I believe that I have a mostly growth mindset. When I reflect on a person's abilities, it has always made sense to me that they would become better by practicing things and that mistakes just point to places where there is room for improvement. That said, I do think that there are some people that are more talented at certain things than other people; though, I question how far talent can get you without the work. I just don't think there's any way to get there without the work. This has impacted my mindset by making me think that I am super woman (hahahah!). Just kidding, but I do think that I can do more than it sometimes seems like I can do especially if I can give myself the time to acclimate and incorporate the knowledge. I make mistakes (so many mistakes!), but I think that everyone of them is an opportunity to learn something about myself and adapt strategies to give myself a better chance at success in the future. I've had to withdraw from various courses because I overloaded myself, but because I'm confident in my ability to learn, I don't accept that I'm a failure because I couldn't finish the courses at that point in time. I just take them again when I get the opportunity. I've had issues in the past because I didn't always feel like I was doing my very best, but I'm coming to a place where I feel good about doing the best that I can in that moment instead of the very best of all time. That means that sometimes I get a "B" instead of an "A". I'm learning to be okay with that as long as I know that I understand what I'm supposed to be learning. Not accepting my best in the moment holds me back from continuing to progress more than not doing my best of all time is an indication or my worthiness to continue in my education.
I read the article about stereotype threat and women in math. My greatest surprises were how little time it takes to internalize messaging about stereotypes (for or against). I'd be interested on the longevity of the messaging and its effects. Is this something that I need to print out and stick on my wall and read before every test? In the event that I have no choice but to work within a space under hostile conditions, is reaffirming the messaging enough to circumvent the effects of the space? I'm not surprised by the stereotype. I'm very surprised and disappointed the the president of Harvard would perpetuate it. Or maybe not. Everyone sticks their foot in their mouths sometimes. I wonder if he had someone proofread his speech and if they were totally okay with it. Maybe I'm missing the context though and should look up his speech. Anyway, I'm grateful for the study and that someone cared about the issue and went out to explore and gather data to better understand it.
Good, C., Aronson, J., & Harder, J. A. (2008). Problems in the pipeline: Stereotype threat and women's achievement in high-level math courses. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2007.10.004
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