Neuroplasticity and Growth Mindset
Have you heard of Neuroplasticity?
The term Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change, reorganize, and grow
neural networks. Plasticity refers to the brain's malleability (or ability to change),
and Neuro refers to neurons, the nerve cells that are the building blocks
of the brain and nervous system.
For a long period of time, people used to believe that the brain became fixed after
a certain age (generally early childhood). Now, newer research has revealed that our brain
can continue developing and changing throughout life in response to experience
and learning. Like a physical muscle, the brain gets stronger the more you use it.
There are many benefits of brain neuroplasticity. Allowing your brain to adapt and change helps promote:
- The ability to learn new things;
- Recovery from strokes and traumatic brain injuries;
- Strengthening areas where function is lost or has declined;
- Improvements that can boost brain fitness.
There are steps you can take to help encourage your brain to adapt and change at any age, such as:
- Exercising regularly;
- Learning a new language;
- Making some music and learning how to play an instrument;
- Traveling and exploring new places;
- Creating art and other creative pursuits;
- Reading;
- Getting plenty of rest and sleep;
- Practicing Mindfulness.
And what about Growth Mindset?
The term “Growth Mindset” refers to the idea that you can always change and grow.
This term came about in the early 2000s by researcher Carol Dweck. Having a growth
mindset means that you believe that your skills, abilities, and outlook can
change over time as you expose yourself to new experiences and
practice new skills.
The science behind growth mindset is neuroplasticity, which is the reason
we can develop skills and knowledge through effort, practice, and persistence.
According to Carol Dweck, individuals who believe their talents can be developed through hard work have a growth mindset and studies have shown that this people tend to achieve more and have more success than those with a more fixed mindset. In a fixed mindset people believe their basic abilities, their intelligence and their talents, are just fixed traits.
To develop a growth mindset, you can:
- Believe you can learn new information and take action to do so;
- Focus on trying new things without focusing on the outcome;
- Put a large amount of time into learning new things;
- Keep trying, even when you have challenges;
- Keep trying, even when you fail;
- Embrace failure;
- Develop new methods for learning or completing tasks;
- and much more...
Personal reflections
The terms Neuroplasticity and Growth Mindset are new to me and it was
definitely an interesting reading.
I am pretty sure I tend to have more of a fixed mindset, rather than growth.
I guess I sort of new that to get better at something, you have to keep practicing.
But I have always thought that some people were naturally gifted and better
than others at certain things.
I think that I was brought up with this mentality.
When I was at primary school, my best friend was really talented,
super smart and she always did extremely well in school. On the other
side I never liked school and I always struggled with learning.
I remember my parents used to say to me all the time things like: “she
(referred to my best friend) is so smart and studying comes so easily
to her because she comes from a very intelligent family. Her mum is a lawyer
and her dad an engineer, and her sister is a genius who gets A+ in all the subjects."
Looking back, I think that deep down I thought I wasn't smart or intelligent enough
and so there was no point for me to try and learn something as I was never going to
be as good as my best friend.
This little story from my childhood is a good example of why Carol Dweck
thinks it is so important to introduce the concepts of Neuroplasticity and
Growth Mindset to kids. In this way students can understand
from a young age that our brains aren’t static, and through repeated practice
and challenges we can make our brains stronger and smarter.
The next step for me is definitely trying to adopt more of a growth mindset,
especially now that I am in the process of learning so many new concepts
and I am surrounded by so many challenges daily. I need to understand that
setbacks are a part of the learning process and that difficulty is simultaneous
to growth.
I think that shifting from a fixed to a growth mindset will be essential
to succeed on this journey with Dev Academy and in order to pursue a career in tech.
Resources:
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-brain-plasticity-2794886
https://www.healthline.com/health/rewiring-your-brain#art
https://biglifejournal.com/blogs/blog/teach-kids-growth-mindset-neuroplasticity-activities
https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means
https://fs.blog/carol-dweck-mindset/
https://www.healthline.com/health/growth-mindset-neuroplasticity