Iron Yard ➙ "Growth versus Fixed Mindset" essay

1. introduction
2. enthusiastic learning growth versus stymied/avoidance:
   • summarize the two mindsets and characteristics of each
   • describe a personal situation in which I experienced each mindset or describe which aspects of each mindset I recognize in myself (learning to teach and what it’s taught me about how I learn; observing students’ learning struggles, gains, and attitudes; differences in learning various subjects and how they might apply to coding / front-end design)
   • explain how I’ll apply this understanding to my experience at The Iron Yard (using recommended resources but building self-reliance and skills: learning how to problem-solve in this field and find good resources and solutions to implement)
3. scaffolding
   • building Pomodoro structure into scaffolding my learning growth in Zone of Proximal-Development: step by step
4. conclusion
   • processes I need to reletlessly focus on sticking to in order to facilitate and expidite this educational journey…

Draft 2

Dr. Carol Dweck from Stanford University neuroscientifically contrasts two very distinct mindsets vis-à-vis human learning and explains the divergent consequences of their usually drastically different results: on the one hand, a positive attitude of enthusiastically driven learning and constant “growth” versus, on the other hand, a negative mindset of stymied and close-minded avoidance. Humans have evolved the potential to be dynamic and playful learners — and our potential for acquiring new skills, given healthy attitudes and constructive pedagogical processes, ultimately has less to do with natural gifts or inclinations than many people think… Moreover (as Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky posited with his concept of the “Zone of Proximal Development”), the encouraging reality is that sincerely motivated and properly challenged learners can achieve incredible acquisitions of new knowledge and advanced skill-proficiencies more quickly by progressively building on previous learning accomplishments through effectively scaffolded instruction and support.

After nearly a decade of experience expertly teaching middle and high-school students at various levels of development (and favoring various learning-styles), as well as in initially learning how to teach myself (which requires a very different skill-set from mere mastery of content-knowledge), I’ve unequivocally experienced firsthand the paramount importance of motivation in relation to achievement. I’ve seen discouraged students “shut-down” and hinder their progress out of frustration, and I’ve occasionally been stalled myself when faced with the prospect of trying to understand daunting new concepts.

One of the greatest obstacles that often hinders the learning progress of “at-risk” youth is an avoidance mindset ingrained by negative experiences over years of schooling that has reinforced avoidance behaviors rather than engaged or increased motivation. This is why inspiration is such a crucial factor in effective pedagogy.

Failure is an inevitable part of life, but with a conscious effort one can exert more control than is often imagined over how one reacts to it when it occurs, and one can actively work to develop better habits in this regard. With the right mindset, even a devastating failure can be a profound teacher and a powerful motivator. As Alfred Pennyworth says to Bruce Wayne in “Batman Begins” (even as Raʾs al-Ġūl is burning Wayne Manor down): “Why do we fall sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up!”

Incidentally, the “Pomodoro technique” can be just one of many proven time-management and workflow methods to regularly break down complex challenges into multiple managable segments, then conquer those segments while periodically taking-stock of any setbacks or blockers and finding constructive ways to move forward: many of which often involve collaborative peers or mentors pointing out helpful support-resources or otherwise helping scaffold one’s learning up to the next level much faster than one could accomplish alone. There’s truth to the popular saying that “good teaching is more like lighting a fire rather than filling a bucket” — and that it’s better to “show rather than tell” in order to effectively motivate learners toward the kinds of experiences they need to optimally challenge themselves and more rapidly grow their capabilities while progressively deepening their understandings.

In conclusion, coming to The Iron Yard has been a scary decision for me in leaving a secure and emotionally rewarding (but in some ways less than psychologically satisfying) public-school teaching career in order to very rapidly pursue a new and almost completely different, as well as much more dynamic and growing, field — but unflinchingly taking that bold step is definitely proving an exciting and motivating choice so far, and I have every expectation that it will blossom into an overwhelmingly positive new direction for my professional life. To be successful in this rigorous program (and in meeting the demands of an impending career as a developer), I know without a doubt that the Iron Yard program is doing an exceptional job of helping me learn the thoroughgoing processes I need to always relentlessly focus on sticking to positive and constructive heuristics in order to facilitate and expedite the ongoing and never-ending educational journey of learning to write increasingly functional and efficient code. Iterative problem-solving skills and carefully tested flow of control are critical to mastering superb Front-End-Engineering proficiency — and those are precisely the sorts of things The Iron Yard is very effectively teaching me. Indeed, I now consider it a privilege to be able to see “behind the curtain” of the internet, so to speak (bugs and all) — and thus to better understand, appreciate, and usefully contribute to its workings!