7/13/2023 – The science of brain plasticity and the creating of new neuron pathways that is a part of the research with Growth Mindset is fascinating to me. This is something that you can concretely teach to students and help them understand that getting the wrong answer triggers brain activity that getting the right answer does not. This reinforces the adage that we learn from our mistakes.
I was able to teach this in a simpler form to one of my EB students in 1st grade last year who didn’t like to make mistakes. He “acted out” in class every time he had to redo some work. Once he learned that mistakes were how he grew his brain and realized that this meant “redoing” his work to make it better, his attitude changed. There was a willingness now to “redo” the work when asked. Anytime he struggled, I just reminded him that he was growing his brain and learning which was more important than having the right answer every time.
It is interesting that teaching students about brain plasticity enables them to achieve more, too (Brock & Hundley, 2017). Just as Dwek shared in her video, this occurred because “the meaning(s) of effort and difficulty were transformed” for the students to understand that when effort and difficulty were occurring that their brain was learning and stronger neuron pathways were being built (2014). Thus, they were willing to put more effort into their work and not give up when it was difficult. This is also what Duckworth brings out in her message about grit ( ).
Duckworth, A. (2013). Grit: the power of passion and perseverance. Retrieve from
https://youtu.be/H14bBuluwB8
Dweck. C. (July 16, 2015). RSA ANIMATE: How To Help Every Child Fulfill Their Potential. Retrieve from https://youtu.be/-71zdXCMU6A
Dweck. C. (December 17, 2014).The power of believing that you can improve. Retrieve from https://youtu.be/_X0mgOOSpLU
Harapnuik, D. (April 5, 2019).How to Grow a Growth Mindset – http://www.harapnuik.org/?p=7955
Kohn, A.(August 16, 2015).The “Mindset” Mindset: What We Miss By Focusing on Kids’ Attitudes. Retrieved from http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/mindset
Wings and a Wand 