The document discusses the nature vs. nurture debate on intelligence and talent, presenting perspectives of innate abilities versus incremental growth through effort. It also examines how praise focused on process rather than intelligence can influence a growth versus fixed mindset and reviews strategies like previewing material to develop a growth mindset that sees potential and abilities as expandable through learning and challenge. The effects of mindsets on learning and responses to difficulties are explored through various studies.

1. So, how do you want
to play this?
Nature, nurture, or a bit
of both?
ChallengingLearning.com
james@p4c.com
@JamesNottinghm
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3. Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology and author of Mindset

4. Mainly nature Mainly nurture
Innate talents & Incremental talents &
intelligence intelligence
Fixed Growth

6. This is a self-portrait by Aelita Andre

7. Jamaica 1 – 2 – 3

8. Herts Looked-after Children
Reading 67% (90%)
Writing 54% (87%)
Maths 71% (93%)
Nurture
Nature

9. Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset
Intelligence and ability are fixed Intelligence and ability can grow
Naturedetermines talents Nurture determines abilities
I am naturally good at some things I have developed my talents
I’ll always struggle with some things Potential is there to be realised
My priorities My priorities
o Prove myself o Improve myself
o Succeed easily o Take challenges
o Avoid failure of any sort o Learn from my mistakes
My mottos My mottos
o No pain, no pain o No pain, no gain
o Only stupid people have to try o Learners always try hard
o Effortlessly superior o There’s always room to improve

10. Closing the Gap?
• Yes but painfully slow

14. “One of the most
damaging aspects of the
“gift” mentality is that it
makes us think we can
know in advance who
has the gift …
This, I believe, is what
makes us try to identify
groups who have it and
groups who don’t.”

15. The effects of different types of praise
Mueller and
Dweck, 1998
In six studies, 7th
grade students
were given a
series of
nonverbal IQ
tests.

16. Mueller and Dweck, 1998
Intelligence praise
“Wow, that’s a really good score. You must be smart at this.”
Process praise
“Wow, that’s a really good score. You must have tried really
hard.”
Control-group praise
“Wow, that’s a really good score.”

17. Number of problems solved on a 3rd test
6.5
6
Effort Praise
5.5
Control Praise
5 Intelligence Praise
4.5
Trial 1 Trial 3

18. Boys get 8 times more criticism than girls

19. Why aren’t more women in science? (S.J. Ceci& W. Williams 2006)
We found that bright girls didn’t cope at all well with confusion.
In fact, the higher the girl’s IQ, the worse she did. This didn’t
happen to boys. For them, the higher their IQ, the better they
learned. The confusion only energized them.
Since the high IQ girls had done wonderfully well when they
didn’t bump up against difficulty, what we’re looking at here isn’t
a difference in ability, but a difference in how students cope
with experiences that may call their ability into question -
whether they feel challenged by them or demoralized by them.

21. Outdoor learning

22. Scandinavian ‘curling parents’ FOAFOY

25. Rank order is a fixed mindset concern; Progress is a growth mindset concern
92 90 90
85 86 85
73 78 84
64 70 78
43 41 40
32 35 34

26. Pre-test
✔ ✔ 10 - 6 = 4
✔ ✗
✔ ✔ 8–2=6
✔ ✔ 7–0=7
✔ ✗
✔ ✗
✔ ✔
✔ ✗
✔ ✔
✔ ✔ 6/10

28. Sharp pencil ✔
Title ✔
Date ✔
Capital Letters ✔
Full stops ✗
Describe the character ✔
Describe the place ✗
First, next, then, finally ✔
And, but, so, while, because ✗
Fun action words (bounded, sprang) ✔
Rhyming words (loud, proud, crowd) ✔

30. This will give your
child an advantage
next week
 Preview clubs
Homeprep
 Pre-course reading
 SEN preview
The typical effect
of previewing is
to double the rate
of pupil progress

31. Learning Detectives Listening
Asking questions
Concentrating
Giving reasons
Paraphrasing
Connecting
Descriptive words
Connectives
Adverbs
Adjectives
Metaphors
Complex sentences

33. A few things we can do to develop growth mindsets
1.Talk about building talents rather than spotting gifts
2. Shift the paradigm of expectation
3. Throw obstacles in the way
4. Praise actions, not children
5. Balance success with challenge
6. Preview
7. Train those brains

34. Links
ChallengingLearning.com
james@p4c.com
@JamesNottinghm
Facebook.com/ChallengingLearning