education growth mindset UC Berkeley

1. Learning about the Brain

2. The brain can be changed like a
muscle
● The brain is more like a
muscle
○ the more you use it,
the stronger it gets
● New connections in the
brain
○ store knowledge
○ make people better
at thinking

3. Complex stimulation develops the
brain
● Rich environments with
complex stimulation
○ smarter, better
problem solvers
○ increases
connectivity
○ brains that are 10%
heavier
● Example: Juggling

4. Time, Effort, + Good Strategies &
Help
● Spending time and
effort is not enough if
spent ineffectively
● use the right strategies
and ask people for help.
● push the limits of what
you know and can do by
trying something new.

5. Don't give up – grow your brain
● The brain is like a
muscle
● When people struggle
and assume it's too
hard, they miss out on
learning
● working hard and using
good strategies -->
forge new connections
in your brain --> make
you smarter

6. Good strategies
● try hard and challenging
problems instead of doing
the same set of easy
problems or just re-reading
the textbook because it
feels easier
● work on problems that
stretch your brain
● brain grows more when you
learn something new and
hard

7. Q1
Q1: Please summarize below – what are all the
reasons why scientists say that people's
intellectual ability can grow and get better
with practice?

8. Q2
Q2: The article says that working hard and learning new things makes you
smarter as your brain grows new connections. So the more you challenge
yourself, the smarter you will become, and smart people are the ones who
have practiced more.
Think about an example from your own life. What is something you weren’t
good at at first. Then you practiced it using a good strategy and became
really good at it. Write about it and explain how you became good at it.

9. Q3
Not all students know that their brain grows in this way and that they can get
smarter – even though realizing this can help them succeed.
Imagine someone struggling with a new class. They used to do well but now
they're having a hard time and feeling unintelligent. In your own words, what
would you write to encourage them – using what you've just learned about the
brain and intelligence.
For example, you could mention how working hard and using a good strategy
can make someone smarter, that people aren't dumb, they just need to
practice using effective strategies, or how they can ask for help from
instructors or other students to learn better ways to study.
(Don't worry about writing a perfect final draft, just write how you would say
this to someone in your own words.)