{Author Name [first-name middle-name-initials last-name]}
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The present paper reviews three different articles that are focused on teaching and learning concepts. The first article is based on fixed versus growth mindset which is written by Popova (2014). In this article, the author discussed the fundamental belief that is most common among people. Most of the people believe that the character, intelligence and creativity are the hereditary blessed traits that cannot be changed. These people are classified as fixed mindset individuals who believe that striving for success is worthless and it better to avoid the chances of being a failure. On the contrary, growth mindset person loves to take challenges and see failures as a step for growth and an opportunity for learning and growth (Popova, 2014).
The second article was authored by Tanner (2013) that presented 21 teaching strategies to cultivate classroom equity and encourage all classroom students to be engaged in learning activities. The author has described the challenges and issues faced by biology education community. The proposed teaching strategies have certain objectives that a teacher may apply in their classrooms. The basis of these strategies include providing opportunities to all the students to think and share their opinions regarding biology, encouraging and managing the involvement of all the students and building an equity-based environment for all participants (Tanner, 2013).
Monitoring the behavior of students on diverse biological approaches and focusing on each student in the classroom are other parameters covered in the strategies. In this article, Tanner wanted to tell that structure of teaching strategy impacts the teaching outcomes. The article content has provided informative, descriptive and precise knowledge describing each strategy arranged under five sections. The findings of this article are directly related to the fields of biology teaching and learning. The author has assumed that human learning activity is a natural occurrence in the brain, where synapses between the neurons need stimulation to get excited. These strategies are designed keeping this point in consideration that our synaptic circuit of the brain needs a specific time to be active. Through implementing all these strategies in teaching, anyone can engage his students completely in the biology class activities without any unfairness or biases. These strategies will help in cultivating an equitable classroom atmosphere, improving the participative spirit of students. Overall, this article has provided very valuable information that can be utilized in the type of teaching and learning whether it is college level or a pre-school level (Tanner, 2013).
The third article is authored by Paul Tough which is published in New York Times magazine in 2011 under the title “What if the secret to success is a failure?” In this article Tough has presented a story of Dominique Randolph, who revolutionized the perception of success and failure in teaching and learning stages. In this article, a glimpse of Randolph’s story is addressed who was assigned as an educator in one of the most prestigious school of New York, Riverdale Country School. The article presented his efforts that he made to change the parents and teachers approach regarding a successful person. Randolph pointed out a very important missing point in the current education pattern that was a ‘character,’ which is an essential trait of mind and habit. He encouraged students to work hard and be nice. The main focus of the Randolph’s thought was to encourage the students for working hard instead of just scoring good marks in the school. He arranged many meetings with psychologists, instructors, educators and professors that were circling the vision of making successful persons with grit in the future. At that time, Randolph pointed out many flaw in the education system, and admission patterns in the schools and his thoughts were often confronted and told to be contradictory to the education rules. The article has described all the collaborative efforts of Randolph and his team that developed new programs based on Psychological researchers that were focused on fostering self-control and grit in their students (Tough, 2011).
The New York Times article has offered a very precious piece of information from the experts at a prestigious American education institute. This article is related to teaching and learning field though it is not directly linked to biology subject. The approach of Randolph and Levin (Cofounder of a Charter American School) were quite similar that tried to focus on the cultivation of good values and behavior as a recipe for a successful life. The thoughts prescribed in this article will be helpful to any instructor or a teacher who will help to cultivate good traits in the future generation. Amongst the plethora of available studies, this article has offered the best information and a milestone in the field of education and learning.
On the basis of a comparative evaluation all these three articles are found similar presenting a homogenous approach towards learning and teaching. The main common focus of these articles is to cultivate good characters and habits instead of just scoring good marks. It is concluded that there is a necessity to change the definition of success. On the basis of scorecard success cannot be determined often people who fail again and again are more successful due to their tendency of doing continues efforts, in comparison to those people who has fixed mindset, avoid taking challenges and are content with their achievements.
The article by Popova (2014) highlighted two basic mindsets, fixed versus growth that can shape a person’s life. This approach is applicable in learning, teaching as well as other fields of life such as career, relationships, and personal growth. On the contrary, Tanner (2013) presented specifically designed teaching strategies to encourage students for engaging in the class activities. The third article described the efforts conducted by an instructor to modify the educational system and approach of people regarding success. All these articles concluded that fostering good values, promoting hard working traits, cultivating appropriate behavior are the secret of a successful life that can be groomed into students using strategically designed teaching and learning options.
References
Popova, M. (2014). Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives.
Brain Pickings.
Tanner, K. D. (2013). Structure matters: twenty-one teaching strategies to promote student
engagement and cultivate classroom equity. CBE-Life Sciences Education, 12(3), 322-
331.
Tough, P. (2011). What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 17 April
2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-
is-failure.html?_r=0
