Mindset & Math Barb Bouthillier

Context for this talk

Something more is going on….. 1 st Generation College Students Stereotype Threat Hope GRIT LIFE

Carol Dweck Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in decades of research on achievement and success, has discovered a truly groundbreaking idea—the power of our mindset.

Academic Mindset Passion and Purpose Grit and Growth Identity and Community Snipes, Fancsali. & Stoker, (2012)

Intelligence, Ability, Talent.... are all fixed entities; you get what you get. Intelligence, Ability, Talent.... are all growable; they can be developed.

Want to appear “smart” Believe math comes easily to smart people Won’t ask questions Do not seek out help Avoid any behavior that indicates they don’t understand Want to learn Willing to work at learning Ask questions Get help when needed More concerned about learning than what other people think

Believe smart people don’t struggle Struggle means I am not smart Would rather give up than appear to be stupid Avoid inevitable failure by not engaging Struggle is a part of learning Intelligence develops through struggling Embrace the challenge Develop persistence and resilience

Confirmation of lack of ability Stamp of approval that their mindset is correct Indication that there is room for improvement Might be a setback but just means they need to try a different approach or practice more. Power of Yet

The final result is that people with fixed mindsets don't try. Unwillingness to struggle and fear of failure confirm their notion that they simply do not have the "right stuff." For people with growth mindsets, the final result is that they push themselves to accomplish more. With the motto of "I am not there yet" they constantly accept the challenge to learn something new.

Strategies to Develop Growth Mindset

ExplicitImplicit

Explicit Instruction Teach students about growth and fixed mindsets. Teach them about brain plasticity. Teach them how to “grow” their brains.

Blackwell, L., Trzesniewski, K., & Dweck, C.S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, , Study 2 7 th Grade students Control group – taught about stages of memory Growth group – training in the growth mindset; how the brain grows; how to apply this idea to schoolwork

% Identified as Increasing in Motivation From “Making the Case for Brainology” Ppt. at -the-case-for-brainology.aspx -the-case-for-brainology.aspx

Change in Math Grades Math Grades From “Making the Case for Brainology” Ppt. at

What I did: Other Ideas?

Implicit Instruction Picked up from attitudes and responses. Communicated by systems and policies. The way we express affirmation.

Attitudes and Responses: Example from Facebook “Your son is smarter than the person who wrote that question. It is just stupid!” Comments:

Attitudes and Responses As teachers how do we respond when Students struggle Students fail Students succeed What do we reward?

Each student worked on a non-verbal IQ test & was given either intelligence praise, effort praise, or generic praise. Intelligence Praise “Wow, that’s a really good score. You must have tried really hard.” Effort Praise “Wow, that’s a really good score. You must be smart at this.” Control Group “Wow, that’s a really good score.” Mueller, C. M. & Dweck, C. S. (1998). From “Making the Case for Brainology” Ppt. at

# of problems solved on the IQ test Trial 1 (before failure) and Trial 3 (after failure) # of Problems Solved From “Making the Case for Brainology” Ppt. at

Lying: Students who misrepresented their scores Proportion of Children From “Making the Case for Brainology” Ppt. at

Conclusion If having a growth rather than a fixed mindset can make a difference for our students is it worth investing in helping them change their mindset?

References Blackwell, L., Trzesniewski, K., & Dweck, C.S. (2007). Implicit Theories of Intelligence Predict Achievement Across an Adolescent Transition: A Longitudinal Study and an Intervention. Child Development, Mueller, C. M. & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Intelligence praise can undermine motivation and performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, Murphy, L., & Thomas, L. (2008). Dangers of a Fixed Mindset: Implications of Self-theories Research for Computer Science Education. ITiCSE ’08 June 30–July 2, Snipes, J., Fancsali, C., & Stoker, G. (2012). Student academic mindset interventions: A review of the current landscape. Retrieved from impaq%20student%20academic%20mindset%20interventions%20report%20august%202012_0.pdf Charts for Studies taken from “Making the Case for Brainology” Powerpoint at program/making-the-case-for-brainology.aspxhttp:// program/making-the-case-for-brainology.aspx