“Recent advances in neuroscience have shown us that the brain is far more malleable than we ever knew. Research on brain plasticity has shown how connectivity between neurons can change with experience.
“With practice, neural networks grow new connections, strengthen existing ones, and build insulation that speeds transmission of impulses. These neuroscientific discoveries have shown us that we can increase our neural growth by the actions we take, such as using good strategies, asking questions, practicing, and following good nutrition and sleep habits.”
(Carol Dweck. “Decades of Scientific Research that Started a Growth Mindset Revolution.” Mindset Works. 2017.)
Who would have ever “thunk” it?
It turns out neuroscience has led to the educational discovery that people can actually change their mindsets. If they believe their brains can grow, they behave differently. This simple understanding has created a series of interventions and studies that prove teachers can indeed change a person’s mindset from fixed to growth, and when they do, it leads to increased motivation and achievement.
A growth mindset – the belief that intelligence can be developed, which in turn boosts academic achievement – has revolutionized teaching for many educators. In an academic environment that teaches grit and fosters growth, students can learn to persist. Those who believe intelligence is fixed and cannot be changed exert less effort to succeed. Students who persevere when faced with challenges and adversity seem to have what
Angela Duckworth calls it “grit.”
(A. Hochanadel & D. Finamore. “Fixed And Growth Mindset In Education And How Grit Helps Students Persist In The Face Of Adversity.” Journal of International Education Research. 2015.)
Duckworth has found that grit – a combination of passion and perseverance for a singularly important goal – is the hallmark of high achievers in every domain. She’s also found scientific evidence that grit can grow.
In her own words, Duckworth presents her findings ...
“My research focuses on two traits that predict achievement: grit and self-control. Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals. Self-control is the voluntary regulation of impulses in the presence of momentarily gratifying temptations. On average, individuals who are gritty are more self-controlled, but the correlation between these two traits is not perfect: Some individuals are paragons of grit but not self-control, and some exceptionally well-regulated individuals are not especially gritty.”
Duckworth, A. L.,
Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit:
Perseverance and
passion for long-term goals. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6),
1087–1101.
Duckworth, A. L., &
Tsukayama, E. (2015). Domain-specificity in self-control. In C. B.
Miller,
R. M. Furr, A. Knobel, & W. Fleeson (Eds.), Character:
New directions from philosophy,
psychology, and theology (pp.
393–411).
Duckworth, A. L., &
Gross, J. J. (2014). Self-control and grit: Related but
separable
determinants of success. Current Directions in
Psychological Science, 23(5), 319–325.
In addition to teaching children about malleable intelligence, researchers started noticing that teacher practice has a big impact on student mindset, and the feedback that teachers give their students can either encourage a child to choose a challenge and increase achievement or look for an easy way out.
For example, studies on different kinds of praise have shown that telling children they are smart encourages a fixed mindset, whereas praising hard work and effort cultivates a growth mindset. When students have a growth mindset, they take on challenges and learn from them, therefore increasing their abilities and achievement. Read more about how teacher practices impact student mindsets and achievement.
In order to foster the development of a growth mindset among students, Blazer (2011) suggests:
Emphasizing effort and progress over final outcomes: focus on students’ improvement, rather than their success or failure
Encourage in-depth learning: emphasize that students who take longer to learn can ultimately understand things at a deeper level
Create a growth mindset culture: students need to feel like their teachers’ goal is to help them learn, not to judge them based on their intelligence. Taking on challenges, exerting effort, and surmounting obstacles is valued more than natural or innate talent.
Praise students for their effort, not their intellect: feedback that focuses on students’ effort promotes the idea that students have the ability to continue learning. Studies show that students who are praised for their intelligence lose confidence in their ability and enjoyment of tasks as soon as they struggle, whereas students praised for their effort stay confident and eager.
Avoid labeling students: educators often categorize or label students, such as “smart students” or “slow students”, but these terms negatively affect students’ mindsets
Conduct interventions to develop growth mindsets: teach students that intelligence is expandable, and that their brains are like any other muscle that can be strengthened with use and hard work
Evaluate students based on their growth: when a student says they can’t do something or aren’t good at something, add the word “yet” to convey their ability is fluid
Blazer, C., & Miami-Dade County Public Schools, R. S. (2011). How students' beliefs about their intelligence influence their academic performance. Information Capsule. Volume 1012.Research Services, Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
The Huge Payoff
As students learn they can change their mindsets and grow, they discover their own identity. This allows them fo find their unique passions and inclinations and cultivate those through engagement in personally meaningful projects. No academic test or IQ assessment could measure the potential gains of students who believe in personal growth and development. In short, those students believe in managing their own lives with purpose.
Finding one's self. This takes me back to Ancient Greece and the philosopher Socrates who famously declared that the un-examined life was not worth living. Asked to sum up what all philosophical commandments could be reduced to, he replied: “Know yourself.” And, indeed, many believe this is the best advice that leads to greater happiness and fulfillment.
However …
What if we finally figure out ourselves to be contradictory and full of rooted and patterned behaviors?
Based on the philosophical foundation of East Asia, Michael Puett – Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology at Harvard University and author of The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life (2017) – believes he has the answer.
This Chinese philosophy teaches: “Don’t discover who you are, let alone embrace what you find. Instead of choosing self-acceptance, choose self-cultivation. Instead of embracing yourself, overcome yourself. This is not just how you become a flourishing adult. It is the best way to create a flourishing world.”
Understand the semantics here. The idea is based on two versions of our concept of self. The so-called self we’ve found at a certain time is in fact only a temporary entity situated in specific contexts, and it will never be the true self we’re looking for. That true self (or our truth), if any, should be understood differently: it never stays fixed, intact, or frozen, but is forever transformable, adaptable and improvable through various challenging circumstances of live, depending on whether if we’re open to changes or not.
Puett contends in The Path …
“With all this investment in our self-definition, we risk building our future on a very narrow sense of who we are – what we see as our strengths and weaknesses, our likes and dislikes. Many Chinese thinkers might say that in doing this, we are looking at such a small part of who we are potentially.
“We’re taking a limited number of our emotional dispositions during a certain time and place and allowing those to define us forever. By thinking of human nature as monolithic, we instantly limit our potential.
“Holding fast to what we believe as our true self or 'our truth,' we will not only restrain our potential, but also lose the flexibility of self-adaptation and self-improvement in life’s difficult times.
“[W]e should always expect to be surprised and learn to work with whatever befalls us. If we can continue this work, even when tragedies come our way, we can begin to accept the world as unpredictable and impossible to determine perfectly (…) [I]f our world is indeed constantly fragmented and unpredictable, then it is something we can constantly work on bettering.
“We can go into each situation resolved to be the best human being we can be, not because of what we’ll get out of it, but simply to affect others around us for the better, regardless of the outcome. We can cultivate our better sides and face this unpredictable world, transforming it as we go.”
(Nguyen Nam. “Stop 'Finding Yourself': A Harvard Professor Reveals How Classical Chinese Philosophy Can Help Us Live a Good Life.” Fulbright. December 25, 2018.)
The idea is to be open to self-cultivation and transformation every moment of our daily lives, not just when performing arduous tasks. Don’t ignore “the small.” Don’t forget the “pleases” and “thank yous.” Puett believes change doesn’t happen until people alter their behavior, and they don’t alter their behavior unless they start with the small.
And, shouldn't anyone with a growth mindset realize that so often “the small” leads us to the greater purpose? So many of us cannot define our true self as a product of one or two monumental events in our development. The sum of our experiences – no matter how big or small – can lead us to that greater happiness we desire.
So, in closing, I implore teachers to embrace the growth mindset, praise in-depth learning, and emphasize effort and progress over the “excellent” grade standard. From personal experience, I see my ex-students who embrace knowledge and use their initiative to tackle the tasks they know will serve them well. They are lifelong learners involved in every conceivable endeavor. Their unique passions drive them to achieve personal success. They realize their grit only improves when they accept challenges and continue to grow. God bless them all.
How Did You Die?
Edmund Vance Cooke (1866 - 1932)
Did you tackle that
trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or
hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and
fearful?
Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce,
Or a
trouble is what you make it,
And it isn't the fact that you're
hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?
You are beaten
to earth? Well, well, what's that?
Come up with a smiling
face.
It's nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie
there -- that's disgrace.
The harder you're thrown, why the higher
you bounce;
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn't the fact
that you're licked that counts,
It's how did you fight – and
why?
And though you
be done to the death, what then?
If you battled the best you
could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the
Critic will call it good.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with
a pounce,
And whether he's slow or spry,
It isn't the fact that
you're dead that counts,
But only how did you die?
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