Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Innate Intelligence Is (mostly) a Crock; Effort Matters

A colleague sent me an article from Edutopia that I found interesting, but far from surprising. Struggling Helps Students Master Math tells of how students got better at math when they were allowed to struggle with it.

So, why was this not surprising? Because it is consistent with some solid research on similar ideas. All of these are really, really important ideas that every parent and teacher should read and re-read until they are second nature.

Po Bronson: How Not to Talk to Your Kids
We don’t do a good job of praising our children and students. We praise too readily and broadly and in the process, we don’t encourage working hard to solve problems.

Malcolm Gladwell: Explains Success: It's Nurture, not Nature
As a society, we praise short term results and brilliance more than we praise effort.

Carol Dweck: Transforming Students’ Motivation to Learn and An Interview
Once students realize that intelligence can grow through effort, they get smarter.

Anyone who is involved in raising or educating children needs to understand how praise and effort relate to each other and to student achievement.

No comments: