Growth mindset guru Carol Dweck says teachers and parents often use her research incorrectly. Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck has become something of a cult figure in education and parenting circles.
Her research into boosting student motivation has spawned a mini industry of consultants, sold more than a million books and changed the way that many adults praise children. Dweck believes too many students are hobbled by the belief that intelligence is a fixed trait. She says kids with what she calls “fixed mindsets” stop trying when when confronted with a challenge because they’ve convinced themselves that they’re not good at math or writing or whatever the subject is. She argues that adults can, instead, help foster a “growth mindset” — the belief that the brain is like a muscle that can grow stronger through hard work.
Dweck theorizes that parents’ well-intentioned praise contributes to the formation of unproductive fixed-mindset thoughts. But how to praise your kids properly is, apparently, quite complicated. Praising effort alone “It’s like the consolation prize. Higher Order Thinking/Questioning/Growth Mindset. Noncognitive Schooling: Do Students Need ‘Growth Mindsets’ and Grit to Succeed in the Classroom? Nestled within the New-Age-y sounding concept of “noncognitive factors” are fairly concrete examples of what parents and educators should and shouldn’t do to prepare students for the rigors of college and their careers.
Gleaned from research into brain development and human behavior, a toolkit is emerging on how to best respond to and encourage students’ grit, persistence, and the ability to learn from one’s mistakes. If done right, the use of these concepts could change the classroom in significant ways. Students could see far fewer quizzes and tests. Teachers would follow students’ progress at a much more customized level to quickly identify where they are struggling, offering aid that is better targeted. Short tutorials designed to boost motivation and resilience could accompany the students’ math and reading lessons. But, before exploring what classrooms that are focused on noncognitive factors might look like, how about a definition for the term itself? Growth Mindset Development. 8 Characteristics of the Innovator’s Mindset (Updated) (This is an updated version of a previous post simply sharing the graphic created by Sylvia Duckworth.)
Image created by @SylviaDuckworth Recently I explored the notion of the “Innovator’s Mindset”, and have thought a lot about this idea. As I look to write on the topic of “Leading Innovative Change” within schools, we are looking to develop educators as innovators. Growth Mindset Parenting Eduardo Briceño Many of us want our children to understand that we love them, and to believe that life can be fulfilling.
Developing those beliefs will help them prosper. There is another powerful, research-based belief that will help children thrive.
Nurturing Intrinsic Motivation and Growth Mindset in Writing. It's the first writing conference, four weeks into the year, with this blond senior.
He stiffly leans back from me as far as the metal desk will allow, exuding cynicism, too cool for meeting with teachers about his writing. I can see he doesn't trust me yet or know why we conference, and he's afraid. He says, "So, what is this meeting about then? " And we begin. The Power of Teacher Enthusiasm Conferencing and portfolios work for me. But I wish the research would point to these systems as consistent and universal means of student growth. Growth Mindset Reflective Questions for Teachers. December 10, 2014 Here is another interesting work from one of our favourite blog authors : Dr Jackie Gerstein.
Of course you know her I have shared several of her beautiful visual in the past. How to Use Backchannels in the Classroom. By Hope Morley If you’ve been to a conference in the past several years, I’m sure you saw that the event had its own hashtag.
Whatever your feelings about Twitter and hashtags, I can tell you that some great conversations happen thanks to those hashtags and that it’s a great way to hear what someone else in the same sessions thought of the speakers. This type of digital conversation occurring in the background of a live event is known as a backchannel. Backchannels can be great in the classroom as well as the conference center. 'Grit' might be more important than IQ. Now schools need to learn to teach it. Being smart in school isn't enough.
The focus has turned to whether students have grit — whether they can keep going in the face of setbacks to achieve long-term goals. Grit has little to do with traditional intelligence. But it's highly important: Cadets at West Point who scored well on a 10-point scale of grit were more likely to complete their first summer of training. National Spelling Bee contestants with more grit advanced farther than contestants of the same age without it. College admissions officers have said if they could measure grit in applicants and use it as a selection criterion, they would. There's just one problem: if grit can be taught, we don't know how to do it yet. What is grit? Grit is sort of the grown-up version of the marshmallow test, which tested whether 4-year-olds could delay gratification long enough if they were promised a reward.
The concept clearly resonates. How Educators Can Assist Learners in Developing a Growth Mindset. I have written, described, and presented about the growth mindset in education settings, see This post delves a little deeper, and hopefully provides some additional ideas for how educators can assist their learners in developing a growth mindset.
