Behold the Turtle

@JamesNottinghmFacebook.com/ChallengingLearning

ChallengingLearning.comjames@p4c.com

So, how do you want to play this?

Nature, nurture, or a bit of both?

Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology and author of Mindset

Mainly nature Mainly nurtureInnate talents & intelligence

Incremental talents & intelligence

Fixed Growth

This is a self-portrait by Aelita Andre

Jamaica 1 – 2 – 3

NatureNurture

Herts Looked-after Children

Reading 67% (90%)

Writing 54% (87%)

Maths 71% (93%)

Fixed MindsetIntelligence and ability are fixedNature determines talentsI am naturally good at some thingsI’ll always struggle with some things

My prioritieso Prove myselfo Succeed easilyo Avoid failure of any sort

My mottoso No pain, no paino Only stupid people have to tryo Effortlessly superior

Growth Mindset Intelligence and ability can growNurture determines abilitiesI have developed my talentsPotential is there to be realised

My prioritieso Improve myselfo Take challengeso Learn from my mistakes

My mottoso No pain, no gaino Learners always try hardo There’s always room to improve

Closing the Gap?• Yes but painfully slow

“One of the most damaging aspects of the “gift” mentality is that it makes us think we can know in advance who

has the gift …

This, I believe, is what makes us try to identify groups who have it and

groups who don’t.”

Mueller and Dweck, 1998

In six studies, 7th grade students were given a series of nonverbal IQ tests.

The effects of different types of praise

Intelligence praise“Wow, that’s a really good score. You must be smart at this.”

Process praise“Wow, that’s a really good score. You must have tried really hard.”

Control-group praise“Wow, that’s a really good score.”

Mueller and Dweck, 1998

Trial 1 Trial 34.5

5

5.5

6

6.5

Effort Praise

Control Praise

Intelligence Praise

Number of problems solved on a 3rd test

Boys get 8 times more criticism than girls

We found that bright girls didn’t cope at all well with confusion. In fact, the higher the girl’s IQ, the worse she did. This didn’t happen to boys. For them, the higher their IQ, the better they

learned. The confusion only energized them.

Since the high IQ girls had done wonderfully well when they didn’t bump up against difficulty, what we’re looking at here isn’t a difference in ability, but a difference in how students cope

with experiences that may call their ability into question - whether they feel challenged by them or demoralized by them.

Why aren’t more women in science? (S.J. Ceci & W. Williams 2006)

Outdoor learning

Scandinavian ‘curling parents’ FOAFOY

“Cutting the ice” with 3 ½ year olds

Rank order is a fixed mindset concern; Progress is a growth mindset concern

92

85

73

64

43

32

90

86

78

70

41

35

90

85

84

78

40

34

Pre-test

✔✗✔✔✗✗✔✗✔✔ 6/10

10 - 6 = 4

8 – 2 = 6

7 – 0 = 7

✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔

Sharp pencilTitleDateCapital LettersFull stopsDescribe the characterDescribe the placeFirst, next, then, finallyAnd, but, so, while, because

✔✔✔✔✗✔✗✔✗

Fun action words (bounded, sprang) ✔Rhyming words (loud, proud, crowd) ✔

The typical effect of previewing is

to double the rate of pupil progress

This will give your child an advantage

next week

Preview clubs Homeprep Pre-course reading SEN preview

Learning Detectives ListeningAsking questionsConcentrating

Giving reasonsParaphrasingConnecting

Descriptive wordsConnectivesAdverbsAdjectivesMetaphorsComplex sentences

A few things we can do to develop growth mindsets

1.Talk about building talents rather than spotting gifts

2. Shift the paradigm of expectation

3. Throw obstacles in the way

4. Praise actions, not children

5. Balance success with challenge

6. Preview

7. Train those brains

@JamesNottinghmFacebook.com/ChallengingLearning

ChallengingLearning.com

james@p4c.com

Links