A Growth Mindset for Life

When was the last time you faced a particularly difficult task or situation that was new for you—something like replacing your usual method with a new and difficult technique, or having a difficult conversation with a coworker? Was your instinct to run away, or to embrace the challenge? If it was the latter—embracing the challenge—then you already possess the foundation for having a growth mindset.

A coding boot camp is the ideal place to develop and practice a growth mindset as a learner and developer, and even in other areas in your life. You have already demonstrated a growth mindset by committing to the path of the boot camp and becoming a web developer, which will require you to continually learn and test new concepts and skills.

As you develop these advanced technical skills, you will also develop the essential soft skill of cultivating a growth mindset. And this will serve you well throughout your career and your life!

What Is a Growth Mindset?

The term “growth mindset” is accredited to the research of Carol Dweck, an American psychologist and professor. Dweck acknowledges that we are all born with unique traits and talents, but having these traits and talents is the beginning and the end for those with a fixed mindset. Conversely, a growth mindset is aware of innate talents and traits, but also of the ability to develop new abilities and accomplishments through hard work.

With a fixed mindset, we rely on what we know rather than what we can learn. We think we can only learn something difficult if it comes naturally to us.

On the contrary, when we employ a growth mindset, we know that we can learn and develop new skills and abilities by taking risks and valuing the process of learning. In practice, operating with a growth mindset allows you to embrace mistakes and failures as direct feedback for how and where you need to improve.

Take a few moments to watch the following video of Carol Dweck discussing growth mindset:

• Video of Carol Dweck discussing growth mindset

Cultivate a Growth Mindset for the Boot Camp Experience

It can be tempting to fall back into a fixed mindset during an intensive boot camp. There will be times when you try repeatedly to apply a concept to a skill, and “fail” repeatedly. A growth mindset invites us to see perceived failures like these as opportunities to grow and learn.

It is recommended that you continually practice coding to improve your coding abilities. Likewise, you can train your thoughts to promote a growth mindset. The next section gives some tips on how to do this.

Growth Mindset Tips and Techniques

The following collection of actionable tips and techniques can help you develop and maintain a growth mindset:

• See challenges as opportunities. Take advantage of obstacles and failures as chances to improve. Be mindful of how you spend your time when faced with these, and document the time you spend and each solution you attempt. Ask for support if you can’t resolve the error within a given time period.

• Consider critical feedback from your instructor, TAs, and peers as opportunities for you to improve. Rather than take criticism personally, shift to receiving the feedback as valuable notes that you can use to advance as a developer.

• Replace “failing” with “learning.” Similarly, incorporate the word “yet” when you feel overwhelmed or frustrated by the complexity of a new concept or skill. Try this: “I haven’t figured out the issue with this function yet because I am still learning.”

• Take risks! During class time, share a solution that you are not sure about. Speak up during the breakout sessions, even if you are uncertain about the solution. Outside of class, practice skills that are more difficult and incorporate them into your projects.

• Support the growth of your peers with authentic positive feedback on their design, code structure, and process. Acknowledge your peers when they share a strategy that is new to you. You will learn how to work smarter by staying open to their ideas.

Now that you have this awareness and have already begun practicing, you’ll catch yourself if you slip into a fixed mindset.

Benefits of a Growth Mindset

Having a growth mindset is often listed as a top in-demand soft skill for positions in software development. During interviews, not only will you be asked to take technical assessments to prove your coding skills but you will also discuss your approach to constant change and continuous improvement. After the boot camp, you will be able to express this through the lens of a growth mindset and experience.

Your persistence and resilience throughout the boot camp will be a testament to you as a lifelong learner. You are someone who can grow from feedback and changing technologies, knowing that there is always more to learn and build. Let’s keep growing and coding!

This page was updated 6 months ago
© 2022 edX Boot Camps LLC. Confidential and Proprietary. All Rights Reserved.

Category: web development

Tagged under: developer habits, web development, growth mindset,