We are pleased to profile the class of Health and Wellness led by our instructor, Megan Taylor. One of the many goals of the class is to teach the students how to best manage their stress level while getting an idea of their strengths along with what may need just a little more work.

One of the lessons taught during the final class of the semester was the Growth Mindset and the Power of Yes. Megan explained, “The Growth Mindset can help with stress and remind us that we have a positive mindset in our life. It is just a self-assessment type of quiz that looks at different statements and how they describe you.” Students were then asked to examine the following self-reflective statements and answer on a numerical scale of 1 through 30 on whether it describes them accurately or whether they believe these statements are true. The average person could benefit from looking at these statements and analyzing how they may be able to grow from weakness or feelings of ineptitude.

  • Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much.
  • No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit.
  • Only a few people will be truly good at sports, you have to be born with the ability.
  • The harder you work at something, the better you will be.
  • I often get angry when I get feedback about my performance.
  • I appreciate when people, parents, coaches or teachers give me feedback about my performance.
  • Truly smart people do not need to try hard
  • You can always change how intelligent you are
  • You are a certain kind of person and there is not much that can be done to really change that
  • An important reason why I do my schoolwork is that I enjoy learning new things

Megan added that most of us are not all fixed or all growth. Most of us have a growth mindset in some areas and a fixed mindset in other areas. Megan admitted she has a fixed mindset in sports and states, “I am really not good at it.” Some of us cannot carry a tune to save our lives, and we rightfully have a fixed mindset about singing. Some people know they should never, ever try out for American Idol unless they want to become a laughingstock in front of the entire nation, for instance. That is perfectly alright because everybody is good at certain things and lacking in other abilities. Some weaknesses will get much better over time or will even transition into a strength. Other weaknesses are realities we must accept while cherishing our talents in other areas. Below is the Fixed vs Growth Mindset that Megan showed us in the Health and Wellness Class.

Fixed Mindset

  • Failure is limiting
  • Avoids challenge
  • Gives up easily
  • Ignores feedback

Growth Mindset

  • Failure is a growth opportunity
  • Embrace challenges
  • Persists through setbacks
  • Learning from feedback.

Students were open about some of their struggles and how to get better. Here were some of the honest statements that came from the students: I am not good at cooking…yet I can keep trying harder. I am not good at cleaning, but I can get better at it. I am not good at communicating my feelings. One student spoke about failing their first bus test but had shaken off the disappointment to try again.

The last exercise of the day entailed Megan setting up a series of stations around the class that involved putting together puzzles, tongue twisters, and other fun activities that tested the patience of students. The purpose of these exercises shows that challenges or puzzles are solved with the growth mindset that if one keeps at it, they have a better chance of seizing success.

We thank Megan for teaching this class and are looking forward to having her lead the LGBTQ class during the summer session. We know she will do an excellent job with teaching our students about the importance of becoming educated about differences and continuing to embrace any students who have different orientations! Megan also taught Communication 101 during the spring semester.