I like to learn. What's YOUR Superpower?

I like to learn.

What's YOUR superpower?

(Image from Flickr)

This cat was inspired by a graphic I saw at Twitter:

English: To get unstuck, you must first unthink.

To get unstuck, you must first unthink.

The image comes from cheezburger, and the words are from Vidya Ananthanarayanan, a friend at Google+. Here is the graphic she made:

You might need to try another strategy.

You might need to try another strategy.

From Carol Dweck Says Theory of Educational Mind-Set Is Often Misunderstood by Goldie Blumenstyk (Chronicle of Higher Education). See more at the Chronicle site  (subscription required) or at the Soundcloud podcast. For more cats inspired by Carol Dweck's writings and talks, see the Dweck Collection.

Here's the context:

I heard a banking executive say, "Yeah, when I’m in a crunch. I have a deadline. Dwayne shows up." This is what Dwayne does, and how Dwayne makes me feel. This is how Dwayne effects people around me. Then the final step is talk to Dwayne. Get Dwayne on board with your growth-mind-set goals. Don’t try to get rid of Dwayne. Don’t disrespect him, but whatever you name your fixed-mind-set persona, say, "Thank you for your input." Or, "I appreciate your contribution, but why don’t we try it this way? Why don’t we take on that challenge?" There’s a setback, Dwayne comes rushing back, laughing at you. You say, "OK, that’s one way to look at it, but I think I learned something from that setback. What if we try this other strategy? Dwayne, you think you can bear with me on that?"

The image is from cheezburger.

Learn from your mistakes ...and then move on.

Learn from your mistakes

...and then move on.

I found this graphic in an Edutopia article: 10 Things Every New Teacher Needs to Know.

I am learning step by step.

The image of this cute kitten came from cheezburger.

I am learning step by step.

Every day new and larger dragons come along.

This is another cat inspired by a quote from Carol Dweck's Mindset: "Because every day new and larger dragons come along and, as things get harder, maybe the ability they proved yesterday is not up to today's task." More cats inspired by Carol Dweck.

I couldn't find dragons, but I thought this might do:

Every day new and larger dragons come along.

(image from cheezburger)

My peers can be my teachers.

This quote is inspired by a passage from Chapter 4 of Laura Ritchie's book, Fostering Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Students (2015).

Ritchie writes: "Overall this experience will strengthen the self-efficacy of the able students who act as models, and where collaborative working and discussion take place, it can also boost the self-efficacy of the struggling students as they relate to and learn from their peers."

My peers can be my teachers.

(The image is from cheezburger.)

Learn, and then share what you learned.

The infographic below inspired me to use cheezburger to make today's growth mindset cat:

Learn, and then share what you learned.

Thanks to this Twitter post from Mariana Funes, I found Sylvia Duckworth's wonderful Twitter flowchart: Should you use Twitter?

A goal to aim at.

YOUR GOAL:

you won't always reach it,

but it's something to aim at.

Today's cat was inspired by this Bruce Lee quote; you can find more great Bruce Lee quotes at Wikiquote.

A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.

— Bruce Lee, martial artist and actor, born November 27, 1940.

(Cat image from cheezburger.)

Effort is what makes you smart.

This cat believes in online learning (I do too!). The quote is from Carol Dweck's Mindset. Here are more quotes in the Carol Dweck Collection.

 Effort is what makes you smart.

Trust yourself.

John Spencer has a lot of good advice in this article; I've listed the seven main points below, and you can read the article for details about each one: Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt. 

1. Don’t Compare Yourself to Others
2. Abandon Perfectionism
3. Be Vulnerable to a Trusted Community
4. Embrace a Growth Mindset
5. Set Goals that are within your Control
6. Treat Your Work Like an Experiment.
7. Trust Yourself

Trust yourself.

(image from Cheezburger)

Yes, I can!

This cat is in honor of Laura Ritchie's great essay: Yes I Can: Self-efficacy. And you can see more self-efficacy cats here: #YesICan Cats.

Just one great quote among many: "Self-belief is at the core, but is not enough. It is backed up with skills and the practical accomplishments that demonstrate the reality that actually, yes, you can do something."

Yes, I can!

The image is from cheezburger.

Curiosity: the quest for new ideas and information.

This post is inspired by Jackie Gerstein's great blog post: The Future Belongs to the Curious: How Are We Bringing Curiosity Into School?

This particular quote is something Jackie cites which comes from Cultivating Curiosity in Our Students as a Catalyst for Learning by Maryellen Weimer: "Curiosity is the quest for new ideas and information. Folks who are curious aren’t satisfied with what they already know or have figured out. They go after what they don’t know or can’t understand—and that missing information can become a driving need to find out."

The image is from Cheezburger.

Curiosity: the quest for new ideas and information.

Learning requires initial experimentation.

This quote is inspired by a passage from Chapter 4 of Laura Ritchie's book, Fostering Self-Efficacy in Higher Education Students (2015).

Ritchie writes: "Learning requires initial experimentation, and depending on how complicated the task is there may be layers of learning and small activities needed before the student can reproduce the modeled behavior with confidence and security."

Learning requires initial experimentation.

(The image is from cheezburger.)

I plan; I design; I create.

The quote comes from a review in BrainPickings of Janna Malamud Smith, An Absorbing Errand: How Artists and Craftsmen Make Their Way to Mastery.

As with the literal act of gardening, pursuing any practice seriously is a generative, hardy way to live in the world. You are in charge (as much as we can ever pretend to be — sometimes like a sea captain hugging the rail in a hurricane); you plan; you design; you labor; you struggle. And your reward is that in some seasons you create a gratifying bounty.

I plan; I design; I create.

(cheezburger; I'm pretty sure the cat in the picture
is the international cat celebrity Nyalan)

I am inspired by my friends.

I was prompted by a graphic from Farsley Farfield Primary School to make this cat:

I am inspired by my friends. 

Made for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

Be a Vulcan! Not a Vulcan't.

I was inspired by a Spock meme to make today's growth mindset cat! You can see the Spock meme below.

Growth Mindset Cat says:

Be a Vulcan! Not a Vulcan't.

Immerse yourself in a project, and create something new.

Immerse yourself in a project, and create something new.

(cheezburger)

Today's cat was inspired by this WONDERFUL video by Michael Wesch: The Sleeper.

Thinking is part of doing.

Thinking is part of doing.

(cheezburger)

I was inspired by this graphic which I saw at Twitter:

Study to learn

Inspired by this quote from Carol Dweck's Mindset: They were studying to learn, not just to ace the test.

Study to learn, not just to ace the test.

(cheezburger)