Looking Forward to a New Year

 

In all areas of our lives, 2020 was a challenging year! The pandemic has disrupted our routines in many ways, including our students’ education. The transition to distance learning has required many adjustments and forced us all to endure rough waters at times, but it has also taught us important skills for helping our students better manage their academic lives and take advantage of tools that will benefit them throughout their academic careers. We look forward to navigating the waters of 2021 with you.

FOSTERING A GROWTH MINDSET

How we approach challenges and think about success can have a large impact on the quality of our learning outcomes. Belief in ourselves and our capabilities has more power than we may think.

Professor Carol Dweck, a prominent researcher at Stanford University, has spent much of her career studying how individuals, specifically students, respond to challenges. She found that students’ conceptualizations of intelligence tend to fall into two primary categories: growth mindsets and fixed mindsets. Each of these two theories of intelligence determines how students tend to perceive learning, as well as their own ability to improve.

Growth Mindset: Intelligence can be developed through effort.

Individuals with this mindset are more likely to:

  • Tackle challenges

  • Rebound from failures and setbacks

  • Understand effort as an important step in achieving goals

  • Value constructive criticism

Fixed Mindset: Intelligence is predetermined and cannot be built upon.

Individuals with this mindset are more likely to:

  • Shy away from challenges

  • Give up more easily

  • Place more importance on “appearing smart” than learning from mistakes

  • Avoid or disregard feedback

  • Under-perform instead of trying a new or difficult task and risking failure

What can we take away from this?

How we view ourselves can have tangible outcomes on our performance and abilities. Viewing challenges and mistakes as opportunities for growth and improvement can expand our aptitude for success. Those with a growth mindset seek opportunities to learn, whereas those with fixed mindsets seek approval. Each perspective can have a dramatically different outcome on our achievement.

Here are some ways to cultivate a growth mindset:

  • Embrace discomfort in the learning process: Putting yourself in challenging and uncomfortable situations that push you to grow can be difficult but is often very beneficial.

  • Be mindful of your inner dialogue: How you talk to yourself impacts your mindset. If you catch yourself thinking negatively, reframe these thoughts into more positive perspectives.

  • Use mistakes as learning opportunities: Making a mistake helps you problem solve and find better solutions in the future.

  • Invite feedback: Asking for feedback as a learning tool can help you identify areas for growth you may have overlooked.

Cultivating a growth mindset takes consistent practice and work. Even if you don’t naturally approach learning from a growth perspective, you can condition yourself to do so through repetition. Try applying the aforementioned strategies to your schoolwork, extracurricular activities, or other areas of your life you want to further develop.

Check out Professor Dweck’s Ted Talk on growth mindset!

RESOLUTIONS WITHOUT PRESSURE

The idea of new-year resolutions may seem scary, especially when we place so much emphasis on them at the beginning of each year. There’s no need to stress, though -- new-year resolutions are simply longer-term goals we set for ourselves as we move into a new year with intentions to improve. You may make mistakes as you work toward your resolutions, but channel your growth mindset and keep pushing forward. Every effort we put forth toward fulfilling our resolutions will make us better, even if by a small amount.

In setting your resolutions for the year, find one thing that is school-related and one that is not. This gives you some variety and aims for well-rounded development. You should also keep your resolutions short, specific, and somewhere visible to keep them on your mind throughout the week.

STUDY TIP FOR THE WEEK

Write your goals for the new term in a place you often look. Sticky notes on the mirror or in a planner can help remind you of what you hope to accomplish in 2021!


 
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