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The Power of Growth Mindset
The Power of Growth Mindset
The Power of Growth Mindset
scott@kenwood-evergreen.com
Which Traits Are Children Born With?
Problem-Solving
Social Connection
Instinctive Optimism
Intrinsic Motivation
MINDSET
MATTERS!
Where The Research Began:
I have
My
learning
intelligence
goals & Growth can be
like
improved
feedback so Mindset through
I can
learning
improve!
I thrive on
challenge
& throw
myself info
difficult
tasks.
Fixed Mindset: 40% of kids
I believe
that
intelligence
is fixed
I like easy
I don’t like
goals &
being told Fixed challenge
because it
I’ve done
well & am Mindset makes me
look stupid
smart
I was born
bright/not
very bright
Four Things You Probably
Believe About Mindset:
Belief: Children with high ability are more likely to
display a growth mindset
Truth:
You might think that students who were highly
skilled would be the ones to relish a challenge and
persevere in the face of setbacks. Instead, many of
these students are the most worried about failure, and
the most likely to question their ability and to wilt
when they hit obstacles (Leggett, 1985)
Four Things You Probably
Believe About Mindset:
Belief: Success in school or in life directly
fosters a growth mindset.
Truth: You might also think that when students
succeed, they are emboldened and energized to
seek out more challenging tasks. The truth is
that success in itself does little to boost
children’s desire for challenge or their ability to
cope with setbacks. In fact we can see that it can
have quite the opposite effect. (Diener & Dweck,
1978, 1980)
Four Things You Probably
Believe About Mindset:
Belief: Praise, particularly praising a student’s
intelligence, encourages mastery-oriented qualities
(growth mindset).
Truth: This is a most cherished belief in our society.
One can hardly walk down the street without
hearing parents telling their children how smart
they are. The hope is that such praise will instill
confidence and thereby promote a host of desirable
qualities. Instead, this type of praise can lead
children to fear failure, avoid risks, doubt
themselves when they fail and cope poorly with
setbacks. (Mueller & Dweck, 1998)
Four Things You Probably
Believe About Mindset:
Belief: A child’s confidence in his/her intelligence
is the key to mastery-oriented qualities (growth
mindset).
Truth: It seems only logical to assume that children
who have confidence in their intelligence—who
clearly believe they are smart—would have nothing
to fear from challenge and would be resilient. But
many of the most confident individuals do not want
their intelligence too stringently tested, and their
high confidence is all too quickly shaken when they
encounter difficulty. (Henderson & Dweck, 1990;
Dweck & Lin, 1998)
Mindset Rule #1
Fixed Mindset:
LOOK SMART AT ALL COSTS
Growth Mindset:
LEARN AT ALL COSTS
Dweck Study:
Transition to 7th Grade
Followed hundreds of students across
difficult transition
Measured their mindsets
Measured their attitudes toward
learning
Monitored their grades in math for
two years
Dweck Study:
Transition to 7th Grade
Achievement in Junior HS
Blackwell, Dweck, & Trzesniewski (2007)
77.0
76.5
76.0 growth mindset
75.5
75.0
Fixed
74.5
74.0 Growth
73.5 fixed mindset
73.0
72.5
72.0
Entering Fall Spring Fall Spring
Academic Year 1 Year 1 Year 2 Year2
Year
Dweck Study:
Pre-Med Students
Dweck Study:
Pre-Med Students
3.2
3.1
3.0
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.3
2.2
FIXED
GROWTH
Mindset Rule #2:
Fixed Mindset:
IT SHOULD COME NATURALLY
Growth Mindset:
WORK HARD, EFFORT IS KEY
Which Is True?
Do Geniuses Work--
Or Does it Just Come Naturally?
Mindset Rule #3:
In The Face of Setbacks…
Fixed Mindset: It’s about me
HIDE MISTAKES
CONCEAL DEFICIENCIES
Fixed Mindset:
“I’d spend less time on this subject from now on.”
“I would try not to take this subject ever again.”
“I would try to cheat on the next test.”
Growth Mindset:
“I would work harder in this class from now on.”
“I would spend more time studying for the tests.”
Growth Mindset Brains
Work Harder!
Blaming others
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Intelligence Control Effort
Process Praise
We need to praise:
Effort
Strategies that lead towards success
Resilience
We should not praise:
Intelligence, “cleverness” or innate
talent
Key Messages to Produce
Growth Mindset
Key Messages to Produce
Growth Mindset
Key Messages to Produce
Growth Mindset
2.6
2.5 Control
BraInology
2.4
2.3
2.2
Dweck Study:
Learning About Brain Plasticity
Produced Growth Mindset
Percent Showing Increased Motivation
30
27
25
20
15
10 9
0
Control Growth
How Do We Help Our Campers Move
from Fixed to Growth Mindset?