You have read Mindsets: The New Psychology of Success, watched a video presentation by Carol Dweck, and read Kohn’s critique of the growth mindset movement, “

The Perils of ‘Growth Mindset’ Education: Why We’re Trying to Fix Our Kids When We Should Be Fixing the System.

”

It’s a really good idea to check out the content pages right before this assignment to see sample thesis statements, an outline, and guidance about organizing your essay.

Assignment

Evaluate Kohn’s analysis of Dweck’s Mindset. Do you agree or disagree with his overall critique, that the book is promising but flawed?   

Pick three of Kohn’s critiques to write about. For each critique of the growth mindset, you will write one body paragraph about whether or not you agree with this critique.

1. ignores curriculum
2. any praise is problematic
3. intrinsic interest may suffer
4. focuses too much on individual instead of society
5. endorses larger conservative agenda

Your essay should have the following elements:

• Your own title,
• An introductory paragraph which starts with a “hook,” includes background, and ends with a thesis,
• Your introductory paragraph should introduce your reader to Carol Dweck (who is she and why should we trust her?) and provide definitions of both fixed and growth mindsets (What is a “fixed mindset? What is a growth mindset? Why do they matter?),
• Body paragraphs which start with a topic sentence that supports the thesis by telling the reader the critique addressed in the paragraph and indicates your general response to the critique (i.e. do you agree disagree),
• You must reference Dweck’s book and the critique within each paragraph,
• Explanation/analysis sentence after these points,
• Transitional words or phrases, which help the reader shift from one idea to the next (e.g., “One,” “another,” “finally,” “also,” “in addition,” etc.),
• A concluding paragraph that restates the thesis with new words and provides the “so what” factor.

Format/Requirements

PDF   or  x files are accepted. Other file formats such as Pages are not supported by Canvas, so you won’t receive credit for submitting an essay until you resubmit your paper using one of the first three file formats.
GoogleDoc users: it’s possible to download and save a GoogleDoc as a MS Word document ( or x). To do this, open up the file you want to convert, go to File>Download as>Microsoft Word ( x). You also have the option of saving your document as a PDF. Save the file to your computer (Be sure to name your document using the following format LastNameAssignment), then you can just upload it as a docx file. There is a caveat: while this works, sometimes formatting gets messed up. Be sure to fix any formatting issues prior to uploading the file.