WEBVTT

00:00:05.543 --> 00:00:07.654 align:center
The power of yet.

00:00:08.448 --> 00:00:11.027 align:center
I heard about a high school in Chicago

00:00:11.051 --> 00:00:15.203 align:center
where students had to pass
a certain number of courses to graduate,

00:00:15.227 --> 00:00:20.726 align:center
and if they didn't pass a course,
they got the grade "Not Yet."

00:00:20.750 --> 00:00:23.179 align:center
And I thought that was fantastic,

00:00:23.203 --> 00:00:26.964 align:center
because if you get a failing grade,
you think, I'm nothing, I'm nowhere.

00:00:26.988 --> 00:00:29.888 align:center
But if you get the grade "Not Yet",

00:00:29.912 --> 00:00:33.407 align:center
you understand that
you're on a learning curve.

00:00:33.431 --> 00:00:36.817 align:center
It gives you a path into the future.

00:00:36.841 --> 00:00:40.605 align:center
"Not Yet" also gave me insight

00:00:40.629 --> 00:00:44.905 align:center
into a critical event early in my career,

00:00:44.929 --> 00:00:46.608 align:center
a real turning point.

00:00:47.102 --> 00:00:48.573 align:center
I wanted to see

00:00:48.597 --> 00:00:54.034 align:center
how children coped
with challenge and difficulty,

00:00:54.058 --> 00:00:57.226 align:center
so I gave 10-year-olds

00:00:57.250 --> 00:01:00.779 align:center
problems that were
slightly too hard for them.

00:01:01.589 --> 00:01:06.588 align:center
Some of them reacted
in a shockingly positive way.

00:01:06.612 --> 00:01:10.612 align:center
They said things like,
"I love a challenge,"

00:01:10.636 --> 00:01:15.630 align:center
or, "You know, I was hoping
this would be informative."

00:01:16.255 --> 00:01:22.190 align:center
They understood that their abilities
could be developed.

00:01:22.214 --> 00:01:25.529 align:center
They had what I call a growth mindset.

00:01:26.085 --> 00:01:31.458 align:center
But other students felt
it was tragic, catastrophic.

00:01:31.482 --> 00:01:35.759 align:center
From their more fixed mindset perspective,

00:01:35.783 --> 00:01:39.705 align:center
their intelligence
had been up for judgment,

00:01:39.729 --> 00:01:41.460 align:center
and they failed.

00:01:42.723 --> 00:01:47.799 align:center
Instead of luxuriating
in the power of yet,

00:01:47.823 --> 00:01:51.869 align:center
they were gripped in the tyranny of now.

00:01:52.226 --> 00:01:54.154 align:center
So what do they do next?

00:01:54.178 --> 00:01:56.584 align:center
I'll tell you what they do next.

00:01:56.608 --> 00:02:02.821 align:center
In one study, they told us
they would probably cheat the next time

00:02:02.845 --> 00:02:06.757 align:center
instead of studying more
if they failed a test.

00:02:06.781 --> 00:02:10.164 align:center
In another study, after a failure,

00:02:10.188 --> 00:02:13.303 align:center
they looked for someone
who did worse than they did

00:02:13.327 --> 00:02:16.775 align:center
so they could feel really
good about themselves.

00:02:17.831 --> 00:02:23.108 align:center
And in study after study,
they have run from difficulty.

00:02:23.965 --> 00:02:29.585 align:center
Scientists measured
the electrical activity from the brain

00:02:29.609 --> 00:02:32.731 align:center
as students confronted an error.

00:02:32.755 --> 00:02:36.791 align:center
On the left, you see
the fixed-mindset students.

00:02:36.815 --> 00:02:39.248 align:center
There's hardly any activity.

00:02:39.272 --> 00:02:41.549 align:center
They run from the error.

00:02:41.573 --> 00:02:44.174 align:center
They don't engage with it.

00:02:44.198 --> 00:02:47.845 align:center
But on the right, you have the students
with the growth mindset,

00:02:47.869 --> 00:02:51.788 align:center
the idea that abilities can be developed.

00:02:51.812 --> 00:02:53.733 align:center
They engage deeply.

00:02:53.757 --> 00:02:56.814 align:center
Their brain is on fire with yet.

00:02:56.838 --> 00:02:58.466 align:center
They engage deeply.

00:02:59.156 --> 00:03:01.159 align:center
They process the error.

00:03:01.183 --> 00:03:05.739 align:center
They learn from it and they correct it.

00:03:06.414 --> 00:03:09.080 align:center
How are we raising our children?

00:03:09.104 --> 00:03:13.841 align:center
Are we raising them
for now instead of yet?

00:03:14.287 --> 00:03:19.401 align:center
Are we raising kids
who are obsessed with getting As?

00:03:19.425 --> 00:03:23.845 align:center
Are we raising kids who don't know
how to dream big dreams?

00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:31.283 align:center
Their biggest goal is getting the next A,
or the next test score?

00:03:31.815 --> 00:03:38.453 align:center
And are they carrying this need
for constant validation with them

00:03:38.477 --> 00:03:40.620 align:center
into their future lives?

00:03:40.644 --> 00:03:44.751 align:center
Maybe, because employers
are coming to me and saying,

00:03:44.775 --> 00:03:48.247 align:center
"We have already raised a generation

00:03:48.271 --> 00:03:52.353 align:center
of young workers
who can't get through the day

00:03:52.377 --> 00:03:54.942 align:center
without an award."

00:03:54.966 --> 00:03:57.949 align:center
So what can we do?

00:03:57.973 --> 00:04:01.757 align:center
How can we build that bridge to yet?

00:04:01.781 --> 00:04:03.872 align:center
Here are some things we can do.

00:04:03.896 --> 00:04:07.871 align:center
First of all, we can praise wisely,

00:04:07.895 --> 00:04:11.103 align:center
not praising intelligence or talent.

00:04:11.127 --> 00:04:12.937 align:center
That has failed.

00:04:12.961 --> 00:04:14.599 align:center
Don't do that anymore.

00:04:14.623 --> 00:04:19.127 align:center
But praising the process
that kids engage in,

00:04:19.151 --> 00:04:23.408 align:center
their effort, their strategies,
their focus, their perseverance,

00:04:23.432 --> 00:04:25.081 align:center
their improvement.

00:04:25.105 --> 00:04:31.133 align:center
This process praise creates kids
who are hardy and resilient.

00:04:31.848 --> 00:04:34.610 align:center
There are other ways to reward yet.

00:04:35.007 --> 00:04:39.281 align:center
We recently teamed up with game scientists

00:04:39.305 --> 00:04:41.425 align:center
from the University of Washington

00:04:41.449 --> 00:04:46.557 align:center
to create a new online math game
that rewarded yet.

00:04:46.581 --> 00:04:52.793 align:center
In this game, students were rewarded
for effort, strategy and progress.

00:04:52.817 --> 00:04:55.349 align:center
The usual math game

00:04:55.373 --> 00:04:59.779 align:center
rewards you for getting answers
right, right now,

00:04:59.803 --> 00:05:02.873 align:center
but this game rewarded process.

00:05:02.897 --> 00:05:05.664 align:center
And we got more effort,

00:05:05.688 --> 00:05:07.859 align:center
more strategies,

00:05:07.883 --> 00:05:11.777 align:center
more engagement
over longer periods of time,

00:05:11.801 --> 00:05:17.295 align:center
and more perseverance when they hit
really, really hard problems.

00:05:17.993 --> 00:05:21.587 align:center
Just the words "yet"
or "not yet," we're finding,

00:05:21.611 --> 00:05:25.055 align:center
give kids greater confidence,

00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:31.456 align:center
give them a path into the future
that creates greater persistence.

00:05:31.837 --> 00:05:36.573 align:center
And we can actually
change students' mindsets.

00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:39.716 align:center
In one study, we taught them

00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:44.197 align:center
that every time they push out
of their comfort zone

00:05:44.221 --> 00:05:47.643 align:center
to learn something new and difficult,

00:05:47.667 --> 00:05:53.319 align:center
the neurons in their brain
can form new, stronger connections,

00:05:53.343 --> 00:05:56.768 align:center
and over time, they can get smarter.

00:05:56.792 --> 00:05:59.295 align:center
Look what happened: In this study,

00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:03.072 align:center
students who were not taught
this growth mindset

00:06:03.096 --> 00:06:08.822 align:center
continued to show declining grades
over this difficult school transition,

00:06:08.846 --> 00:06:15.272 align:center
but those who were taught this lesson
showed a sharp rebound in their grades.

00:06:15.822 --> 00:06:21.745 align:center
We have shown this now,
this kind of improvement,

00:06:21.769 --> 00:06:27.996 align:center
with thousands and thousands of kids,
especially struggling students.

00:06:28.576 --> 00:06:32.045 align:center
So let's talk about equality.

00:06:32.795 --> 00:06:37.033 align:center
In our country,
there are groups of students

00:06:37.057 --> 00:06:39.852 align:center
who chronically underperform,

00:06:39.876 --> 00:06:43.024 align:center
for example, children in inner cities,

00:06:43.048 --> 00:06:46.507 align:center
or children on Native American
reservations.

00:06:46.531 --> 00:06:50.268 align:center
And they've done so poorly for so long

00:06:50.292 --> 00:06:53.375 align:center
that many people think it's inevitable.

00:06:53.908 --> 00:06:59.799 align:center
But when educators create
growth mindset classrooms

00:06:59.823 --> 00:07:02.194 align:center
steeped in yet,

00:07:02.218 --> 00:07:05.338 align:center
equality happens.

00:07:05.362 --> 00:07:09.507 align:center
And here are just a few examples.

00:07:09.531 --> 00:07:15.418 align:center
In one year, a kindergarten class
in Harlem, New York

00:07:15.442 --> 00:07:19.941 align:center
scored in the 95th percentile

00:07:19.965 --> 00:07:23.114 align:center
on the national achievement test.

00:07:23.138 --> 00:07:27.500 align:center
Many of those kids could not hold a pencil

00:07:27.524 --> 00:07:30.256 align:center
when they arrived at school.

00:07:30.280 --> 00:07:32.986 align:center
In one year,

00:07:33.092 --> 00:07:37.928 align:center
fourth-grade students
in the South Bronx, way behind,

00:07:37.952 --> 00:07:44.214 align:center
became the number one fourth-grade class
in the state of New York

00:07:44.238 --> 00:07:46.603 align:center
on the state math test.

00:07:47.587 --> 00:07:51.907 align:center
In a year, to a year and a half,

00:07:51.931 --> 00:07:57.281 align:center
Native American students
in a school on a reservation

00:07:57.305 --> 00:08:03.206 align:center
went from the bottom
of their district to the top,

00:08:04.328 --> 00:08:09.673 align:center
and that district included
affluent sections of Seattle.

00:08:09.697 --> 00:08:16.382 align:center
So the Native kids
outdid the Microsoft kids.

00:08:17.629 --> 00:08:24.629 align:center
This happened because the meaning
of effort and difficulty were transformed.

00:08:25.425 --> 00:08:29.120 align:center
Before, effort and difficulty

00:08:29.144 --> 00:08:34.321 align:center
made them feel dumb,
made them feel like giving up,

00:08:34.345 --> 00:08:38.103 align:center
but now, effort and difficulty,

00:08:38.127 --> 00:08:41.639 align:center
that's when their neurons
are making new connections,

00:08:41.663 --> 00:08:43.448 align:center
stronger connections.

00:08:43.472 --> 00:08:46.608 align:center
That's when they're getting smarter.

00:08:47.300 --> 00:08:52.670 align:center
I received a letter recently
from a 13-year-old boy.

00:08:52.694 --> 00:08:56.689 align:center
He said, "Dear Professor Dweck,

00:08:56.713 --> 00:09:03.662 align:center
I appreciate that your writing
is based on solid scientific research,

00:09:03.686 --> 00:09:08.668 align:center
and that's why I decided
to put it into practice.

00:09:08.692 --> 00:09:12.579 align:center
I put more effort into my schoolwork,

00:09:12.603 --> 00:09:15.534 align:center
into my relationship with my family,

00:09:15.558 --> 00:09:19.782 align:center
and into my relationship
with kids at school,

00:09:19.806 --> 00:09:26.252 align:center
and I experienced great improvement
in all of those areas.

00:09:26.944 --> 00:09:31.939 align:center
I now realize I've wasted
most of my life."

00:09:33.861 --> 00:09:38.852 align:center
Let's not waste any more lives,

00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:43.378 align:center
because once we know

00:09:43.402 --> 00:09:48.784 align:center
that abilities are capable of such growth,

00:09:48.808 --> 00:09:55.748 align:center
it becomes a basic human right
for children, all children,

00:09:55.772 --> 00:10:01.413 align:center
to live in places that create that growth,

00:10:01.437 --> 00:10:06.804 align:center
to live in places filled with "yet".

00:10:07.491 --> 00:10:08.642 align:center
Thank you.

00:10:08.666 --> 00:10:11.964 align:center
(Applause)