I had never heard of Carol Dweck or the growth mindset before viewing it for this assignment. However, I like the message portrayed by the growth mindset and I feel that it could help solve many of the issues we find in our educational system. I see myself as a student that is focused very heavily on the grades I receive in courses, because I feel pressured to do extremely well in order to be accepted into medical school. While listening to the videos I began to reflect upon the way that I learn at OU. I believe that my biggest challenge is tackling problems that I feel are difficult, because I feel that if I miss the problem that I am not at the same level as my peers. I am interested in finding out more about the growth mindset and I believe that the challenges will not only help me in this course, but will help me better myself as a student in all of my courses. I look forward to finding challenges that I want to tackle instead of avoid, and I think that these challenges will help me escape my comfort zone. My personal goals for this semester are mainly to make sure that I keep on top of all of my course load and follow through with obligations to different organizations. I feel that this mindset will be especially helpful as I tackle cell biology this semester. Everyone that I have talked to about this course only tells me how difficult the class is, and I believe that having a mindset in which I accept and welcome challenges will help me to be able to understand a greater amount of the material I will be taught.
 |
| (From Cheezburger) |
Oh, that trap of comparing yourself to peers is a very dangerous trap to fall into for sure...! And esp. in a competitive situation, like med school admissions, it's a totally natural reaction. One thing I really like about this class is that it's an opportunity for everybody just to LEARN from their peers in a totally non-stressful way. And when it comes to creative writing, there are so many good ideas you can find in other people's work, borrowing a narrative style or a character from a story, or even just a really vivid word that you come to appreciate from someone else's use of it. And really, cooperating with peers when possible is such a great thing; hopefully you can find a really excellent study group for cell biology and work together! I foresee massive wall charts like for your ochem class! :-)
ReplyDeleteI used to be much like you in how you feel pressured to make prefect grades to get into medical school. It seems we, as students, get too focused on what we look like on a piece of paper, and ignore the person we are to the rest of world. I still focus on making good grades and doing well in my classes, but as I have done more and more internships and had a chance of real world experience I realize those papers will only get me so far up the corporate ladder.
ReplyDelete