Researchers are keenly interested in trying to create an intervention that could be used in schools across the nation, to build on established psychology literature and try to use the findings in a practical way to impact performance of students. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a quick intervention that only took an hour and a half out of the school curriculum could significantly change the students' achievement? Researchers Paunesku, Walton, and colleagues believed that if they could prove such an effect, the intervention might surely be adopted at schools everywhere - what we call a 'scalable' intervention because it can be scaled up from a small test group and propagate easily to other institutions and communities.
In their study, these researchers assigned students to one of several groups. In the control group, there was a 45 minute session teaching them that different parts of the brain have different roles to play in memory and intelligence. The second session focused on how it was important to do well in school so that you could make better money in the future. There were three intervention groups. One of them had an intervention designed to teach them a growth mindset, by describing how the brain can grow and reorganize based on hard work and challenges. Another group had a "sense of purpose" intervention, which discussed how important it was to perform well academically in order to achieve what the researchers called "beyond the self life goals." Instead of focusing on how academic success could help a student personally, this group discussed how it could impact the world in a positive way, set a good example for others, and make family members proud. The final intervention group was taught about the growth mindset and about gaining a sense of purpose.
This study spanned 13 schools in a number of different regions, which reportedly had an economically diverse group of students, a good attempt by the authors to try to ensure generalizability. The findings of the study were that the interventions made a positive impact on the students' grades across all subjects, and their GPAs - which bore out the assertion that even a simple and brief intervention could make a difference. The kids who had education both on growth mindset and on their "sense of purpose" did not do so well. as those who had just one of the classes, which suggests that multiple attempts at mindset intervention are less effective, perhaps because of dilution of the messages.
Take home points: even a 1 hour intervention can make a positive difference in a child's performance in school, if they learn proven lessons designed to boost sense of purpose and teach growth mindset. This suggests that parents can teach children about these concepts as well, without using an extensive curriculum. In my experience as an educator, messages that are reinforced are retained best - I suspect results could have been even better if students had had periodic reminders about the concepts they learned. I also liked how the curriculum asked the students to imagine another student who was struggling with their work and how they could help. Putting these psychological lessons into practice by teaching them to others, or even considering an imaginary scenario in which they could be relevant, are way to help cement them into the students' minds.
All material © Alison Schroth Hayward, MD. All rights reserved.
In their study, these researchers assigned students to one of several groups. In the control group, there was a 45 minute session teaching them that different parts of the brain have different roles to play in memory and intelligence. The second session focused on how it was important to do well in school so that you could make better money in the future. There were three intervention groups. One of them had an intervention designed to teach them a growth mindset, by describing how the brain can grow and reorganize based on hard work and challenges. Another group had a "sense of purpose" intervention, which discussed how important it was to perform well academically in order to achieve what the researchers called "beyond the self life goals." Instead of focusing on how academic success could help a student personally, this group discussed how it could impact the world in a positive way, set a good example for others, and make family members proud. The final intervention group was taught about the growth mindset and about gaining a sense of purpose.
This study spanned 13 schools in a number of different regions, which reportedly had an economically diverse group of students, a good attempt by the authors to try to ensure generalizability. The findings of the study were that the interventions made a positive impact on the students' grades across all subjects, and their GPAs - which bore out the assertion that even a simple and brief intervention could make a difference. The kids who had education both on growth mindset and on their "sense of purpose" did not do so well. as those who had just one of the classes, which suggests that multiple attempts at mindset intervention are less effective, perhaps because of dilution of the messages.
Take home points: even a 1 hour intervention can make a positive difference in a child's performance in school, if they learn proven lessons designed to boost sense of purpose and teach growth mindset. This suggests that parents can teach children about these concepts as well, without using an extensive curriculum. In my experience as an educator, messages that are reinforced are retained best - I suspect results could have been even better if students had had periodic reminders about the concepts they learned. I also liked how the curriculum asked the students to imagine another student who was struggling with their work and how they could help. Putting these psychological lessons into practice by teaching them to others, or even considering an imaginary scenario in which they could be relevant, are way to help cement them into the students' minds.
All material © Alison Schroth Hayward, MD. All rights reserved.
