“I’m not a writer. I’ve never been all that great at writing and I probably never will be.”
I’ve heard this phrase and others like it come from friends, coworkers, writers, and even myself. It feels so easy to ascribe ourselves to these unchangeable, permanent identities that communicate our self-perceived inabilities. How does one even begin to put these feelings and thoughts into words? Well, this mode of thinking and feeling can be described as a fixed mindset: a fixed mindset entails an individual’s perception that their capabilities cannot be improved upon with effort and time.
So…what? Are we just now doomed to feel awful about ourselves forever? Luckily, that does not have to be the case; there’s also the concept of a growth mindset that entails how an individual may perceive that their capabilities are able to be improved upon with effort and time. The main difference between a fixed and a growth mindset is that a growth mindset may view challenges as opportunities to develop, while a fixed mindset may view challenges as impossible obstacles or guarantees of failure (Cole, 2024).
As these mindsets provide insight into how an individual views themselves and their capabilities, I wanted to learn more about a fixed vs. growth mindset and how these mindsets relate to tutoring within writing centers for my tutoring inquiry project. In this project, I wanted to understand the benefits of having a growth mindset as well as how to cultivate it within writing centers.
When gathering my research, I found various factors that can contribute to a fixed mindset, such as vague feedback. Giving vague feedback with little to no effective suggestions for improvement can cause feelings of self-doubt in the writer as they are being told that their writing is flawed and there is little they can do to improve (Sommers, 1982). Thus, it’s important as tutors to be mindful of the feedback we give to writers and try to be both specific and effective in our feedback.
Moreover, I gathered research on the implementation of a growth mindset within a classroom context. I read how a kindergarten teacher, Amanda Jankay (2020), was able to implement a growth mindset in her students by teaching them the meaning of perseverance and the idea that mistakes are an opportunity for learning. Additionally, I read another study done by a teacher, Kristen Cole (2024), and how implementing a scaffolding process on assignments while also encouraging students to reflect on their feedback ultimately cultivated a growth mindset and the motivation to improve their skills. From these two studies, it can be understood that the benefits of fostering a growth mindset include the ability to view challenges as opportunities and having the motivation to seek feedback for further improvement of one’s skills.
After gathering my research, my project came to a natural conclusion by understanding the benefits of the cultivation of a growth mindset and then creating ways to cultivate this kind of mindset, such as giving specific and effective feedback, as well as encouraging writers to view challenges within their writing as opportunities to develop or explore their capabilities. Exploring and understanding the concept of a growth mindset can be beneficial for us as writers, tutors, and people.
References
Cole, K. L. (2024). Cultivating a growth mindset: A critical approach to teaching writing in the communication classroom. Communication Teacher, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/17404622.2024.2399161
Jankay, A. (2020). The Impact of Growth Mindset on Perseverance in Writing. Journal of Teacher Action Research, 7(1), 60-79. http://www.practicalteacherresearch.com/uploads/5/6/2/4/56249715/the_impact_of_growth_mindset_on_perseverance_in_writing.pdf
Sommers, N. (1982). Responding to Student Writing. College Composition and Communication, 33(2), 148–156. https://doi.org/10.2307/357622
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