topic 1 - Dweck's mindset theory

Question 1

what is mindset?

Answer 1

mindset is the set of beliefs in which we believe in our ability to succeed in areas of life and or education.

Question 2

what are examples of a growth mindset?

Answer 2

1. I will look at her techniques of studying and apply it to mine.
2. I enjoy a challenge
3. I can put in more effort to change my abilities

Question 3

what are examples of a fixed mindset?

Answer 3

1. i’m not good at anything in life
2. I’m a really good swimmer
3. If i’m not good then I should quit

Question 4

what is the main points of dwecks theory?

Answer 4

1. Mindset theory suggests that children who think they can improve will continue to apply effort in that area, whereas, those who don’t believe they have that ability tend to give up or stop trying.
2. Mindset theory tells us that children are able to change their mindset from a fixed to a growth
3. According to Dweck, if a child is not praised for something they tend to believe that they don’t have the talent to achieve that goals and therefore give up trying.
4. It is better to praise a child for their effort rather than their person because it will lead to them believing they can do something therefore they carry on trying.

Question 5

what are the strengths of this theory?

Answer 5

1. It has practical applications, such as, teachers and parents will become more focused on praising children for their effort rather than ability.
2. the theory itself is positive as it shows that change is possible, which helps society.
3. There is evidence to support the mindset.

Question 6

what are the weaknesses of this theory?

Answer 6

1. Many of the studies of the theory have been an experiment therefore, they have artificial settings.
2. Studying the mindset of a child may encourage the child to focus on the problems with their progress rather than the quality of what is being taught and how they teaching is done
3. The theory tends to ignore the effects of giving feedback without the judgement of the child’s ability.
4. They consider praise as a very important variable but this theory must take into consideration other variables where praise is not featured.

Question 7

what is the experimental evidence of this theory?

Answer 7

Dweck found that praising a students ability led to them to have a fixed mindset and they were more vunerable to issues such as copying with set backs.

In contrast to this, Dweck found that when praising a students effort led to a continuous growth mindset leading to student persevering more.

Question 8

what is dweck theory investigating?

Answer 8

process praise vs person praise