“Learner’s Mindset – a state of being where people act on their intrinsic capacity to learn and respond to their inquisitive nature that leads to viewing all interactions with the world as learning opportunities. This state enables one to interact with and influence the learning environment as a perpetual learner who has the capacity to use change and challenges as opportunities for growth” (Harapnuik, 2021).
How to reignite the learners’ mindset is a question with which I am constantly struggling—translating lesson plans and content from educational standards to create a learning environment where there are no standards to meet is liberating and limiting. I know, I know, classroom educators are screaming that the process of igniting and reigniting the learners’ mindset is a challenge due to the standards I wish were structuring the work I am hoping to do through my innovation. After completing the first three ADL program courses, I thought that my innovation would be chalked full of growth mindset messaging and modeling. However, the more information I absorbed this week, the more I recognized that I did not want to spend all my investments on cultivating a growth mindset in my learners. The meta-analyses, research, and other criticisms seem to illustrate that growth mindset lessons, messaging, and words alone do not lead to lasting change. Dr. Harapnuik pushes the message in the Learners’ Mindset discussions that without changes to the learning environment, it is difficult for authentic, meaningful change to occur in both ourselves and our learners (CSLE2COVA, 2019). We have to really want to learn. We have to help our learners really want to learn. The authentic tasks that reignite the learners’ mindset are where I honestly struggle with how to create an environment that helps my learners “turn life’s challenges into an opportunity for growth and development” (Harapnuik, 2021).
I would like to believe that daily, through my learning journey, I am embracing and reigniting my learner’s mindset, which will help me instill those values and beliefs in my learners. This whole process is exactly what lead me to the ADL program.
References
CSLE2COVA. (2019, April 5). LMD EP20 Growing A Growth Mindset. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR7uCZGPZ5k
Harapnuik, D. (2021, February 9). Learner’s Mindset Explained. Harapnuik.org. https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=8616
The Advisor That Cares 