Carol Dweck has a new website that promotes her book, Mindset. The site offers the opportunity to take a simple mindset assessment, suggestions for change, and tips for teachers, coaches, parents, and business leaders to use the material. She also has some commentary on various topics based on the mindset construct. I particularly liked the one on "The Mindset of Athletes" that includes this:
"[T]he mark of a champion is the ability to win when things are not quite right—when you’re not playing well and your emotions are not the right ones."
Yep! Saw this often enough when my older son was playing baseball, especially in pitchers. Some had the ability to win on the days when they "didn't have their best stuff." Others didn't, and often didn't seem to ever have their "best stuff" for the big games. Dr. Dweck's research suggests that praising talented players for having "it" -- "stuff", "talent", "game", etc. -- encourages a fixed mindset that makes them likely to respond poorly to failure. Like Martin Seligman, Dr. Dweck is not a big fan of "self esteem" of the "keep telling them they are great" model. Dr. Dweck's work was inspired by Dr. Seligman's construct of explanatory style and is a particular application of that construct that seems easy for folks to understand and use. Her books are readable and useful. Recommeded!
Mindset should be required reading for all elementary school teachers--- Dr. Carol Dweck has a message for all. I was thankful to receive endorsements from her for my children's book series, The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses. As the mother of three young daughters, I thought it was critical to introduce the "growth mindset" to this age group. The series explores the thoughts and theories behind intelligence, learning, creativity, and success--- introduced in a children's format.
(I sure hope my spelling is correct--- can't seem to figure out how to use "spell check" for this post! Spelling errors for all to notice? Oh well, keep the "growth mindset" in place!)
Posted by: Barbara Esham | June 30, 2008 at 01:52 AM
Mindset should be required reading for all elementary school teachers--- Dr. Carol Dweck has a message for all. I was thankful to receive endorsements from her for my children's book series, The Adventures of Everyday Geniuses. As the mother of three young daughters, I thought it was critical to introduce the "growth mindset" to this age group. The series explores the thoughts and theories behind intelligence, learning, creativity, and success--- introduced in a children's format.
(I sure hope my spelling is correct--- can't seem to figure out how to use "spell check" for this post! Spelling errors for all to notice? Oh well, keep the "growth mindset" in place!)
Posted by: Barbara Esham | June 30, 2008 at 01:51 AM
Thanks, Adam. I dropped by your blog. Best wishes with your entrepreneurial efforts!
Posted by: David Shearon | May 24, 2008 at 08:10 AM
I have a blog dedicated to this topic of growth mindset ideas. Lots of posts but I am learning about how to share it with more people.
Posted by: Adam | May 23, 2008 at 07:09 PM