Our beliefs about our intelligence can have dramatic positive or negative effects on what we try to learn and whether or not we persevere. That is one of many learnings by Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, who has conducted extensive research on peoples’ beliefs about intelligence. She finds that people tend to fall into one of two categories based on their belief about their own intellect. One mindset she terms the ‘Fixed’ mindset. Individuals with this mindset believe that they have a fixed quotient for intellect, a set amount and that they cannot change it. On the other hand, individuals with a ‘Growth’ mindset, believe that their intelligence is a factor with potential i.e., intelligence is a capacity that can change and grow over the course of a lifetime.
The way parents and teachers convey feedback and especially praise to children is a reflection of their beliefs about intelligence and can significantly impact their child or students’ attitudes toward learning. Here’s one experiment that Dr. Dweck conducted that powerfully brings home this point. She took a group of 5th grade students and divided them into two groups. Each group was told they were going to take a test. After taking a simple IQ test, the students in Group One were each told that they did very well on the test and must be really smart. The students in Group Two were each told that they did very well on the test and must have really worked hard.
Then, the students in each group were asked: “Would you like to take another test that is a bit harder?” And guess what happened? The 5th graders in the group praised for being smart on average were reluctant to take the harder test while the 5th graders in the group praised for effort on average were eager to take the harder test. When the harder test was administered to both groups, the group praised for effort outperformed the group praised for its intelligence! If you think your intelligence is fixed, then you tend to avoid situations (like a harder test) such that you may not succeed and hence conclude that you were not smart after all. If you think your intelligence can grow, then if you try and do not succeed at something, you conclude that you need to work harder or figure out a different approach- in other words, you are much more likely to persevere – especially when trying to learn new skills or information.
The good news is that a growth mindset can be cultivated and fostered. Parents and teachers can foster this mindset in their children by acknowledging and encouraging effort. Dr. Dweck has developed a curriculum to encourage growth mindsets. Check out her website: http://www.brainology.us/default.aspx
At a party recently, I got talking with a woman who is a veteran kindergarten teacher. She is the epitome of the caring, thoughtful, insightful, and wise teacher who has a passion for working with young children with their first experience in a school setting. I asked her if things have changed for the better or not with regard to kindergarten teaching. Her answer was emphatic, something to the effect of “oh it’s unfortunate but these children are coming to school without their parents teaching them basics like saying hello and making eye contact and playing nicely with other children.”
Further, she said that she is under far more pressure now to concentrate on teaching her kindergarteners academic skills like math and reading. Expectations for reading that used to be associated with 1st grade are now the expectation for kindergarten. This expectation comes from both school administration (concerned about test scores and funding) and parents. She says that many (not all fortunately) parents are more concerned with whether their kindergartener is reading and less concerned about their development of communication and social skills. She thought back to her kindergarten class from eighteen years ago and told me “I remember little Joey Doe (made-up name here) and he arrived in kindergarten not knowing any of his letters or sight words – but he did know how to look me in the eye and wish me good morning. And he did know how to listen to me and take turns playing with other children. He did not start to read til the very end of that year. And now, he’s going to Harvard!”
For a comprehensive look at the question of what the emphasis should be in kindergarten (academic preparation versus play), I encourage you to read this article titled ‘Pressure-Cooker Kindergarten’: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2009/08/30/pressure_cooker_kindergarten/
When children are struggling with learning disabilities, parents have concerns about how to help their child manage difficulties related to academics and they also have concerns about their child’s self-image.
In her book, ‘Overcoming Dyslexia’, Sally Shaywitz devotes a chapter to ‘Protecting and Nourishing Your Child’s Soul’
(inspiration for my blog entry title) and she makes so many great points. She emphasizes that a key principle parents need to bear in mind is the importance of providing unconditional love and support for their child – and the key role that parents need to play as their child’s cheerleader.
There’s another point Sally makes in particular that I want to elaborate on here briefly, that is, how critical it is to help your child early on identify an abiding hobby or interest. If a child can develop a talent or interest that she enjoys, can feel good about, perhaps excel in, and certainly show steady progress in, it can be a kind of ’self-esteem’ anchor.
It seems like a ‘no-brainer’ but hold on a minute. I want to emphasize that parents may find helping their children ‘try out’ new pursuits turns out to be a journey of persistence and perseverance. Some children can be very resistant to trying anything new. As Sally Shaywitz points out “Not every child falls in love with an activity immediately, so it is important to expose him to different possibilities and help get him through the initial rough spots when his first response may be to want to give up.”
Bearing Sally’s quote in mind, be determined and creative in terms of encouraging your child to try out an activity that he or she may initially resist and provide enough exposure to determine for sure whether a particular hobby/activity/sport captures the child’s interest or not. Once your child expresses enjoyment and willingness to stick with a hobby and ‘takes off’ with it, continue to support your child’s pursuit – and give yourself a pat on the back for that and all of the ways you help to nourish your child’s soul.
The editors of The New York Times discuss their answers here. The article includes a contribution from Maryanne Wolf, author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain.
An oldie but a goodie: “How Not to Talk to Your Kids: The Inverse Power of Praise”
For extra credit, check out Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset.
The President gives a speech directly to America’s students welcoming them back to school. He emphasizes their hope and potential but makes clear they will need to take responsibility for themselves and their education to reach that potential.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZZ6GrzWkw0&feature=email
Fascinating article about printing vs. cursive, pencil grip, and how we perceive letters: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/09/04/opinion/20090908_opart.html
For a parent with a child recently diagnosed as having dyslexia or who suspects her child may have dyslexia, an initial desire is to want to learn as much as possible and to seek information often starting with the internet. There is unfortunately a lot of mis-information and half-truths to be found about the topic of dyslexia out there on the internet. My advice is to look at these websites that can be trusted to provide accurate information with regard to the diagnosis and remediation of dyslexia and other reading-related problems. The definitive source for information is the website of the International Dyslexia Association: www.interdys.org. Another highly-acclaimed website and a terrific resource for parents is: http://www.readingrockets.org/ Bookmark these two websites and work your way through the information they provide and you will learn a lot – with complete trust in the validity and quality of the information you are getting!
102-year-old Ed Rondthaler, founder of Photo Lettering, Inc., on English spelling:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmMSilHDSAs