Reflecting on a Personal Experience Using the "What, So What, Now What" Model

(reading assignment page): “Drawing on the course readings about fixed and growth mindsets, reflect on a personal experience that changed your beliefs about yourself or others. Use the What-So What-Now What model to structure your reflection.”

Hmm... Okay, let’s start with What. What happened? Let’s see..

Last year, my sister Jo and I signed up for an art class. We both loved art and we dreamed of creating our own paintings. We both laughed after the first class--we were terrible! I decided not to go back. It was humiliating.

But Jo kept going. She said she really wanted to learn how to paint, and she didn’t care what other people thought.

After that, I would see Jo in her room painting several times a week. She said she still wasn’t very good, but she was determined to keep practicing.

A few months later, I saw something Jo had painted at her class. It was amazing! I told her I had no idea she had a secret talent for art.

She said she didn’t have a talent--it was just that she practiced a lot. She liked seeing how she got better as she practiced.

(reading the assignment page): So what? How was this experience important, and what did I learn?

This experience is related to the Fixed Mindset and Growth Mindset that Carol Dweck describes in our course readings.

I had a fixed mindset about my ability to learn how to paint--I thought that because I didn’t have a natural talent for painting, there was no point in practicing or trying to improve.

But my sister Jo had a growth mindset. She believed that she could get better at painting if she took some time to learn and practice.

Through this experience, I realized that having a fixed mindset led me to miss out on the experience of learning something new.

(reading assignment page): Now what? How will I think or act differently in the future.

In the future, when I try something for the first time, I’m going to remind myself that I don’t have to be perfect. I’m going to try to remind myself that I can improve if I commit to learning and practicing.

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