Even Geniuses Work Hard

In the Educational Leadership article "Even Geniuses Work Hard," Carol S. Dweck implores educators to challenge high-achieving and low-achieving students equally to foster a growth mind-set in all their students.

Individuals with a fixed mind-set believe that "intelligence is simply an inborn trait—they have a certain amount, and that's that," Dweck says. Conversely, individuals with a growth mind-set believe that their intelligence can develop through hard work, practice, and learning from their mistakes.

Dweck says high-achieving students with a fixed mind-set fear engaging in activities that require them to exert effort because they believe their success should be effortless. For these students, hard work equals failure. These students don't handle setbacks well and avoid taking risks.

When teachers design meaningful tasks to support a growth mind-set, they help students understand the importance of challenging themselves. "Teachers can identify students who have easily mastered the material and design in-class assignments that include some problems or exercises that require these students to stretch. This way, the teacher will be close at hand to guide students if necessary and get them used to (and ultimately excited about) the challenging work," Dweck says.

By doing meaningful work, Dweck says, students—regardless of how well they are already doing in the class—should feel a sense of progress as they learn to master new skills and concepts. "Meaningful work takes place in classrooms in which teachers praise the learning process rather than the students' ability, convey the joy of tackling challenging learning tasks, and highlight progress and effort," Dweck says.

Read the full article. 

ASCD Express, Vol. 6, No. 6. Copyright 2010 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.