DEVELOPING A GROWTH MINDSET (PDF)

The Secret to Improving Your Grades! DEVELOPING A GROWTH MINDSET  WHY DON’T WE SEE UNMOTIVATED BABIES?   WHAT HAPPENS?  What is mindset? A mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations. (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=mindset) WHAT IS MINDSET?   There is a fixed intelligence that can be measured using an IQ test (Dweck, 2010)  No matter how much you learn or how hard you work your intelligence stays the same! Alfred Binet Invented the first useable IQ test YESTERDAY’S THEORY: WE ARE BORN WITH INTELLIGENCE  The distinguishing feature of geniuses is their passion and dedication to their craft, and particularly, the way in which they identify, confront, and take pains to remedy their weaknesses (Good, Rattan, & Dweck, 2008). IN OTHER WORDS…It’s not what you are born with that matters; it’s your mindset that matters TODAY’S THEORY: MINDSET MATTERS   The brain is like a muscle that gets stronger and works better the more it is exercised.  Too often students believe the brain is static, leading them to think talent and giftedness are permanent, unchanging personal attributes that automatically bring later success.  Every time you work hard, stretch yourself and learn something new your brain forms new connections and over time you actually become smarter. THE BRAIN IS MALLEABLE   Fixed Mindset: Intelligence is a fixed trait (Dweck, 2008)  Growth Mindset: Intelligence is a quality that can be changed and Developed (Dweck, 2008) Carol Dweck , professor of Psychology at Stanford University MINDSET MATTERS  WHAT ARE YOU?: TAKE THE MINDSET QUIZ Mindset Quiz To what extent do you agree or disagree with these statements: Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree 1. Intelligence is something people are born with that can’t be changed. 2. No matter how intelligent you are, you can always be more intelligent. 3. You can always substantially change how intelligent you are. 4. You are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that. 5. You can always change basic things about the kind of person you are. 6. Musical talent can be learned by anyone 7. Only a few people will be truly good at sports – you have to be “born with it.” 8. Math is much easier to learn if you are male or maybe come from a culture who values math. 9. The harder you work at something, the better you will be at it. 10. No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially. 11. Trying new things is stressful for me and I avoid it. 12. Some people are good and kind, and some are not – it’s not often that people change. 13. I appreciate when people, parents, coaches, teachers give me feedback about my performance. 14. I often get angry when I get negative feedback about my performance. 15. All human beings are capable of learning. 16. You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are. 17. You can do things differently, but the important parts of who you are can’t really be changed. 18. Human beings are basically good, but sometimes make terrible decisions. 19. An important reason why I do my school work is that I like to learn new things. 20. Truly smart people do not need to try hard. Adapted from: http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/motivating-students-with  ANSWER KEY 1. ability mindset – fixed 2. ability mindset –growth 3. ability mindset – growth 4. personality/character mindset - fixed 5. personality/character mindset – growth 6. ability mindset – growth 7. ability mindset – fixed 8. ability mindset – fixed 9. ability mindset – growth 10. personality/character mindset - growth 11. ability mindset – fixed 12. personality/character mindset – fixed 13. ability mindset –growth 14. ability mindset – fixed 15. ability mindset – growth 16. ability mindset – fixed 17. personality/character mindset – fixed 18. personality/character mindset –growth 19. ability mindset – growth 20. ability mindset – fixed  A d a p t e d f r o m : h t t p : / / w w w . c l a s s r o o m 2 0 . c o m / f o r u m / t o p i c s / m o t i v a t i n g - s t u d e n t s - w i t h   Growth Questions  Strongly agree – 3 points  Agree – 2 points  Disagree – 1 points  Strongly disagree – 0 point   Fixed Questions  Strongly agree – 0 point  Agree – 1 points  Disagree – 2 points  Strongly disagree – 3 points   Strong Growth Mindset = 60-45 points  Growth Mindset with some Fixed ideas = 44-34 points  Fixed Mindset with some Growth ideas= 33-21 points  Strong Fixed Mindset=20-0 points Adapted from: http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/motivating -students-with SCORING  Step #1: Learn, learn, learn Step #2 Realize hard work is key Step #3 Face setbacks STEPS TO DEVELOPING A GROWTH MINDSET   Fixed Mindset: Look intelligent at all costs “The main thing I want to do in college is to show others how good I am”  Growth Mindset: Learn, learn, learn “It’s much more important for me to learn than to get top grades” MINDSET STEP #1: LEARN, LEARN, LEARN   A fixed mindset predicted students’ failure to recover from an initial poor grade  A growth mindset predicted successful recovery. GRANT AND DWECK’S STUDY