can a super athlete, or Einstein, but I can develop in that direction

Teachers and parents with a fixed mindset believe…. Students can be sorted into categories IQ tests and other tests reveal students’ abilities Students can be ranked from high to low Tests reveal their current ability as well as their potential Some students will never understand something, or won’t understand it well, because they aren’t built that way These mindsets become self-fulfilling prophesy because research shows the children develop a fixed mindset “I’m good at English”, “I’m not good at English”

Teachers and parents with a growth mindset believe…. We don’t sort people into categories We don’t judge them on todays’ tests We take every chance to develop their abilities, and suppor them They sky is the limit

The comfort zones are different Fixed mindset – Don’t look stupid – Stay within my abilities so I don’t risk failure – I don’t want to try because I know I’ll fail and look stupid – Failure is when I do badly Growth mindset – I want to push my ability levels – If I’m not challenged I’m not satisfied – Ask for new and difficult things to challenge and develop new connections in the brain – If I do poorly, it doesn’t matter because I’m still learning – Failure is when I don’t try

Compare the labels I’m not good at this. She’s smart. He’s a very kind boy. Kim is so stupid. I’m not good at this, yet. That was a smart thing to do. He does many kind things. Kim does some stupid things.

Benefits of the growth mindset Some students don’t do well because they don’t get the right support, or don’t know how to study something With teaching and encouragement the students can grow The students have unseen capability and the teacher’s role is to help students to find their abilities A growth mindset changes the way people think about success – A fixed mindset says I did better on a test than others (the goal is the test score). They try to out-do others – A growth mindset says I did better on this test that the last one, but I’m still not good at this YET. It says although I did better than others it doesn’t matter, it’s about how I’m improving that matters – how much I’m learning

How do we develop the growth mindset? Praise well. Don’t praise ability only. Praise effort, determination, time put in as well Give opportunities, and resources and time to develop Don’t expect immediate results Develop a sense that they can learn only from doing hard things

Negative stereotypes lead to poor results Some groups believe their group or race has a certain negative trait e.g. – Asians are smart; – people from my neighborhood don’t go to university; – Thais don’t read; – people from poorer families are poor because they aren’t smart; etc. etc. A negative stereotype says the ability is fixed and your group doesn’t have it People with the negative stereotype tend to perform to that perceived negative stereotype People with a growth mindset don’t do worse on tests because they believe the past performance of my group is irrelevant to my ability because what I’m learning If students believe their teacher or parent has a fixed mindset, they feel they can’t improve so much If students believe their teacher or parent has a growth mindset, they feel they are supported and can grow

Mindset isn’t everything … Not all students have the same opportunities, the same resources, the same teachers Mindset and access to resources, opportunities It doesn’t mean everyone should be going to university, but should be doing the thing they love – the world needs hairdressers, carpenters, taxi drivers etc.