I found Carol Dweck's explanation of Growth Mindset Theory intriguing. I think that praising effort rather than achievement is a great way to keep people, not just kids, interested and willing to try a challenge. I would like to explore and learn more about this theory this year, and try to think in a growth mindset more myself.
In past occasions I have seen this theory play through in numerous points in my life. Mostly family, of course, but there were a few instructors I've had that praised effort and attempts. If I did poorly on an exam, my family would talk to me about it and point out where I excelled, but also, encouraged me to not get discouraged with what I didn't do well on. "You'll get it next time," or "Maybe today's quiz was rough. But you weren't ready, maybe the TEST will prove better for you." In terms of an instructor, an example of Growth Mindset teaching would be correcting in other colors rather than red or even leaving positive feedback. Studies have shown that students get discouraged in seeing a paper returned in red and often is seen as "distressing." By grading with other colors, instructors cut out the mental block of red being bad, and students can embrace all feedback without having the mental barrier of "I did horribly, I should give up." By leaving mixed feedback, students will also be more likely to try harder to improve aspects where they didn't excel in before while maintaining or incorporating more of what they did well.
For current and future applications, I would like to incorporate the theory in how I view my first semester of college. I would like to focus on gaining more intellect rather than aiming to get enough to pass. I would also like to continue to see my fails as improvement points rather than lost hopes, and to see my strengths as opportunities to take challenges, rather than settling.
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