Samantha Hiller, University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Download PDF (114 kb)
People tend to strive for intelligence, to be the smartest they can be, and often, teachers encourage that goal in ways that do not favor a student’s education. Although most people prefer being told how smart they are, studies have shown that praising a student’s intelligence can cause harm to a student’s overall education. Rather than solely praising a student’s intellect, teachers need to find a balance between encouraging hard work and making sure the student knows he or she is intelligent.
Students, beginning at a young age, are frequently told how smart they are. If a student is able to speak the alphabet forward and backward without any trouble, it is considered impressive and often praised in such a manner that focuses on the intelligence, not the work it took to learn to do so. Claudia M. Mueller and Carol S. Dweck (1998) conducted a study on fifth graders. They discovered that those fifth graders praised for intelligence “displayed less task persistence, less task enjoyment, more low-ability attributions, and worse task performance” once the students had failed (p. 33). Even though telling students how intelligent they are might boost their confidence, it shows a direct relationship with their performance; merely praising intelligence lowers overall academic performance.
Awards seem to be another common way to boost a student’s confidence. Dweck (2007) believes we have “produced a generation of young people who can’t get through the day without an award. They expect success because they’re special, not because they’ve worked hard” (p. 34). This statement holds true with today’s generation. Teachers are handing out awards too often to children who have done nothing to deserve them. Teachers need to educate children on the effects of hard work; rewards come from working hard, not from simply being present. Instead, teachers need to encourage the idea that if a student puts in every ounce of effort he or she possibly can, then that student will be rewarded. Giving up because it is ‘too hard’ or because they ‘just don’t want to’ does not deserve a reward.
Praise for high ability is also a common response and an easy way to boost confidence. Why do we believe that it is good to praise someone who puts in no effort than to only praise someone who works diligently? While praising ability might be easier, Dale Schunk’s (1982) experiment, which focused on children from 7 to 10 years old, proves that it is counterproductive. The experiment’s results verified a correlation between praising effort and success. Telling children their hard work was the reason they progressed reinforced the idea that they can “actualize their capabilities through effort” (p. 549). Schunk’s studies indicate that determination will allow for success in the long run.
Success, however, does not come without struggle. In order to adequately teach students to push through adversity, teachers need to first focus on two different kinds of mindsets: fixed and growth. A fixed mindset causes complications when it comes to a student’s learning. Students with fixed mindsets will avoid challenging tasks they could potentially fail at and focus on tasks that will ensure their success (Dweck, 2007, p. 34). Those students who become too concerned with how smart they are become limited. Teachers need to motivate students in their work, not in one particular subject, but in all subjects. Students who start out believing they cannot do something will ultimately fail; students who believe that they can work hard enough to push through will ultimately succeed.
Students need to be well rounded and knowledgeable in more areas than just the areas teachers have told them they are good at. That is where the growth mindset comes in, and this is what educators need to impart onto their students. The growth mindset allows students to care more about learning and working hard, rather than giving up at the first sign of difficulty (Dweck, 2007, p. 35). Students need to be motivated and confident in their beliefs that they can push past those first signs of struggle.
One of the hardest things to do as a teacher is find to what motivates students. At a young age, children are often rewarded for their work with candy, or more time on the playground. However, if there is a way that will motivate students to work harder in a more positive manner, would it not be more effective to use it?
Teachers need to take into account age and the fact that there is a difference between children and young adults. Children at young ages still have malleable minds, children are easily influenced and therefore changing the way a child thinks is not as difficult as changing the way a young adult thinks. When children grow older, however, they become more susceptible to emotional hardships. Bandura (1997) found that “Student’s beliefs about their efficacy to manage academic task demands can also influence them emotionally by decreasing their stress, anxiety, and depression” (p. 86). In high school, especially, this is a relevant issue. High school students are often prone to academic pressure as well as social pressure. For a teacher, one of the more important goals should be to reduce academic stress by instilling that sense of self confidence and ability at a young age, as well as encouraging it throughout high school.
Encouraging students to work hard does not simply apply in the academic field. Students who are properly conditioned to work hard will not only carry that trait in an academic setting, but also into professional, social, and athletic settings. Students who show a higher sense of self efficacy convey a positive correlation in students’ “activity choices, effort, persistence, and emotional reaction,” but it also proves that students’ “self-beliefs about academic capabilities do play an essential role in their motivation to achieve” (Zimmerman & Bandura, 1981, p. 82).
If teachers, truly want to introduce characteristics that will resonate with students for the rest of their lives, they need to focus on how to properly commend students on their work. Educators should emphasize the amount of effort a student puts into an assignment rather than how their intelligence lets them coast on by. It is easy to focus on a student’s intellect, but at some point intellect will not carry a student through and he or she will have to rely on something more than the brainpower he or she has always had.
References
Dweck, C.S. (2007). The Perils and Promises of Praise. Educational Leadership, 65, 34-39.
Mueller, C. M., & Dweck, C. S. (1998). Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Children’s Motivation and Performance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 33-52.
Schunk, D. H. (1982). Effects of effort attributional feedback on children’s perceived self-efficacy and achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 548-556.
Zimmerman, B.J. (2000). Self-Efficacy: An Essential Motive to Learn, Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 82-91.
