Growth Mindset Blog
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
Can we motivate students at the end of the year?
As most of you know, our research shows that students with a growth mindset (who believe their intelligence can be developed) show greater motivation to learn and greater achievement over the school year, compared to students with a fixed mindset (who believe their intelligence is fixed). This is because students with a growth mindset believe in effort and focus on learning and improvement.
The year feels long, the students have been working for many months, and they sense the school year winding down—they can begin to feel the freedom and joys of summer. How can we keep them engaged in schoolwork? Research on mindsets gives some answers.
We have also found over and over that praise for intelligence puts students into a fixed mindset and harms their motivation, but praise for process (effort, strategies, taking on challenges, persistence) puts them in a growth mindset and enhances their motivation and resilience.
So, how can we take advantage of these findings?
1. Focus on progress. The end of the year is a great time to emphasize all the progress students have made over the school year.
Remind them of where they started out-- all the things they didn’t know and all things that used to be hard for them. Then show them where they are now and how they got there through their efforts. It is incredibly motivating for students to see that progress.
2. Use that progress to motivate new learning. Help students to use the motivation that comes from seeing their progress to consolidate their learning and to master the final topics of the year.
3. Connecting the learning to their own lives. New research (by Hulleman & Harackiewicz) has shown the benefits of having students write about how they can use what they have learned in their lives. Toward the end of the year is a great time to do this in subjects that students might have trouble relating to.
The end of the school year can be difficult, but, from a mindset perspective, it also presents opportunities.
If you have other ideas on how to motivate students towards the end of the year, please share it in the comments below.
Comments
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
I was blown away to read your'Mindset'to see the effects of praise of talent rather than of process/effort! As an English Teacher at all levels of so ability i am astounded to understand better why praise failed to move so many of my pupils!.. An anecdote; On returning to N Ireland in 75, from a two year stint teaching in Toronto,where positivity was the name of the game,I was quite surprised to visit the prized addition to the schools resource:E. S. N. room!Guess meaning!
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
We are proponents of the growth mindset and try to follow its principles with our son. Thank you Carol and Brainology!
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
Why not stick with the ?system?, which is a process system (genotypical) rather than switch over to the static (phenotypical)results such as knowledge? For example sum up something that effectively would go on during the school year, namely, commenting on the learning skills. For example the development of the Effort skill, Focus skill (which includes Attention, Concentration, and Purpose), Meaning skill, Conceptualization skill, Options skill, Sequencing skill, to name a few. This is not to dismiss knowledge, but to keep it in its place, as it were.
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
Jan, I think what you suggest is very compatible with the approach here--they are complementary. Research on the growth mindset shows that emphasizing effort, process, and strategy helps motivate students to seek challenge and persist through difficulty--and ultimately, learn more. Reviewing progress made is also very motivating and helps to reinforce continued effort.
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
Great article..everyone with kids should look into Carol's insights.
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
I think teachers need to keep these principles in mind at this time of year as well ... we get Spring fever, too! Great reminder, thank you!
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
I am just so excited to read Mindset and I've already started making a u-turn in how I praise my children. I'm so encouraged that it works for adults too! I know it sounds crazy, but I wish there was a playgroup in my area for little kids, who's parents believed in this so we could encourage and support each other and our kids in making their lives the best they can be.
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
I love that you have created a newsletter!
What an awesome idea! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
I look forward to reading it each time. Mindset theory has proven life-changing for my college-age son and I have been telling people about Dr. Dweck?s book since I read it over a year ago and I am a huge fan and a teacher. I am hoping that we can implement Brainology in our district. Best Wishes on this endeavor!
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
These are some great insights, I am a fan of Dr. Dweck's research and saw her speak in Palo Alto in February. I particularly appreciate educators who focus on taking the time to remind students how much progress they have made. From my observation, this step (which is often under emphasized or bypassed altogether) definitely builds confidence and enhances motivation
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
This is really helpful - we apply a similar applied learning approach in our own work internationally and have found it to have a tremendous impact.
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
These are great tips and definitely something I'll keep in mind with my kids. Is it too late for middle aged people?
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
I had a 9th grade student in my special education case management group this year that began the year declaring that he did not do classwork or homework. He failed everything the first quarter, but he did enjoy writing, so he did complete a few writing assignments in a couple of classes. I worked with a couple of his teachers, and we started praising him for his effort when he would complete an assignment. Little by little, he started getting a taste for success and positive praise. By the end of the year, he was advocating for himself at his IEP meeting, passing all of his classes, and staying after school with me for 2 hours at a time to learn how to study for his final exams. I kept focusing on his progress from the beginning of the year, and showing him how his success was directly related to the effort he put in. He came floating into my room on the last day of school and told me he had made a 96 on his math final exam. For him, that was quite the accomplishment. He had struggled in that class all year and did not feel he had the ability to learn the material. For me, it was proof that focusing on growth and progress is what made the difference to this child. I just hope I get to continue working with him next year so we can build on his successes.
Carol Dweck on Mindsets and The End-of-Year Slump
This is great idea. I've only got a 4 year old, but I am certainly over the moon in his progress with the potty during the day and how he's now using his words and not his fists. However, I definitely need to show and celebrate with him how much work he's done in controlling his physical reaction.
I think as parents, we also need to take time out to see how much we've progressed as parents. I know that it's taken quite a lot of failures and support groups to go from being an intelligence praiser to a process praiser.
Thanks Carol for helping to make me a better mom. When my son gets more social skills, I'm sure that he'll thank you too.