COE CTS Course Reminded Me Teachers Remain Learners.

Laura A. Dean, M.D. 

Resident in Emergency Medicine

Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women's Hospital 

PGY 3

11/06/2020 

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

Having recently started my third year of Emergency Medicine residency I function now as a senior resident in our department. Expanded responsibility for teaching and guiding junior residents was my primary impetus in signing up for the COE course in clinical teaching. However it became clear to me as I delved into the course readings and seminars that as much as I am focused on developing my teaching skills, I remain a learner who has much to gain in understanding my own educational process.

In the weeks following the course, I continue to dwell on the distinction between the growth and fixed mindsets. The co-residents I most admire as teachers and learners exhibit strong growth mindsets: eager to try new procedures, constantly challenging themselves to meet new standards, invested in expanding the pie rather than merely their share of it. Sometimes my own timidity and fear limits my growth potential, a fixed mindset seen creeping in the back...I am grateful to the course for articulating these distinct approaches and encouraging the value of a lifelong growth mindset. As I hoped and expected, the course addressed many of my questions about experiential learning, teaching procedures, and guiding junior residents in a collaborative teaching model and gave me valuable frameworks to test out as I develop my own personal style. The surprising take-away reminded me that teachers remain learners. We are privileged to work and learn in a collaborative rather than hierarchical system wherein we have much to gain from co-workers at all levels. Thank you to my course classmates for all their contributions to helping me better understand my own teaching and learning styles.