*Based on the book Mindset by Carol Dweck

Marianne Auten & Sherry BairdParadise Valley Community College

CHANGING MINDSET TO

CHANGE MOTIVATION

What is something you’d love to learn or accomplish or grow in that you’re not currently doing?

the answer could be…

MINDSET-A set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines one’s behavior, outlook and mental attitude.

“I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures… I divide the world into the learners and non-learners.” -Benjamin Barber, Sociologist

What would make someone a non-learner???

DR. CAROL DWECKSTANFORD UNIVERSITY

Research Question for 30+ Years:Reactions to Failure –

Why do some students give up when they encounter difficulty, whereas

others continue to strive and learn?

 

The Two Mindsets

FIXED• My intelligence is a fixed 

trait.  • Strive to look smart.• Challenges, mistakes, and 

the need to exert effort are threats to my ego. 

• Lose confidence and motivation when the work is no longer easy for me.  

GROWTH• My intelligence can be 

developed.• Strive to learn and grow.• Challenges, mistakes and 

the need to exert effort are opportunities to improve.

• Gain confidence as I work hard and see progress.

SORTING OUT The GROWTH and FIXED

MINDSET

GROWTH FIXED FIXED GROWTH FIXED GROWTH FIXED GROWTH GROWTH GROWTH FIXED FIXED GROWTH

It’s just one of those days…You go to a class that is really important to you

and that you like a lot. The professor returns the midterm papers and you got a C+. You are very disappointed. That evening on the way back to your home, you find that you have gotten a parking ticket. Being very frustrated, you call your best friend to share your experience but they are busy and you are sort of brushed off.

• What would a person with a FIXED mindset likely think/feel/do? What possible results?

• What would a person with a GROWTH mindset likely think/feel/do? What possible results?

Your MINDSET has a powerful influence on your motivation, your outcomes and whether or not you reach your full potential!

• New research shows the brain is like a muscle – it changes and gets stronger when you use it.

• When you challenge your brain through learning, your neurons will grow new and stronger connections!

EffortBuilds and strengthens

neural pathways, which improves both the brain’s

ability to crunch information and the users mood.

From RAPT-Winifred GallagherMichael Merzenich UCSF

Scientists studied animals that lived with other animals and toys to play with versus animals that lived alone in bare cages.

Animals in the challenging environment:•More connections between nerve cells in their brains•Bigger and stronger connections•10% heavier brains•Better at problem solving•Old animals’ brain grew by 10% too!

           Where do mindsets come from?

• 1990s – the Self-Esteem Movement.  Tell kids how smart and talented they are for confidence and motivation.

• This type of praise actually makes self-esteem fragile and undermines motivation to learn.

• IQ test.  One group praised for being smart.  Another group praised for working hard.  Results:  1st group wanted easy problems whereas 2nd group wanted challenging problems.  

Fixed versus Growth

FIXED• When given more difficult 

problems, intelligence-praised students lost confidence, lost enjoyment of the task, performance dropped 

• 40% lied about their score • If cannot admit mistakes, 

cannot correct them.  

GROWTH• Maintained faith in their 

abilities, kept on enjoying the task, showed marked improvement over time.

• Didn’t worry about intelligence, kept on striving

• Only 13% reported an incorrect score

• Open to feedback so they could improve

Messages That Children Hear:

• You learned that so quickly!  You’re so smart!

• Look at that drawing!  You are the next Picasso!

• You’re so brilliant!  You got an “A” without studying!  

• If I don’t learn something quickly, I am not smart.

• I shouldn’t try drawing anything hard or they’ll see I’m no Picasso.

• I’d better quit studying or they won’t think I’m brilliant. 

When do you feel smart?

• “It’s when I don’t make any mistakes.”

• “When I finish something fast and it’s perfect.”

• “When something is easy for me, but other people can’t do it.”

FIXED – It’s about being perfect right now.

• “When it’s really hard, and I try really hard, and I can do something I couldn’t do before.”

• “When I work on something a long time and I start to figure it out.” 

GROWTH – It’s about confronting a challenge and making progress.  

Mindset and School Achievement

• Elementary kids:  fixed do as well as growth• Jr High – fixed suffer immediate drop in grades and continue to slide in HS

• College Students:  Fixed mindset had big drop in interest and enjoyment as soon as subject became difficult. Growth mindset same level of interest when work was challenging.  

Pre-Med Students in Chemistry

• Fixed Mindset – read the textbook & notes.  If material really hard, read it again.  Tried to memorize everything.  If did poorly on a test, concluded that chemistry not their subject.

• Growth Mindset – looked for themes                    and underlying principles; went over                        mistakes until certain I understood;                     studying to LEARN, not just ace the                     test 

The Truth About Ability and Accomplishment

Berlin School of Music Violinists

1. Top Performance Level = 10,000+ hours of practice

2. Very good but not the best = 8000+ hours of practice

3. Music teachers = 4000+ hours of practice4. ZERO “naturals” – someone who had not put in 

the 10,000 hours but still made it to the top. 5. ZERO “grinders” – people who had put in the 

10,000 hours but had not made it to the top!

How to promote a growth mindset

The good news is thatGROWTH MINDSET can be taught! (…and it doesn’t have to take very long!)

It Is Essential For Educators To Communicate A Growth Mindset!

• Fixed Mindset:  Certain students are not capable, therefore may not mentor.  Learning is the students’ responsibility.  If they don’t have what it takes, so be it.   Asked to respond to 7th grade who had done poorly on 1st math test:  Comforted them and said “Not everyone can be good at math.”

• Growth Mindset:  Don’t put people in categories and expect them to stay there.  Learning is a collaboration in which the teacher has great responsibility. “I know you can do better.  Step up the time you are putting in.  Here are some suggestions to                 improve your study and learning strategies.” 

Messages That Promote A Growth Mindset

• I believe in your potential and am committed             to helping everyone get smarter

• I value (and praise) taking on challenges, exerting effort, and surmounting obstacles more than I value (and praise) “natural” talent and easy success

• Working hard to learn new things makes you smarter – and it makes your brain grow new connections

• School is NOT a place that judges you.  It is a place where people help your brain grow new connections.  

How to Praise

• P – Practice.   You worked hard and keep getting better and better!

• S – Study. You kept digging wider, farther, deeper and your knowledge has really grown!

• P – Persistence.  You kept trying even when it was hard.  You never gave up!

• S – Strategy.   I like how you tried different strategies until you found one that worked.

PSS – Positive, Specific, Sincere

Practicing Praise• Think of one of your students or someone you would like to encourage.  

• Tell your partner a few things about this person; then give a specific example of praise that will foster a growth mindset. 

Hint:  Praise EFFORT, not God-given brains or beauty or talent!  

How to Change from Fixed to Growth

Step 1.  Learn to hear your fixed mindset 

“voice”.

Step 2.  Recognize that you have a choice!

Step 3. Talk back with a growth 

mindset voice. 

Step 4.  Take the growth mindset action.  

Living the Growth MindsetASK YOURSELF THESE

QUESTIONS:

1. What did you learn today?2. What mistake did you make      that taught you something?3. What did you try hard at today?4. What skills do you have today 

that you didn’t have yesterday because of the practice you put in?  

5. What are you struggling with and making progress on?

Our MINDSET is not a personality quirk; it creates the mental world in which we live. It shapes our goals and attitudes and predicts whether or not we will fulfill our potential. - Carol Dweck, PhD