Synopsis of "Even Geniuses Work Hard" by Carol S. Dweck
Do we want our students to enjoy effort, or avoid it? Do we want our students to give up quickly, or to be persistent when faced with an obstacle? How our students respond when faced with challenging situations is largely related to how they perceive ability. Dweck (2010) identifies two opposing views of ability that effect how students approach learning. Students with a fixed-mindset avoid challenging learning opportunities, feel dumb when work is hard and believe there is nothing they can do to succeed when a subject or task is difficult for them. Students with a growth-mindset seek out challenging learning opportunities and embrace hard work because they view challenges as an opportunity to grow.
As teachers, we can help our students develop a growth-mindset. Dweck reminds us that every student needs challenging learning tasks. She writes, “It is crucial that no student coast to success time after time; this experience can create the fixed-mindset belief that you are smart only if you can succeed without effort” (p. 19). In fact, we need to praise effort rather than praising good results achieved without effort. We can also encourage a growth mindset by portray challenging work as fun and easy work as boring, adding the word “yet” when a student says they are not good at something, and showing students their growth through pre and post test scores.
Reference: Dweck, C. (2010). Even geniuses work hard. Educational Leadership, 68(1), 16 – 20.
Christie McCulloch, Ph.D.
Assistant Director of Academic Advancement
Calvary Christian Academy
(954) 905-5206
This is why differentiated instruction is so important. Sometimes students with great capacity cannot cope with typical classroom rigor, either out of boredom or the fact that many with high intelligence capacities have learning issues. (case in point Einstein) To allow students to use their gifts to shine, takes away some of the boredom, and helps them to feel that their skills, gifts and talents are important, and help them to want to learn. By no means am I stating that DI is all that should be done. Constant shaping and crafting a student to achieve better and to hone other as yet unknown, and untapped gifts must be also be a goal, using any and all means possible. Constant pressure should be maintained in an greater and greater learning without overwhelming them to give up. "provoke not a child to wrath" - "Balance!" (the karate kid)
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