edtechdev/chatbotfiles · Datasets at Hugging Face

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b. Yes. I have heard of learning styles and know my own.
c. Yes. I have heard of learning styles, but I don’t think they’re accurate or relate to me.
3. Which factors other than intelligence do you think have the greatest influence on learning?
a. Motivation
b. Perseverance
c. Understanding how I learn
d. Good teachers and support
You can also take the anonymous What Students Say (https://openstax.org/l/collegesurvey1-5) surveys to
add your voice to this textbook. Your responses will be included in updates.
Students offered their views on these questions, and the results are displayed in the graphs below.
In the past, did you feel like you had control over your own learning?

Figure 2.8

Have you ever heard of learning styles or do you know your own learning style?

47

48

2 • The Truth About Learning Styles

Figure 2.9

Which factors other than intelligence do you think have the greatest influence on learning?

Figure 2.10

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
The research-based model of these two mindsets and their influence on learning was presented in 1988 by
7
Carol Dweck. In Dr. Dweck’s work, she determined that a student’s perception about their own learning
accompanied by a broader goal of learning had a significant influence on their ability to overcome challenges
and grow in knowledge and ability. This has become known as the Fixed vs. Growth Mindset model. In this
model, the performance-goal-oriented student is represented by the fixed mindset, while the learning-goaloriented student is represented by the growth mindset.
In the following graphic, based on Dr. Dweck’s research, you can see how many of the components associated
with learning are impacted by these two mindsets.

7 Dweck, C.S. & Leggett, E.L. (1988). A Social-Cognitive Approach to Motivation and Personality

Access for free at openstax.org

2.3 • It's All in the Mindset

Figure 2.11 The differences between fixed and growth mindset are clear when aligned to key elements of learning and personality.
(Credit: Based on work by Dr. Carol Dweck)

The Growth Mindset and Lessons About Failing
Something you may have noticed is that a growth mindset would tend to give a learner grit and persistence. If
you had learning as your major goal, you would normally keep trying to attain that goal even if it took you
multiple attempts. Not only that, but if you learned a little bit more with each try you would see each attempt
as a success, even if you had not achieved complete mastery of whatever it was you were working to learn.
With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Dr. Dweck found that those people who believed their
abilities could change through learning (growth vs. a fixed mindset) readily accepted learning challenges and
persisted despite early failures.

Improving Your Ability to Learn
As strange as it may seem, research into fixed vs. growth mindsets has shown that if you believe you can learn

49

50

2 • The Truth About Learning Styles

something new, you greatly improve your ability to learn. At first, this may seem like the sort of feel-good
advice we often encounter in social media posts or quotes that are intended to inspire or motivate us (e.g.,
believe in yourself!), but in looking at the differences outlined between a fixed and a growth mindset, you can
see how each part of the growth mindset path would increase your probability of success when it came to
learning.

ACTIVITY
Very few people have a strict fixed or growth mindset all of the time. Often we tend to lean one way or
another in certain situations. For example, a person trying to improve their ability in a sport they enjoy may
exhibit all of the growth mindset traits and characteristics, but they find themselves blocked in a fixed
mindset when they try to learn something in another area like computer programming or arithmetic.
In this exercise, do a little self-analysis and think of some areas where you may find yourself hindered by a
fixed mindset. Using the outline presented below, in the far right column, write down how you can change
your own behavior for each of the parts of the learning process. What will you do to move from a fixed to a
growth mindset? For example, say you were trying to learn to play a musical instrument. In the Challenges
row, you might pursue a growth path by trying to play increasingly more difficult songs rather than sticking
to the easy ones you have already mastered. In the Criticism row, you might take someone’s comment
about a weakness in timing as a motivation for you to practice with a metronome. For Success of others you
could take inspiration from a famous musician that is considered a master and study their techniques.
Whatever it is that you decide you want to use for your analysis, apply each of the Growth characteristics to
determine a course of action to improve.
Parts of the learning
process

Growth characteristic

Challenges

Embraces challenges

Obstacles

Persists despite setbacks

Effort

b. Yes. I have heard of learning styles and know my own.

c. Yes. I have heard of learning styles, but I don’t think they’re accurate or relate to me.

3. Which factors other than intelligence do you think have the greatest influence on learning?

a. Motivation

b. Perseverance

c. Understanding how I learn

d. Good teachers and support

You can also take the anonymous What Students Say (https://openstax.org/l/collegesurvey1-5) surveys to

add your voice to this textbook. Your responses will be included in updates.

Students offered their views on these questions, and the results are displayed in the graphs below.

In the past, did you feel like you had control over your own learning?

Figure 2.8

Have you ever heard of learning styles or do you know your own learning style?

47

48

2 • The Truth About Learning Styles

Figure 2.9

Which factors other than intelligence do you think have the greatest influence on learning?

Figure 2.10

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

The research-based model of these two mindsets and their influence on learning was presented in 1988 by

7

Carol Dweck. In Dr. Dweck’s work, she determined that a student’s perception about their own learning

accompanied by a broader goal of learning had a significant influence on their ability to overcome challenges

and grow in knowledge and ability. This has become known as the Fixed vs. Growth Mindset model. In this

model, the performance-goal-oriented student is represented by the fixed mindset, while the learning-goaloriented student is represented by the growth mindset.

In the following graphic, based on Dr. Dweck’s research, you can see how many of the components associated

with learning are impacted by these two mindsets.

7 Dweck, C.S. & Leggett, E.L. (1988). A Social-Cognitive Approach to Motivation and Personality

Access for free at openstax.org

2.3 • It's All in the Mindset

Figure 2.11 The differences between fixed and growth mindset are clear when aligned to key elements of learning and personality.

(Credit: Based on work by Dr. Carol Dweck)

The Growth Mindset and Lessons About Failing

Something you may have noticed is that a growth mindset would tend to give a learner grit and persistence. If

you had learning as your major goal, you would normally keep trying to attain that goal even if it took you

multiple attempts. Not only that, but if you learned a little bit more with each try you would see each attempt

as a success, even if you had not achieved complete mastery of whatever it was you were working to learn.

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Dr. Dweck found that those people who believed their

abilities could change through learning (growth vs. a fixed mindset) readily accepted learning challenges and

persisted despite early failures.

Improving Your Ability to Learn

As strange as it may seem, research into fixed vs. growth mindsets has shown that if you believe you can learn

49

50

2 • The Truth About Learning Styles

something new, you greatly improve your ability to learn. At first, this may seem like the sort of feel-good

advice we often encounter in social media posts or quotes that are intended to inspire or motivate us (e.g.,

believe in yourself!), but in looking at the differences outlined between a fixed and a growth mindset, you can

see how each part of the growth mindset path would increase your probability of success when it came to

learning.

ACTIVITY

Very few people have a strict fixed or growth mindset all of the time. Often we tend to lean one way or

another in certain situations. For example, a person trying to improve their ability in a sport they enjoy may

exhibit all of the growth mindset traits and characteristics, but they find themselves blocked in a fixed

mindset when they try to learn something in another area like computer programming or arithmetic.

In this exercise, do a little self-analysis and think of some areas where you may find yourself hindered by a

fixed mindset. Using the outline presented below, in the far right column, write down how you can change

your own behavior for each of the parts of the learning process. What will you do to move from a fixed to a

growth mindset? For example, say you were trying to learn to play a musical instrument. In the Challenges

row, you might pursue a growth path by trying to play increasingly more difficult songs rather than sticking

to the easy ones you have already mastered. In the Criticism row, you might take someone’s comment

about a weakness in timing as a motivation for you to practice with a metronome. For Success of others you

could take inspiration from a famous musician that is considered a master and study their techniques.

Whatever it is that you decide you want to use for your analysis, apply each of the Growth characteristics to

determine a course of action to improve.

Parts of the learning

process

Growth characteristic

Challenges

Embraces challenges

Obstacles

Persists despite setbacks

Effort