I’ve written a lot about my classroom experiences with students on both helping them learn from mistakes (see The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures) and helping them learn that their intelligence is not “fixed” (see The Best Resources For Showing Students That They Make Their Brain Stronger By Learning).

A new study, reported by Scientific-American, has found that believing that you can learn from your mistakes,and that you can learn through effort, has a physical impact on the brain. The study found that the brains of people with a “fixed mindset” acted differently from those with a “growth mindset” and that the stronger the belief in a growth mindset, the more pronounced the brain activity.  Here’s an excerpt:

From the data, it seems that a growth mindset, whereby you believe that intelligence can improve, lends itself to a more adaptive response to mistakes – not just behaviorally, but also neurally: the more someone believes in improvement, the larger the amplitude of a brain signal that reflects a conscious allocation of attention to mistakes. And the larger that neural signal, the better subsequent performance. That mediation suggests that individuals with an incremental theory of intelligence may actually have better self-monitoring and control systems on a very basic neural level: their brains are better at monitoring their own, self-generated errors and at adjusting their behavior accordingly. It’s a story of improved on-line error awareness—of noticing mistakes as they happen, and correcting for them immediately….

The way our brains act, it seems, is sensitive to the way we, their owners, think, from something as concrete to learning, the subject of the current study, to something as theoretical as free will. From broad theories to specific mechanisms, we have an uncanny ability to influence how our minds work—and how we perform, act, and interact as a result.

I’ll certainly be incorporating these finding in future classroom lessons…

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Learning a language may come down to gestures is a Washington Post report on a new study. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Students Using Gestures & Physical Movement To Help With Learning. Thanks to The Center for Applied Second Language Studies for the tip.

Study: Gestures help language learning is another report on the same study.

How To See Yourself Through Others’ Eyes is a report on a new study that would take too long to explain here, but I think it’s very interesting. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Students See They Might Not Always Be The Best Judges Of Their Behavior.

Why we’re better at predicting other people’s behaviour than our own is another study on the same topic. I’m adding it to the same list.

The Business Case for Reading Novels is from The Harvard Business Review. It reviews research on the role of reading fiction in helping people develop empathy. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Becoming What We Read.”

Extreme Stress Could Shrink The Brain is from The Huffington Post and reports on some recent studies. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Teens & Stress.

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

This study is a few years old, but it’s new to me. It comes via ASCD, and found that children above the age of twelve are more likely to learn from their mistakes than younger kids. I’m adding it to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures.

A study reports that students who set a goal of eating more fruit and visualized actually doing it were more successful than those that did not. I’m adding it to My Best Posts On Helping Students “Visualize Success.” And here’s a report on a study showing that people who visualized a job interview going well did better than those who did not.

If You Plan, Then You’ll Do… But It Helps to Have a Friend is a report on a new study. It reinforces my having students identify goal “buddies” to meet with for mutual support. It’s also prompting me to think about having the buddies not only identify their goals on their own, but perhaps pick one that they have in common, too. I’m adding it to My Best Posts On Students Setting Goals.

Be It Resolved is a useful column in the New York Times by John Tierney. It talks about strategies to use in sticking to New Year’s resolutions, but it’s helpful for any kind of increased effort towards self-control. I’m adding it to My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control.

The Willpower Trick by Jonah Lehrer reports on a new study on self-control that seems to reinforce the conclusions by researchers in the original Marshmallow Experiment:

Mischel discovered something interesting when he studied the tiny percentage of kids who could successfully wait for the second treat. Without exception, these “high delayers” all relied on the same mental strategy: they found a way to keep themselves from thinking about the treat, directing their gaze away from the yummy marshmallow. Some covered their eyes or played hide-and-seek underneath the desk. Others sang songs, or repeatedly tied their shoelaces, or pretended to take a nap. Their desire wasn’t defeated — it was merely forgotten.

Mischel refers to this skill as the “strategic allocation of attention,” and he argues that it’s the skill underlying self-control. Too often, we assume that willpower is about having strong moral fiber or gritting our teeth and staring down the treat. But that’s wrong — willpower is really about properly directing the spotlight of attention, learning how to control that short list of thoughts in working memory. It’s about realizing that if we’re thinking about the marshmallow we’re going to eat it, which is why we need to look away.

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Physicists Seek To Lose The Lecture As Teaching Tool is an NPR Report about the successes of a professor who has stopped lecturing and, and instead, has begun using small groups. American Radio Works has a more extensive feature on the results. I’m adding this to The Best Sites For Cooperative Learning Ideas.

Changing our Minds discusses a study and other ideas that suggest “fiction helps us understand ourselves and others.” I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Becoming What We Read.”

Learning From Brilliant Mistakes and Finding Opportunity in Failures are both articles and videos related to Paul J.H. Schoemaker’s book, ‘Brilliant Mistakes.’ I’m adding them to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures.

V is for Visualization at Scott Thornbury’s blog is a discussion of research, and teacher’s experiences, of using visualization with language learners. I’m adding it to My Best Posts On Helping Students “Visualize Success.”

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Seven ways to be good: 6) Form if-then plans is from BPS Research Digest and describes a study which found having a specific pre-planned strategy to deal with how you will respond to challenges to self-control increases the odds of successfully resisting temptation. Even though that seems fairly obvious to me, a little evidence can’t hurt. It reinforces the activity I have students do when we discuss the marshmallow plan — on one side of a paper they say and draw a potential temptation, and on the side they write and draw what they will do to distract themselves from following through on taking the action that know isn’t a good one. I’m adding this information to My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control.

Chewing Gum May Improve Test Scores reports on a new study that says chewing gum can improve test performance, but only for fifteen or twenty minutes after chewing stops. It says the gum should only be chewed prior to the test and will actually ultimately hurt test performance if it continues. This contradicts previous studies I’ve reported on and which can be found at The Best Posts On How To Prepare For Standardized Tests (And Why They’re Bad).

10 Novels That Will Sharpen Your Mind [Interactive]:And boost your social skills to boot is from Scientific American and builds upon previous studies I’ve shared on our “becoming what we read.” I’m adding it to….The Best Resources On “Becoming What We Read.”

Hearing about scientists’ struggles helps inspire students and boosts their learning is a pretty self-explanatory headline about the results of a new study. I’m adding it to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures.

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

I’ve previously written a post titled New Study On “The Influence of Positive Framing” about a study that found “loss framed messages” (if you do this, then something bad will happen to you) really don’t have the “persuasive advantage” that they are thought to have. In fact, positive-framed messages (if you do this, all this good stuff will happen to you) are more effective, particularly in changing people’s health behaviors.

Here’s information on another study with similar findings, though they call it “gain-framed messages.”

The Benefits of Thanks comes from Scientific American, and gives a brief overview of gratitude research. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On “Gratitude.”

Solutions to Social Loafing is a report on forming small groups in classes that has some very interesting, if not unsurprising, findings. Even though it’s not one of my posts, the best place to put it is My Best Posts On The Basics Of Small Groups In The Classroom.

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Hearing about scentists’ struggles helps inspire students and boosts their learning is the title of an article about a new study showing that students who learned about the failures and perseverance of scientists became more interested in the subject and were more successful. It seems to me that it would be that great a leap to think a similar strategy might have the same affect in other subjects, too.

The Cognitive Benefits of Chewing Gum is by Jonah Lehrer at Wired. He reports on a study that showed test-takers chewing gum scored higher than those who did it — it kept the chewers more alert. I thought this was particularly interesting because the only other similar research I had read was financed by the Wrigley Company, which didn’t inspire a great deal of confidence in its integrity. I’ll add this info to The Best Posts On How To Prepare For Standardized Tests (And Why They’re Bad).

A rather complicated (at least to me) study found that high-performer physicians (those who appeared to most likely prescribe an effective treatment to a patient) were far more likely to pay attention to learning from their mistakes than low-performers. These “low-performers” were more likely to demonstrate confirmation bias and focus on their successes. I actually think that this study might be an important one, and I just need to set aside some time to review it again…and again until I understand it. I’m adding this information to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures.

Research Digest reports on research showing that clenching your muscles can be a useful support for self-control. I don’t think I’m comfortable recommending to students that they actually do that, but I have provided stress balls to some in the past and it seems to me that it works on the same principle.

Relationships Matter by Sean Slade is not a new study, but is an excellent compilation of studies highlighting the importance of positive teacher/student, family/school, teacher/teacher, and student/student relationships. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On The Importance Of Building Positive Relationships With Students.

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Problem-Based Learning in K-12 Education: Is It Effective and How Does It Achieve Its Effects? is a new study highlighting the effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning. Unfortunately, the link will only allow you to access the abstract and you have to pay to see the full report. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Cooperative Learning Ideas.

Newsweek recently ran long article on people lack of self-control in spending and saving. It provides a readable overview of research on self-control, though most of it won’t be new to readers of this blog or my books. It did share information on something that most of us in the classroom know already from our experience, but I hadn’t seen research on it before: reducing anxiety increases self-control. I’m adding this info both to The Best Resources For Learning About Teens & Stress and to My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control.

The Secret Code Of Learning: Our body language can reveal more about what we know than our verbal language is by Annie Murphy Paul at TIME and provides a good overview of research on the topic. I’m adding it to The Best Resources On Students Using Gestures & Physical Movement To Help With Learning.

After a Good Night’s Sleep Brain Cells Are Ready to Learn is from The National Institutes of Health. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep.

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

The Future of Self-Improvement, Part I: Grit Is More Important Than Talent is not a new research study, but it does give a good short review of the research by Angela Duckworth about the importance of grit,or perseverance. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About The Importance Of “Grit.”

How Struggle Leads to Learning is a report on a study involving three-year-olds, but I suspect it might be applicable to others, too. I’m adding it to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures.

How can you learn to resist temptation? reports on a new study that reinforces the importance, emphasized in follow-up reports to the marshmallow experiment, for people to prepare plans on how they are going to resist specific temptations. As I’ve previously written, I have students make these kinds of plans and draw, write, and share them with classmates. I think one new aspect of this study highlights that it’s important to verbally repeat your strategy several times. I’m adding it to My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control.

Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson has written a short article for Carol Dweck’s website. It provides a simple review of the basics on the kind of feedback we should be giving our students, and generally there’s nothing new in it. However, it did make one important point I have not see made anyplace else:

Avoid praising effort when it didn’t pay off. Many parents try to console their child by saying things like “Well honey, you didn’t do very well, but you worked hard and really tried your best.” Why does anyone think that this is comforting? For the record – it’s not. (Unless, of course, it was a no-win situation from the start).

Studies show that, after a failure, being complimented for “effort” not only makes kids feel stupid, it also leaves them feeling like they can’t improve. In these instances, it’s really best to stick to purely informational feedback – if effort isn’t the problem, help them figure out what is.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t provide references to those studies. I’m still adding it to The Best Resources For Learning How To Best Give Feedback To Students.

Still the Write Stuff: Why We Must Continue Teaching Handwriting provides an overview of research on the topic. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Handwriting & Learning.

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Adolescents Who Sleep Better Score Higher in Math and Physical Education reports on a new study. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep.

IQ Isn’t Set In Stone, Suggests Study That Finds Big Jumps, Dips In Teens is from NPR. I’m adding it to The Best Articles On The New Study Showing That Intelligence Is Not “Fixed.”

Teens’ IQ May Rise or Fall Over Time is from TIME, and I’m adding it to the same “The Best…” list.

Why Schools Should Keep Teaching Handwriting, Even If Typing Is More Useful reviews some new research. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Handwriting & Learning.

Deconstructing “What Works” in Education Technology is from the Mind Shift blog and offers useful commentary on recent research on technology in education. I’m adding it to The Best Research Available On The Use Of Technology In Schools.

Preschoolers’ language skills improve more when they’re placed with more-skilled peers is the headline on a report about a study recently released. It found that low-skilled “tracked” pre-schoolers made no improvement or actually lost skills, but found that low-skilled children mixed with higher-skilled children made good gains. In those situations, the higher-skilled students continued to improve. Granted, the study only focused on pre-schoolers, but it certainly reflects my own experience and a number of other studies I’ve seen looking at older students (though, granted, some studies claim mixed ability classes help lesser-skilled students but harm the higher-skilled).

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Why Do Some People Learn Faster? is the title of a column by Jonah Lehrer in Wired. He reviews a study that highlights the importance of learning from mistakes and failures, and ends the article with this:

The problem with praising kids for their innate intelligence — the “smart” compliment — is that it misrepresents the psychological reality of education. It encourages kids to avoid the most useful kind of learning activities, which is when we learn from our mistakes. Because unless we experience the unpleasant symptoms of being wrong — that surge of Pe activity a few hundred milliseconds after the error, directing our attention to the very thing we’d like to ignore — the mind will never revise its models. We’ll keep on making the same mistakes, forsaking self-improvement for the sake of self-confidence. Samuel Beckett had the right attitude: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”

I’m adding it to The Best Posts, Articles & Videos About Learning From Mistakes & Failures.

Does impatience make us fat? is an article in the Washington Post pointing out another negative result of not having self-control. I’m adding it to My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control.

Inspiring Stories Can Lead to Empathy is a report on a study that “found that the participants often would spontaneously reflect on their own lives and express a desire to be better people after hearing stories meant to induce admiration for virtue or compassion for social or psychological pain.” I’m adding it to the post “Becoming What We Read.”

Stress does shrink your brain, research shows reports on a study that found “suffering from stress for long periods of time can shrink the brain.” Unfortunately, the newspaper article does not actually cite the source of the study. I’m still adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Teens & Stress.

Do Happier People Work Harder? is a New York Times article on a study finding that yes, they do. The study found that people feeling like they are “making progress in meaningful work” is the key determiner of happiness on the job. That sounds like something we teachers might want to keep in mind, too. As an article about the same study that appeared in Harvard Business Review said:

On days when workers have the sense they’re making headway in their jobs, or when they receive support that helps them overcome obstacles, their emotions are most positive and their drive to succeed is at its peak. On days when they feel they are spinning their wheels or encountering roadblocks to meaningful accomplishment, their moods and motivation are lowest.

I’ve previously written about a follow-up study released recently on the fortieth anniversary of the Marshmallow Experiment. Here are a few more pieces on the new study, and I’ll be adding this post to My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control:

The New York Times Learning Network had a particularly interesting feature where many students commented on their thoughts on the importance of self-control.

The Willpower Circuit appeared in Wired.

The Secrets of Self-Control: The Marshmallow Test 40 Years Later appeared in TIME.

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

A new study finds that sharing a common goal with others increases the motivation people have to be successful. It’s not a brilliant revelation, but it did get me thinking a bit about one thing I do with student goal-setting. After students choose their goals, I also let them choose their own “buddies” to support each other. I wonder if I should be a little more strategic about that and encourage them to choose a partner who has a similar goal? I’m adding this info to My Best Posts On Students Setting Goals.

Back to school: Dealing with academic stress describes experiments and helpful interventions. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning About Teens & Stress.

Don’t Lecture Me: Rethinking How College Students Learn is a commentary on research in a college classroom, but it certainly can also pertain to K-12, too. I’m adding it to The Best Sites For Cooperative Learning Ideas.

10 Risky Behaviors More Common in Sleepy Teens comes from TIME Magazine. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Helping Teens Learn About The Importance Of Sleep.

Early to bed and early to rise — study suggests it’s keeping kids leaner is another recent study I’m adding to the same “The Best…” list.

(Usually, I only post this feature once each week. I’m so backlogged, though, I’m adding a special edition)

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Easy to Visualize Goal Is Powerful Motivator to Finish a Race or a Task is a report on a study that found it’s effective for people to actually see that they are making progress towards making their goal. I think that reinforces the importance of having students regularly reflect on how they are doing, and to, as the researchers suggest, even consider writing or drawing some kind of graph showing their progress. I’m not talking about some big public achievement chart and gold stars here — just one that students keep for themselves. I’m adding this info to My Best Posts On Students Setting Goals.

A new study reinforces the value of saying new vocabulary words out load — it enhances the ability to remember them. This is nothing new to second language teachers, but a little supportive research never hurts.

Multimodal Learning Through Media:What the Research Says is a nice introduction to neuroscience and learning.

Here is an intriguing video report on the importance of trust. I’m adding it to The Best Posts About Trust & Education:

I often write about research studies from various field and how they can be applied to the classroom. I write individual posts about ones that I think are especially significant, and will continue to do so. However, so many studies are published that it’s hard to keep up. So I’ve started writing a “round-up” of some of them each week or every other week as a regular feature:

Stephen Krashen writes in Language Magazine about new research on the importance of reading aloud to students. Check out his article, Reach Out and Read (Aloud).

The WRITE Institute has a collection of useful research teaching English Language Learners. I’m adding it to The Best Ways To Keep-Up With Current ELL/ESL/EFL News & Research.

Judy Willis shares some great research on learning and the brain in hand-outs from her recent ASCD Webinar.

A new study reinforces the strategy that many of use in the classroom to help students develop self-control: “partition the quantity of resources to be consumed into smaller units.” In other words, asking a student, for example, to see if he/she could focus on class work for the next ten minutes and then, the next day, try for twenty, etc. I’m adding this information to My Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control.

High Self-Control Predicts Good Adjustment, Less Pathology, Better Grades, and Interpersonal Success is another study I’m adding to that list.