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<\/a><\/p>\nAfter several decades of enthusiastic reception, Dweck’s work on fixed and growth mindset has come under increasingly skeptical scrutiny.<\/p>\n
A well-publicized meta-analysis showed only small effects<\/a> — both of mindset itself, and of growth mindset interventions.<\/p>\n And, some non-replications have recently added new voices to the mindset-skeptical chorus. At the beginning of this month, for example, I wrote about a non-replication in Argentina<\/a>.<\/p>\n During these months, I’ve been wondering: when would Dweck herself respond? And, what would she say?<\/p>\n Dweck recently gave an interview to TES in which she started to answer some of these questions.<\/p>\n The article they’ve published is worth reading in its entirety<\/a>, and I encourage you to give it a look.<\/p>\n I’ll mention two highlights.<\/p>\n First — unsurprisingly, to me — Dweck is open to the criticism she’s reading:<\/p>\n We have produced a body of evidence that says under these\u00a0<\/strong>conditions this\u00a0<\/strong>is what happened. We have not explored all the conditions that are possible.<\/p>\n Teacher feedback on what is working and not working is hugely valuable to us to tell us what we have not done and what we need to do. [emphasis added]<\/blockquote>\n In other words: if people are trying mindset interventions and they’re not working, she wants to know about that. She’s not pretending those concerns aren’t real.<\/p>\n Second, Dweck emphasizes that mindset interventions should not be one-time events.<\/p>\n Anything that happens just once — “a chart at the front of the room, a lecture where you define the two mindsets” — isn’t likely to work.<\/p>\n Instead, we should focus on “the policies and practices in the classroom. It is not about teaching the concept alone<\/em>, it is much more about implementing practices that focus on growth and learning.” [emphasis added]\n That is: if we tell students about the perils of fixed mindsets and the benefits of growth mindsets, we might feel like we’ve set them on the right path.<\/p>\n But: if our own language, classroom methods, and grading policies imply fixed mindsets, then that mindset mini-lesson won’t help very much.<\/p>\n Regular readers know that I’m writing several posts about working memory: what it is<\/a>, why it’s important<\/a>, how to use that information<\/a>.<\/p>\n I do NOT think that teachers should tell students about working memory. If we do — ironically — we’re just using up their scarce working-memory resources.<\/p>\n Instead, we should use our knowledge of WM to modify and hone our teaching practices.<\/p>\n So, too, with mindset. Our students don’t need us to tell them the theory. They need us to act on our own knowledge of the theory<\/em> — to modify and hone our teaching practices.<\/p>\n That approach will take more sustained effort. It might not have a dramatic, immediate effect. But, given Dweck’s four decades of research, it’s much likelier to yield the subtle, long-term benefits that enhance learning.<\/p>\n Full disclosure: I’m not a neutral observer in this debate. I’ve just published a book on Mindset. Your opinion about my opinion might reasonably be swayed by that knowledge.<\/p>\nThe TES Interview<\/h2>\n
What Should Teachers Do?<\/h2>\n
A Brainy Analogy<\/h2>\n
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