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How to Help Every Child Achieve Their Potential
Video

How to Help Every Child Achieve Their Potential

RSA, 2015

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Overview
  • Eloquent
  • Engaging

Recommendation

That sullen kid sitting in the back of the classroom who claims to be bored likely suffers from a “fixed mind-set” rather than ennui. And the studious kid jotting down notes and asking questions likely demonstrates a “growth mind-set” – one that will prove useful throughout life. So says psychologist Carol Dweck, whose decade of research on child behavior discovered that the best way to inspire children is to praise their process, not their intellect. getAbstract recommends Dweck’s presentation, illustrated by RSA Animate, to parents, educators and anyone who helps young minds flourish. Her revelations have implications for learning far beyond childhood and adolescence.

Take-Aways

  • Children typically have either a “growth mind-set” – that is, they believe they can improve their intelligence with effort – or a “fixed mind-set” – that is, they believe their intelligence is unvarying over time.
  • A focus on learning, an acceptance of mistakes as part of the learning process and a belief in effort as a means of improvement characterize a growth mind-set. 
  • A focus on seeming clever, a desire to hide deficiencies and a belief that effort is a sign of inability define a fixed mind-set.

About the Speaker

Carol Dweck is a professor of psychology at Stanford University. 


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