Slides used on 7th May at Raumati Beach School

1. Encouraging Learning
How you can help children learn
www.challenginglearning.com

2. Praise that can do more harm than good
Clever girl!
Gifted musician
Brilliant
mathematician
Bright boy
Top of the class!
By far the best

3. Carol Dweck
www.carol-dweck.co.uk

4. 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.

5. 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.”

6. 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

7. Boys get 8 times more criticism than girls

8. The effects of praise
Swimming
“You do your best
swimming when you
concentrate and try your
best to do what Chris is
asking you to do”
Ballet
“What a brilliant
ballerina you are!”

9. Praise can make children scared of challenge
Our praise often
teaches pupils that
easy success means
they are intelligent
and, by
implication, that errors
and effort mean they
are not.
Prof Carol Dweck, Mindset

10. We praise children when they get 10 out of 10
10/10

11. We should focus on progress, not rank order
92 90 90
85 86 85
73 78 84
64 70 78
43 41 40
32 35 34

12. What level of plasticity do our brains have?

13. Swedes talk about ‘curling parents’

15. The Learning Challenge: a possible antidote
Clarity
1. Concept
2. Conflict
1
2
Confusion

17. Eureka moments come from challenge
Clarity
1. Concept
2. Conflict
1
3. Construct
Confusion
3
2

18. challenginglearning.com
p4c.coop
james@p4c.com
@JamesNottinghm