W08 Reading Assignments

• What's the one thing that everyone needs to know about learning?

Not only does everyone learn differently, but the environment in which they learn greatly impacts how they think for the rest of their lives. It's important now more than ever to change our ways as teachers to assist students in developing the skills of learning, rather than just drilling concepts and formulas. Learning is unique, but can effectively be brought to every student with enough effort.

• How do Dr. Dweck's ideas relate to everything that we've investigated so far? What big connection is there to be made?

The study from Dweck proved that students want to discover things. Our investigations point towards the fact that not only is it effective, but beneficial in the long run for students to develop these skills early on. Making errors and providing feedback is an important step to the learning process, and we must do our best to facilitate this.

• How do these ideas relate to the perspectives on STEM learning (e.g., conceptual change, models & modeling, social cognitive, situated learning)?

The ideas relate to our previously learned perspectives, especially social cognitive learning. Students can capitalize on other students' mistakes to better their own thinking process. And at the same time, the students making the mistake then learn from it and do better next time. The whole situated learning process is best for this type of learning, as it accepts methods of all types to provide students with the best materials.

• How do the examples in this video illustrate a growth mindset?

The growth mindset is exemplified by the various success stories and how each of those people got to that point. They didn't get a head start over their peers, they growed slowly over time; developing the skills necessary to grow faster and more efficiently. You do that by making mistakes and correcting them, knowing how to adjust in the future.

• How do we translate this into straight-forward, applicable policies and practices for STEM?

STEM is a subject best learned through your own understanding at your own pace. Success isn't measured by how much people like you, or how much you make, it's how many personal goals you have accomplished. It's how well you can look back and see your growth. And that applies to STEM year by year, with each new growing science field you learn about new things that build upon your old things and you grow and become more successful.