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<\/a><\/p>\nFor four decades — literally!–Carol Dweck and other researchers ran thoughtful studies with thousands of students. Over and over, they found that students who think about about their work in particular ways<\/em> (shorthand, “growth mindset”) do better than those who don’t (“fixed mindset”).<\/p>\n Like other areas of psychology (think “power poses”), Mindset Theory has been caught up in the “replication crisis.”<\/p>\n In brief: if Mindset theory is true, then a mindset intervention should help no matter who does the intervening. It should work when Dweck’s team does it with her students, and when I do so with mine<\/em>.<\/p>\n If it works only for Dweck, well, that doesn’t really help the rest of us.<\/p>\n And, several researchers have found that various strategies didn’t replicate.<\/p>\n A much publicized meta-analysis<\/a>, published last summer, suggests that Mindset interventions had very small effects. (I myself think this meta-analysis has been over-interpreted; you can see my analysis here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Researcher and NYU professor Alejandro Ganimian<\/a> has published research about a large-scale mindset intervention<\/a> in Argentina.<\/p>\n Ganimian had 12th graders at 100 (!) schools read a passage arguing that “persisting\u00a0through difficult challenges can develop the brain.”<\/p>\n The 12th graders then wrote\u00a0“a letter to a classmate of their choice on the three main lessons from the reading and how they might help him\/her.”<\/p>\n To keep the growth mindset message fresh, those letters were posted in the classroom.<\/p>\n He compared these students to 12th graders at 102 other schools that had not used this intervention.<\/p>\n The results?\u00a0Nada. Nothin’. Bupkis.<\/strong><\/p>\n Specifically:<\/p>\n This intervention had “no effect on students\u2019\u00a0propensity to find challenging tasks less intimidating.”<\/p>\n It didn’t increase the likelihood that they would pay attention in class.<\/p>\n By some rough\/indirect measures, it didn’t have an effect on the participants’ academic success.<\/p>\n As Ganimian sums up his results:<\/p>\n In nearly all outcomes, I can rule out even small effects. …<\/p>\n This study suggests that the benefits of growth mindset interventions\u00a0may be more challenging to replicate and scale in developing countries than anticipated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n First<\/strong>: two clarifying points. a) Ganimian’s research hasn’t been peer reviewed and published in a journal. It is currently a working paper, hosted on his website.<\/p>\n And b) I myself am not a neutral source in this debate. I’ve written a book about mindset research, and so I read Ganimian’s work through that lens.<\/p>\n Second<\/strong>: I think mindset strategies are likeliest to have an effect when used all together as a consistent, unified approach<\/em> to student motivation.<\/p>\n That is: I’m not at all surprised that a “one-shot” intervention doesn’t have big results. (Some research<\/a> has found success with “one-shot” interventions; I’ve always been skeptical.)<\/p>\n So, if you want to use mindset research in your classrooms, don’t do just one thing, once<\/strong>. A motivational poster really won’t accomplish much of anything.<\/p>\nToday’s News<\/h2>\n
What Should Teachers Do?<\/h2>\n