TOP RESEARCHERS TO EXPLORE WAYS THAT MINDSETS AFFECT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Researchers have shown that changing student mindsets (beliefs and attitudes about themselves, their feelings about school and their sense of social belonging) can motivate students to work harder, be more persistent and achieve more. Students who have been told that their brains can change and therefore had a “growth mindset” (a belief that their success is based on effort and not talent or IQ) were more likely to have successful outcomes than those who were not told.

Next month, a distinguished group of academics in psychology and education will explore the science behind how mindsets can help boost academic motivation, persistence and performance and raise student achievement before 2,000 educators at the Learning & the Brain^® Conference in San Francisco, CA.

Renowned Researcher Carol Dweck, PhD, will present on “The Psychology of Mindsets and Achievement” during a keynote on Saturday, February 13. Dr. Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006) and one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of motivation and how to foster success, will discuss how educators can adopt a deeper growth mindset to aid in classroom practice and to support students for a more successful educational experience. Dr. Dweck is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.

In addition to Dr. Dweck, the program features some other leading experts on the learning sciences including:

Ron E. Ritchhart, EdD, Senior Research Associate, Harvard Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Author, Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools (2015), Making Thinking Visible (2011) and Intellectual Character (2004)

Christine L. Carter, PhD, Sociologist; Senior Fellow, Greater Good Science Center, University of California, Berkeley; Author, The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work (2015) and Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps for More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents (2011)

Joshua M. Aronson, PhD, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology; Director, Metro Center for Achievement Research and Evaluation, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University; Author, “The Threat of Stereotype” (2004, Educational Leadership); Co-Author, “Minding and Mending the Gap” (2015, Contemporary Educational Psychology); Editor, Improving Academic Achievement (2002)

Kelly M. McGonigal, PhD, Award-winning Psychology Lecturer, Stanford University, including the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and the Stanford School of Medicine’s Health Improvement Program; Co-Founder, Stanford Women’s Wellness Network; Author, The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good for You and How to Get Good at It(2015), The Willpower Instinct (2013) and The Neuroscience of Change (2012)

Kathleen Cushman, BA, Editor; Documentarian; Co-Founder, What Kids Can Do; Author, The Motivation Equation: Designing Lessons that Set Kids’ Minds on Fire (2013); Co-Author, Belonging and Becoming: The Power of Social and Emotional Learning in High Schools (2015)

Robert B. Brooks, PhD, Psychologist; Faculty, part-time, Harvard Medical School; Co-Author, “The Power of Mindsets: Nurturing Student Engagement, Motivation and Resilience in Students” (2012, Handbook of Research on Student Engagement), Raising Resilient Children (2001), The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life (2004), Raising a Self-Disciplined Child (2007) and Handbook of Resilience in Children (2012)