学进去

Think back to when you were in a classroom, maybe a maths classroom and the teacher set a difficult problem. Which of the two following responses is closer to the way you reacted?

A: Oh no, this is too hard for me. I’m not even going to seriously try and work it out.

B: Ah, this is quite hard but I like to push myself. Even if I don’t get the answer right, maybe I’ll learn something in the attempt (尝试).

Early in her career, the psychologist Carol Dweck of Stanford University gave a group of ten-year-olds problems that were slightly too hard for them. One group reacted positively said they loved challenge and understood that their abilities could be developed. She said they had a “growth mindset” and focused on what they could achieve in the future. But another group of children felt that their intelligence was being judged and they had failed. They had a “fixed mindset” and were unable to imagine improving. These students even looked for someone who had done worse than them to boost (提升) their self-esteem (自尊). Professor Dweck believes that there is a problem in education at the moment. For years, children have been praised for their intelligence or talent, but thus makes them vulnerable (脆弱的) to failure. They want to please by getting high grades, but they are not necessarily interested in learning for its own sake (目的). The solution, according to Dweck, is to praise the process that children are engaged (忙于) in making an effort, using learning strategies, persevering (坚持) and improving. This way they will become mastery-oriented (interested in getting better at something) and will achieve more. She thinks that keeping working hard over time is the key to outstanding achievement.

Psychologists have been testing these theories. Students were taught that if they left their comfort zone and learned something new and difficult, the neurons (神经元) in their brains would form stronger connections, making them more intelligent. These students made faster progress than a control group. In another study, some under-performing school children were exposed (接触) to growth mindset skills for a year. The results were surprising. They came top in tests, beating children from much more better schools. These children had previously (以前) felt that making an effort was a sign of stupidity, but they came to see it as the key to learning.

So, back to our original question. If you answered B, well done —you already have a growth mindset. If A, don’t worry, everyone can become mastery-oriented with a little effort and self-awareness.