Developing The Growth Mindset Through Robotics

The terms “Fixed” and “Growth” mindset were conceived by Professor Carol Dweck (2006) and her colleagues in their research on achievement and success.

According to Dweck, individuals with a “Fixed” mindset tend to believe that their intelligence is pre-determined and cannot be significantly modified throughout their lifespan. These individuals often tend to blame their genes for their lack of success in life. They would also avoid attempting challenging tasks as failure would be proof of their lack of ability and that there will be no chance of improvement.

On the other hand, individuals with a “Growth” mindset tend to believe that their intelligence is dynamic and that they have the ability to determine how their intelligence grows. They believe that the challenges they face are just learning opportunities and that failures are just stepping stones towards success.

Children can become inventors in their own right by learning and progressing beyond the basics of robotics. Similar to the process of inventing, there is no singular solution that dictates how a robot should be built and programmed. Thus, these young roboticists will need to take risks in exploring and experimenting with their ideas until they reach a working solution.

This experimentation process will take them through many lessons learnt from ideas that did not succeed, each culminating in the final working prototype. As they break out of any preconceived notion of their abilities and explore solutions beyond their initial considerations, they reinforce the belief that with perseverance and a growth mindset towards setbacks, success is always within their reach.

Resilience And Perseverance Building