19: Trevor Regan and Tammie Meehan: Learning is not pretty; it takes grit and the right kind of praise!

“After seven experiments with hundreds of children, we had some of the clearest findings I’ve ever seen: Praising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance…”  ~ Carol S. Dweck, Professor of Psychology Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Mindset has an enormous influence over a pupil’s ability to learn, as does praise!  But the type of praise that is received by a pupil can hinder their ability to progress.  In some cases, it can be destructive to future learning.

Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, investigated the impact of praise on a child’s development.  She discovered that there are different forms of praise that a child receives; much of it is un-intentionally destructive and can inhibit a child’s ability to develop into a resilient learner.

Trevor Regan of Train Ugly and Tammie Meehan of AusMinds have put Carole Dweck’s research on mindset and praise to the test in the classroom.  The outcome of their investigation on praise has the wow factor! 

Together Trevor, Tammie and I discuss how to develop a child’s mindsets and deliver praise, so that it is conducive to learning and fosters resilient pupils.

Episode take aways:

The mindsets and how they help pupils to learn

How to teach a growth mindset in your classroom

Using appropriate feedback to develop resilient learners

Are you breaking new ground and implementing a growth mindset philosophy in your classroom?  Have you questioned your delivery of praise to learners?  Is it effective?  Share your thoughts with us via: [email protected]