You've Got to Reach Them to Teach Them by Schreck Mary Kim; & Schreck

Author:Schreck, Mary Kim; & Schreck
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Solution Tree
Published: 2011-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Changing the Belief That Intelligence Is Static

A powerful change in attitude capable of increasing a person’s level of effort, motivation, and consequent achievement is the change from believing that a person’s intelligence is fixed to understanding that a person’s intelligence can grow and increase. If a child believes that he or she just isn’t smart and never will be, there’s very little reason to exert effort.

Carol Dweck, a leading researcher in the field of motivation, studied these fixed and growth mindsets in seventh-grade students for a two-year period and stated, “We saw among those with the growth mindset steadily increasing math grades over the two years. But that wasn’t the case for those with the so-called fixed mindset. They showed a decrease in their math grades” (Trudeau, 2007).

Dweck (2008) then wondered if it were possible to change this fixed mindset by educating children about how brains grow when a person thinks something new. In her next study, children were taught how the brain grows branches of connections, called dendrites, making the point that the children were capable of getting smarter, that being smart was definitely within their control.

After this mini neuroscience course on the workings of the brain, Dweck said, when students studied, they visualized little dendrites growing in their heads. Soon they changed their attitudes toward the brain. No longer did they see it as a fixed, static blob; it was now an ever-growing muscle that became stronger and stronger when exercised. This knowledge changed their motivation. Dweck found that “the students were energized by the idea that they could have an impact on their mind.” She went on to speak about a young boy who was the “ringleader of the troublemakers” who, “with tears in his eyes, said, ‘You mean, I don’t have to be dumb?’ ” (Dweck, 2008, p. 219).

Another important insight that came from these studies is how to deal with high-achieving students who have lost their motivation. If children are praised too often for being smart, they will want to keep that status and will often balk at taking risks for fear of making a mistake and looking foolish (Dweck, 2008). Many teachers of high-track/honors students or gifted students are well aware of this side of the motivation coin.

One way to praise an intelligent child is to praise that child’s efforts, not his or her intelligence. A teacher had a banner over her blackboard that read: “If you are not out of your comfort zone, you aren’t learning anything!” During particularly challenging work, she would ask the class, “Are you out of your comfort zone yet?” And when they groaned, “Yes,” she would applaud their efforts and tell them how well they were doing. Breaking down the attitude that learning has to be comfortable and that any uncomfortable experience is to be avoided allows students to extend their efforts longer and sustain their levels of perseverance dramatically.

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