“ Geek Out on Data”

One of the first things I do every semester is build a love for learning and encourage the development of a growth mindset. Success in this world is dependent of having a belief that you can figure out things, overcome challenges, and most importantly, learn new things. However, students arrive to my classes with a fear of failure, a belief that they cannot learn new things, and that learning is a painful experience.

I love learning new things. It is my role as a professor to model a growth mindset for my students. Passion is contagious, and that includes a passion for learning. My goal during the first several weeks of the semester is to show off how much I love learning, “nerding out”, or “geeking out on data”. These are all things that I have said this semester in my Data Tools class.

I woke up Wedensday morning to a message from a student in class that made my day. Their message read

“ Dr. A, can I stop by your office today? I am working with some data and wanted to “geek out on data”’.

I smiled, my day was made. At least one student is now comfortable admitting that they are excited about investigating a data set and learn more about it.

How are you modeling a love for learning in your class? What ways have you found helpful to develop a growth mindset?