Scott Brody

Owner & Director of Camps Kenwood & Evergreen

Founder of Everwood Day Camp

scott@kenwood-evergreen.com
Which Traits Are Children Born With?

 The Drive to Help (Altruism)

 The Drive to Master

 Problem-Solving

 Social Connection

 Instinctive Optimism

 Intrinsic Motivation

 The Drive to Acquire Knowledge & Develop Intelligence

 You Don’t See
Unmotivated Babies!
Babies Are Engaged Learners
 The Challenge:

MANY OF THE THINGS

ADULTS DO TO HELP
AND TO MOTIVATE OUR
CHILDREN CONSPIRE TO
HELP THEM BECOME
NON-LEARNERS!
Labeling of Children:
Labeling of Children:
Feeling This Creates in
Children:
The Trophy Generation:
How Do We Make Help Children
Remain Engaged Learners?

MINDSET
MATTERS!
 Where The Research Began:

 Carol Dweck has done research over the last 30 years

with children and young adults in the USA
 She is particularly interested in how students view
themselves as learners
 Their self-theory is likely to have a major effect on their
self-belief, their motivation to learn and their resilience

 Carol Dweck’s Self-Theories

 Their Role in Motivation, Personality & Development
(Psychology Press, 1999)
Years of Research
New Insights: Brain Plasticity
 Self Theory = Mindset

 Dweck’s research into Self-

Theories has shown that most
people have one of two
Mindsets:
 Fixed Mindset, or
 Growth Mindset
Growth Mindset: 40% of Kids
I believe
that
intelligence
is not fixed.

I have
My
learning
intelligence
goals & Growth can be
like
improved
feedback so Mindset through
I can
learning
improve!

I thrive on
challenge
& throw
myself info
difficult
tasks.
Fixed Mindset: 40% of kids
I believe
that
intelligence
is fixed

I like easy
I don’t like
goals &
being told Fixed challenge
because it
I’ve done
well & am Mindset makes me
look stupid
smart

I was born
bright/not
very bright
 Four Things You Probably
Believe About Mindset:
 Belief: Children with high ability are more likely to
display a growth mindset

 Truth:
 You might think that students who were highly
skilled would be the ones to relish a challenge and
persevere in the face of setbacks. Instead, many of
these students are the most worried about failure, and
the most likely to question their ability and to wilt
when they hit obstacles (Leggett, 1985)
 Four Things You Probably
Believe About Mindset:
 Belief: Success in school or in life directly
fosters a growth mindset.
 Truth: You might also think that when students
succeed, they are emboldened and energized to
seek out more challenging tasks. The truth is
that success in itself does little to boost
children’s desire for challenge or their ability to
cope with setbacks. In fact we can see that it can
have quite the opposite effect. (Diener & Dweck,
1978, 1980)
 Four Things You Probably
Believe About Mindset:
 Belief: Praise, particularly praising a student’s
intelligence, encourages mastery-oriented qualities
(growth mindset).
 Truth: This is a most cherished belief in our society.
One can hardly walk down the street without
hearing parents telling their children how smart
they are. The hope is that such praise will instill
confidence and thereby promote a host of desirable
qualities. Instead, this type of praise can lead
children to fear failure, avoid risks, doubt
themselves when they fail and cope poorly with
setbacks. (Mueller & Dweck, 1998)
 Four Things You Probably
Believe About Mindset:
 Belief: A child’s confidence in his/her intelligence
is the key to mastery-oriented qualities (growth
mindset).
 Truth: It seems only logical to assume that children
who have confidence in their intelligence—who
clearly believe they are smart—would have nothing
to fear from challenge and would be resilient. But
many of the most confident individuals do not want
their intelligence too stringently tested, and their
high confidence is all too quickly shaken when they
encounter difficulty. (Henderson & Dweck, 1990;
Dweck & Lin, 1998)
 Mindset Rule #1

 Fixed Mindset:
 LOOK SMART AT ALL COSTS

 Growth Mindset:
 LEARN AT ALL COSTS
 Dweck Study:
Transition to 7th Grade
 Followed hundreds of students across
difficult transition
 Measured their mindsets
 Measured their attitudes toward
learning
 Monitored their grades in math for
two years
 Dweck Study:
Transition to 7th Grade
Achievement in Junior HS
Blackwell, Dweck, & Trzesniewski (2007)
77.0
76.5
76.0 growth mindset
75.5
75.0
Fixed
74.5
74.0 Growth
73.5 fixed mindset
73.0
72.5
72.0
Entering Fall Spring Fall Spring
Academic Year 1 Year 1 Year 2 Year2
Year
 Dweck Study:
Pre-Med Students
 Dweck Study:
Pre-Med Students

3.2
3.1
3.0
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.3
2.2

FIXED
GROWTH
 Mindset Rule #2:

Fixed Mindset:
IT SHOULD COME NATURALLY

Growth Mindset:
WORK HARD, EFFORT IS KEY
Which Is True?
 Do Geniuses Work--
Or Does it Just Come Naturally?
 Mindset Rule #3:
In The Face of Setbacks…
Fixed Mindset: It’s about me
HIDE MISTAKES
CONCEAL DEFICIENCIES

Growth Mindset: It’s about learning

CAPITALIZE ON MISTAKES
CONFRONT DEFICIENCIES
 After Setback…

Fixed Mindset:
“I’d spend less time on this subject from now on.”
“I would try not to take this subject ever again.”
“I would try to cheat on the next test.”
Growth Mindset:
“I would work harder in this class from now on.”
“I would spend more time studying for the tests.”
Growth Mindset Brains
Work Harder!

Moser et al., 2011

Fixed Mindset provides no recipe
for recovering from failures:
 Giving up, retreating to comfort zone

 Blaming others

 Trying to feel superior

 How Are Mindsets
Transmitted?

Our language tells

children what we
believe and what we
value
 Mueller & Dweck, 1998; Kamins & Dweck,1 999;
Cimpian, Arce, Markman, & Dweck, 2007.
How We Praise…
 Dweck Study:
Non-Verbal IQ Test
 Dweck Study:
Messages About What We
Value
• Intelligence Praise: “Wow, that’s a
really good score. You must be smart at
this.”

• Effort (Process) Praise: “Wow, that’s a

really good score. You must have tried
really hard.”

• Control Group: : “Wow, that’s a really

good score.”
 Dweck Study:
Intelligence vs. Effort Praise

• Mindset: Fixed vs. Growth

• Goals: Looking smart vs. Learning

After Difficult Trial:

• Confidence/ Enjoyment/Performance
 Dweck Study:
Intelligence vs. Effort Praise
Lying: Students Who Misrepresented Their
Scores
0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
Intelligence Control Effort
 Process Praise

 We need to praise:
 Effort
 Strategies that lead towards success
 Resilience
 We should not praise:
 Intelligence, “cleverness” or innate
talent
Key Messages to Produce
Growth Mindset
Key Messages to Produce
Growth Mindset
 Key Messages to Produce
Growth Mindset

The brain is a network of cells (neurons)

 Key Messages to Produce
Growth Mindset

The cells communicate through chemical messages

 Key Messages to Produce
Growth Mindset
The messages signal other neurons whether to fire or not
 Dweck Study:
Learning About Brain Plasticity Produced
Growth Mindset
2.8
Math Grades
(Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck)
2.7

2.6

2.5 Control
BraInology

2.4

2.3

2.2
 Dweck Study:
Learning About Brain Plasticity
Produced Growth Mindset
Percent Showing Increased Motivation
30
27
25

20

15

10 9

0
Control Growth
How Do We Help Our Campers Move
from Fixed to Growth Mindset?

 Counselors can role model Growth Mindset—they are

living it.
 Essential that we show them we believe their intelligence
and other abilities, including athleticism, is not fixed
 We need to make them believe they can improve
 We need to ensure they know how to improve
 Collaborative community environment where campers
take responsibility for their own learning
 Campers understand the Growth Mindset and how it
can help them in all of their efforts.