A point that struck me was how much my words can easily influence a student's mindset/beliefs about themselves. I now recognise how I encourage students matter. By (unitntentionally) praising their intelligence, I might make them be afraid of failure. This deeply resonated with me as I often leverage on guiding questions in my teaching and have personally seen how my students are occupied with "correctness" when responding to my questions. I now know that I should focus on their efforts and growth to help my students develop their self-confidence that is not implicitly tied to them being "smart".

Polarity

An idea that resonated with me is the recognition that the tension between work and home life is not something to be solved but is something to be managed over time. Over the past year that I've been in service, I've worked hard to maintain the boundary between my professional and personal life. However, admittedly there were moments where I felt pulled between giving my best in my professional life while perserving my time and energy for my own well-being. Thus, reading Anderson's article was empowering. I now know that it is not a matter of choosing either/or but it is about learning and managing the tension that exists.

One new idea from Dweck's article was how praise can backfire. I've always thought that any form praise is a good thing as it affirms my students. I did not realise that well-meaning compliments could potentially limit their willingness to take on challenges. However, I now see that praise can be harmful when it promotes a fixed mindset. Moving forward, I strive to be more deliberate in the praises I utter, working towards praising my students' efforts and growth.

Polarity

The concept of mapping polarities was new to me. The simple yet structured tool made it easier to appreciate how tensions function over time. It was eye-opening to see how over-focusing on any one aspect, even the upsides, can lead to imbalance. I foresee this to be a practical tool for me to reflect on the polarities which exist as I navigate the demands of teaching.

I am curious to explore how we can shift students who already seem locked into fixed mindsets. I have had past interactions with low readiness students who exhibited learned helplessness and have given up on their academics. In fact, some expressed it verbally. Thus, I wonder what are some strategies that could work to help them change their perspectives and feel safe trying, failing and improving (again)?

Polarity

I wonder how polarity thinking can be applied beyond the home and work life, and perhaps as a classroom management strategy. Some initial thoughts I have is how this tool could possibly be used to reflect on tensions that exist in the classroom/school such as: balancing classroom routines and being flexible; maintaining authority and building rapport; pushing for academic performance and being responsive to students' socio-emotional needs.

A point that struck me was how every word or action I say as a teacher can shape a student’s belief about themselves.

Reading the article reminded me of how I’ve praised students for being “smart” or “naturally good at Chinese,” thinking I was building their confidence. But now I see how this may unintentionally lock them into a fixed mindset, making them fearful of failure and resistant to challenge.

This was enlightening because it made me realise that while I had good intentions, I might have been reinforcing the very barriers that keep my students from growing. Moving forward, I want to consciously celebrate their effort as their effort matters and that they are always capable of improvement.

Polarity

Work-life balance is indeed goals that I try hard to balance for the past 3 years. This really spoke to me. There are days when I feel guilty to leave at 6pm and KO at home right after dinner. Reading about polarity gave me idea to acknowledge both sides: professional commitment and personal well-being. They are important and can co-exist. I’m still learning how to manage this, but now I know I will get there one day.

As for mindset, I understand why people often say things like “you’re smart” or “you’re good”, as these comments can have an immediate effect that helps to boost confidence. However, while this may encourage students to try more initially, it can also make them afraid of failure in the long run. That leads me to question: when we shift to praising effort and strategies instead of outcomes, how exactly does that help students to believe in themselves and improve?

This feels especially challenging when working with weaker students who consistently fall short of expectations. If we only praise their effort without addressing the gap in performance, is there a risk that they become too comfortable or satisfied with low achievement? Wouldn’t that be seen as lowering expectations?

So how do we strike the right balance between setting meaningful, achievable standards while still recognising and encouraging students’ effort and strategies? That’s something I’m still trying to figure out.

The mindset framework reminded me that we shouldn’t focus solely on end results or praise students only for their achievements. Instead, we should recognise the effort and strategies they put into the process. More importantly, when we provide feedback and aim to shape students’ mindsets, we must first reflect on and shift our own mindset. We need to move away from a narrow focus on outcomes and start valuing the learning and growth that happen throughout the process.

After reading the articles, I have also reflected on how a fixed mindset can sometimes influence my thinking. There are moments when I worry about letting others down or feel that if I don’t give my absolute best, any shortcoming reflects directly on me. At times, there’s a quiet inner voice that equates outcomes with personal worth.

The articles have reminded me of the importance of shifting perspectives and focusing more on the learning process and finding a balance.

The example of Dan and Jane from the article made the tension between work and home felt very real to me. Teaching is something I care deeply about, my passion lies in seeing my students grow, and I often find meaning in planning lessons, mentoring them, and being involved in school activities. But at the same time, I also recognise the risk of overextending myself. Sometimes, I feel torn between wanting to give more and knowing I need to rest and care for my own wellbeing. What this article had helped me to realise is there is no clear solution. It's a polarity that I will have to keep managing over time. Suddenly just taught of the "yin-yang" symbol. The goal is not to "choose" passion over rest, or vice versa, but to notice when one side is dominating and bring it back into balance.

Life is about balance, that’s a belief I’ve held for a long time. I’ve come to realise that balance is key to happiness, especially when I’ve experienced moments where everything feels in sync. But the challenge is that everyone’s sense of balance is different. What works for one person may not work for another. It takes courage to slow down, reflect, and honestly figure out what truly works for us. Time will tell.

On the polarity side, what was new for me was the concept that both ends of a polarity (like structure vs flexibility, or giving vs resting) can have value, and that both need to be honoured. It’s not about finding a middle point once and for all, but about staying aware of the tension and adjusting based on the season or context aka the flow of balance (one of my life goals is to achieve this flow of balance/peace). I think that’s especially relevant in teaching, where we juggle many roles, educator, caregiver, planner, teammate and sometimes forget that pushing too hard on one end will naturally cause strain on the other.

As for polarity management, I’m interested in learning how to apply it beyond just personal wellbeing. For example, in school planning, there are often tensions between being student-centred and being results-driven. On a personal level, I’d also like to explore how I can be more proactive in identifying the early warning signs, like when I’m starting to lose energy, or when my joy for teaching starts feeling like a burden, so I can recalibrate before reaching burnout (which I experienced a few times before).

For the former, the terms are familiar, but it got me wondering: how do I diagnose if someone has a growth or fixed mindset? Do we get to choose what we want? If fixed mindsets meant following rules and set methods, while growth means opening possibilities and chasing development, does a person only pursue one type of mindset? Reading through, I unknowingly tried categorising my every action into the example scenarios. There were various moments of "oh yeah, I have done this, so growth," but there were also moments of "oh, but this example sounds like I am gaslighting a student". The half-conclusion I got was, we are a mix of both mindsets. The statement "Show me what you've done, let's try to understand how you're thinking, and then let's figure out what you should try next" from the reading helped me to this realisation. There is part fixed and part growth in me! Growth comes in when I am working with my students to solve a math problem, like a partner in crime. Fixed comes in a little more when I am teaching, and this is where I envision myself adding a tinge more growth by exploring other teaching methods.

Then there is the T(thinking) vs F(feeling) when it comes to polarity. It seems like a choice between following your heart or your mind, where either one has to convince the other before coming to the final choice. Our students are at this crossroad with so many possible journeys after Juying. Even we, teachers, are in a dilemma to choose rest or work from the moment we decide it's time to leave our desks. As a newer teacher, the fear from polarities stands stronger as we are still building our foundation. But, I think, the time has come for us to acknowledge our fears and to see it as our heart (purpose) working with our mind (actions), vice versa. However, it is not just totally letting go of heart vs mind, it is learning how to support the heart with the mind and mind with the heart more efficiently. After all, our actions will play the tale of what we subconsciously believe in, even without us knowing.

Education is an art - visual and performing. It resonated with me that being an educator is learning how to strike a balance to create a safe environment for our students.

Combining ideas of polarities and mindsets, I connected both as what is best for the student. The reading on mindsets explored much about how fixed and growth mindsets take form in learning. As in the reading, we are kept aware that we praise the process, regardless of the outcome, and we keep goals achievable to encourage student motivation. But then comes the polarity of whether to praise or not to praise, because how much is enough and how much is too much?

The idea of finding the why to these questions, and where our values and passion lie, awaits exploration. It is something I aim to continue discovering, the why and how, as I receive new classes and students as the years go by.

I feel that everyone has a mixture of mindsets, each for a specific category - be it family, work, or play. It is the combination of circumstances from these categories that result in how a person decides and acts. Similar to how we have our eCCE21 framework, it is about understanding the needs and situation unique to each person before discussing the next course of action. A person with a fixed mindset about family dynamics will affect the mindset they have for school. Hence, to me, being able to recognise mindsets in different circumstances might be beneficial to evolving the way we view school and the variables of our balance scale.

On the idea of Polarity, I really liked the case study that was shared. It spoke to me on a very personal level as I navigate balance in my own life between work and being a new father. On a more metacognitive level, I feel that the article has surfaced a very crucial yet simple concept to me - awareness. There is a need to be aware, conscious and participative in our life choices before we can make changes to it for better (or even for worse oops!)

Mindset

When discussing mindset, I found myself drawing links to the concept of an 'inner voice'. I contemplated how a fixed or growth mindset is essentially the inner voice we have within us. While a mindset could be an abstract concept, what we tell ourselves (the inner voice) is not! I like that the article invited me to consider what can be said to induce either a fixed or growth mindset.

In terms of Polarity, I really loved the concept of an Infinity Loop. Though simple when broken down, it is quite a profound concept which invites us to consider the intricate relations between work and life as seen in the case study. The Infinity Loop not only shows that work and life are intertwined, but more importantly for me, it shows what action steps we can take and which early warnings we can choose to recognise and address.

Mindset

Two lines from the article caught my attention for further reflection:

1. "I remember often being praised for my intelligence rather than my efforts, and slowly but surely I developed an aversion to difficult challenges"

2. "Sometimes people are careful to use growth-oriented praise with their children but they ruin it by the way they talk about others"

These two lines demonstrate to me that a fixed mindset does not only ruin the moment a person might be in; rather, it has lasting effects on how a person approaches life itself! For instance, choosing to avoid growth opportunities for fear of failure. Also, I feel that the article enabled me to be more conscious on how I speak of others to others - particularly about our students to other colleagues. This can also be applied to our own inner voice.

I am curious about the long-term effects of fixed mindsets and how it can be remediated. Could there be a critical period in which certain 'damages' from fixed mindsets cannot be undone?

Polarity

I am quite interested in operationalising the Polarity Map for other uses. I am wondering if the approach could be slightly simplified for a quick check-in with students during TSI. It could also be featured in future work review discussions!

Mindset: This article made me reflect on how my own upbringing shapes the way I foster growth mindset in others. I want to support children in embracing failure, but I realise my instinctive responses may not always align. It takes conscious effort to give growth-oriented praise and adjust my behaviour accordingly.

Mindset: It is tricky balancing honesty and encouragement. If not delivered well, growth mindset messages can backfire especially with less motivated students. I need to constantly remind myself to frame failure as a chance to grow, and focusing on the process with clear steps forward, is key to making it effective. This should apply to ourselves too!

Mindset: I am curious how we can promote growth mindsets in students who struggle with motivation or confidence especially those who might understand the concept but still feel defeated by failure. What practical strategies help shift their mindset over time, especially when performance still carries a lot of weight? (especially from the pressure of high-stakes assessments which often reinforces a fixed mindset in both students and teachers).