Scholastic Education has partnered with Mindset Works to announce their intensified efforts regarding bringing "growth mindset" practices into classrooms nationwide. Image courtesy of Scholastic

On April 10, Scholastic Education and Mindset Works^®announced a joint effort that will expand the impact of research that has shown students can learn more when their perceptions of intelligence are shifted from a “fixed mindset"—a belief that you are (or are not) born smart—to a “growth mindset"—an understanding that intelligence can be developed through effort. Mindset Works is an education implementation company that helps translate the lessons from growth mindset research into everyday educational practice to boost student motivation and raise achievement co-founded by Stanford University professor of psychology Dr. Carol S. Dweck and her colleague Dr. Lisa Blackwell, vice-president of design, implementation, and evaluation at Mindset Works. Last year, during Teacher Appreciation Week, Scholastic's Dr. David Dockterman—an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and an expert in the field of growth mindset—did a video presentation on the subject Scholastic is Mindset Works’ first major distribution partner, and the two companies first collaborated on the development of MATH 180^®, a math-intervention program designed to address the needs of struggling students and their teachers. (Its instructional design uses adaptive software to provide students with personalized instruction and continued practice.)

Mindset Works collaborated with Scholastic Education on the MATH 180 program. Image courtesy of Mindset Works

The MATH 180 program helps middle and high school students bring a growth mindset to the study of mathematics, a subject students often approach with a fixed mindset. Feedback from teachers and students using the math-intervention program confirms that once the students understand they can grow their math intelligence, they will seek effective strategies, persevere at problems, and master challenging material.

“We need to create classroom cultures that welcome risk-taking as part of the learning process while building individual student confidence and competence,” says Dr. Dockterman.