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Mindset: Its Role in Learning, Teaching, &
Differentiation
SGIS Conference Zug, Switzerland March 9, 2012
Carol Tomlinson William Clay Parrish, Jr. Professor
University of Virginia [email protected]
A pdf version of this presentation
will be available
beginning on Monday at
www.caroltomlinson.com
and will remain there for
about two weeks.
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The Mindset Questions 1. What do you think measured intelligence has to do with success? 2. To what degree do you believe the brain is malleable? 3. What do you believe about the role of effort in success? 4. Do you buy the idea that with hard work & good support, almost any student can accomplish what he/she needs to accomplish in school? 5. What do you do to reinforce or challenge your beliefs in these areas in your classroom?
•Success comes from being smart • Genetics, environment determine what we can do •Some kids are smart—some aren’t •Teachers can’t override students’ profiles
•Success comes from effort •With hard work, most students can do most things •Teachers can override students’ profiles •A key role of the teacher is to set high goals, provide high support, ensure student focus—to find the thing that makes school work for a student
With a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong. With a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.
<http://mindsetonline.com/whatsit/about.index.html>
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“After forty years of intensive research on school learning in the United States as well as abroad, my major conclusion is: What any person in the world can learn, almost all persons can learn, if provided with the appropriate prior and current conditions of learning.”
Bloom, B. (1985). Developing talent in young people. New York: Ballentine.
It’s not just Dweck!!
In school
In sports
In parenting
In “management”
Praise Effort
Not Ability
The Mindset Message
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A smart student is someone who__________________
Smart is a birthright. This task/course is hard. If I were really smart, I wouldn’t be having this problem. I don’t want to do this. It’s hard. Just tell me what you want me to do so I can get it right. I did what the rubric said. How can you grade me down? I’m doing fine now, but someday the work will be hard and I won’t be able to do it, and they’ll find out I’m not really as smart as they think. If I do poorly on this, I won’t look smart. If I cheat, that takes care of the problem. I’ll chose an easier course/teacher/project/school so my status as smart is secure.
The Goal in School The Nature of Success When Things are Tough
Fixed Mindset The main thing is to show people how smart I am. Grades matter more than learning. Avoid errors.
Fixed Mindset If you’re smart, learning comes naturally. When I have to work hard, it makes me feel un-smart. I’ll stick with my strengths. I’m good. Don’t tell me to improve.
Fixed Mindset In the face of setbacks, hide your mistakes. Conceal your deficiencies. Cheat on the test. Retreat to your comfort zone. Blame others. Look at people who did worse so you feel better.
Fluid Mindset The Main thing is to learn new things Learning matters more than grades. Errors are inevitable. Learn from them.
Fluid Mindset Work hard. Effort is the key to success. When I work hard, I get smarter. I’ll work on my weaknesses until they become strengths.
Fluid Mindset In the face of setbacks, identify and work on deficiencies. Learn from errors. Look at people who did better and learn how to improve.
How Mindset Can Affect High End Learners
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Growth Mindset Learners
Work Harder
Persist Longer
Accept Feedback
More Readily
Embrace Challenge Grow
More Academically
Fixed Mindset Learners
Reject Hard Work
Give Up Faster
Grow Less
Academically
Resist Challenge
Get angry with Feedback
Cheat More
Consider the Differences…
Learning Oriented Reward Oriented
To Believe in You
Is all that I need
To make believing
More than making believe.
Sister Corita
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Note key attributes of Captain
Sullenberger’s thinking during the
time he was making decisions about
the problem he encountered and
was acting on those decisions.
What do you find to be the most
compelling thing he has to say?
Why does it strike you as the most
important?
How would you characterize him as
a pilot based on this interview
segment?
What does any of this have to do
with teaching?
Host: We entered all of the flight data into a computer (speed, location, landing distance, etc.) Sir, the computer said you couldn’t land the plane successfully. Captain Sullenberger: Then I’m glad a computer wasn’t flying the plane.
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•Teacher’s belief that success
comes from effort, not from
“endowment”
•High personal expectations
•High expectations and high
support for every student to
enlist effort and accelerate
growth
Question:
In what ways do your
faculty and school
support development of a
fluid teacher and student mindset?
In what way do your
faculty & school encourage
development of a
fixed teacher and student mindset?
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The very least you can do in your life is figure out
what you hope for,
And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it
from a distance but live right in it,
under its roof.
Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver, 1997
