Create a Classroom Culture of Risk-Taking

This article from Educational Leadership's "Meaningful Work" issue (Sept 2010) sums up 20 years of research by Carol Dweck and her colleagues, identifying two distinct ways in which individuals view intelligence and learning. The fixed mindset believes intelligence is simply an inborn trait, while those with a growth mindset believe that they can develop their intelligence over time. Dweck argues that not only does meaningful schoolwork promote students' learning of academic content, it can also teach students to love challenges, to enjoy effort, to be resilient, and to value their own improvement. She shares ideas about how to help students come to see that long-term growth and success depends on taking risks.