0:00:15.433,0:00:17.994
The power of yet.

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I heard about a high school in Chicago

0:00:20.793,0:00:24.892
where students had to pass[br]a certain number of courses to graduate,

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and if they didn't pass a course,[br]they got the grade "Not Yet."

0:00:30.516,0:00:33.091
And I thought that was fantastic,

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because if you get a failing grade,[br]you think, I'm nothing, I'm nowhere.

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But if you get the grade "Not Yet"

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you understand[br]that you're on a learning curve.

0:00:43.175,0:00:46.278
It gives you a path into the future.

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"Not Yet" also gave me insight[br]into a critical event early in my career,

0:00:54.825,0:00:56.839
a real turning point.

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I wanted to see

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how children coped[br]with challenge and difficulty,

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so I gave 10-year-olds

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problems that were[br]slightly too hard for them.

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Some of them reacted[br]in a shockingly positive way.

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They said things like,[br]"I love a challenge,"

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or, "You know, I was hoping[br]this would be informative."

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They understood[br]that their abilities could be developed.

0:01:35.806,0:01:39.034
They had what I call a growth mindset.

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But other students felt[br]it was tragic, catastrophic.

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From their more fixed mindset perspective,

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their intelligence[br]had been up for judgment and they failed.

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Instead of luxuriating[br]in the power of yet,

0:02:02.531,0:02:06.091
they were gripped in the tyranny of now.

0:02:07.809,0:02:09.968
So what do they do next?

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I'll tell you what they do next.

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In one study, they told us[br]they would probably cheat the next time

0:02:17.793,0:02:21.792
instead of studying more[br]if they failed a test.

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In another study, after a failure,

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they looked for someone[br]who did worse than they did

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so they could feel[br]really good about themselves.

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And in study after study,[br]they have run from difficulty.

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Scientists measured[br]the electrical activity from the brain

0:02:45.525,0:02:48.424
as students confronted an error.

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On the left, you see[br]the fixed mindset students.

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There's hardly any activity.

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They run from the error.

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They don't engage with it.

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But on the right, you have[br]the students with the growth mindset,

0:03:04.452,0:03:08.296
the idea that abilities can be developed.

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They engage deeply.

0:03:10.460,0:03:13.175
Their brain is on fire with yet.

0:03:13.385,0:03:15.724
They engage deeply.

0:03:15.863,0:03:17.940
They process the error.

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They learn from it and they correct it.

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How are we raising our children?

0:03:27.675,0:03:31.823
Are we raising them for now[br]instead of yet?

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Are we raising kids[br]who are obsessed with getting A's?

0:03:37.744,0:03:42.245
Are we raising kids who don't know[br]how to dream big dreams?

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Their biggest goal is getting the next A[br]or the next test score?

0:03:52.147,0:03:57.895
And are they carrying this need[br]for constant validation with them

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into their future lives?

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Maybe, because employers[br]are coming to me and saying,

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we have already raised a generation

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of young workers[br]who can't get through the day

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without an award.

0:04:15.806,0:04:18.548
So what can we do?

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How can we build that bridge to yet?

0:04:25.095,0:04:27.064
Here are some things we can do.

0:04:27.195,0:04:30.173
First of all, we can praise wisely,

0:04:31.074,0:04:34.537
not praising intelligence or talent.

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That has failed.

0:04:36.998,0:04:38.697
Don't do that anymore.

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But praising the process[br]that kids engage in:

0:04:43.107,0:04:47.278
their effort, their strategies,[br]their focus, their perseverance,

0:04:47.278,0:04:49.262
their improvement.

0:04:49.262,0:04:50.929
This process praise

0:04:50.929,0:04:54.747
creates kids who are hardy and resilient.

0:04:56.732,0:04:59.647
There are other ways to reward yet.

0:05:00.060,0:05:03.794
We recently teamed up with game scientists

0:05:04.136,0:05:06.369
from the University of Washington

0:05:06.369,0:05:10.852
to create a new online math game[br]that rewarded yet.

0:05:11.962,0:05:17.548
In this game, students were rewarded[br]for effort, strategy and progress.

0:05:18.330,0:05:20.611
The usual math game

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rewards you for getting[br]answers right right now,

0:05:25.132,0:05:28.077
but this game rewarded process.

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And we got more effort,

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more strategies,

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more engagement[br]over longer periods of time,

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and more perseverance when[br]they hit really, really hard problems.

0:05:44.919,0:05:48.832
Just the words "yet"[br]or "not yet," we're finding,

0:05:48.832,0:05:52.050
give kids greater confidence,

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give them a path into the future[br]that creates greater persistence.

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And we can actually[br]change students' mindsets.

0:06:06.763,0:06:09.596
In one study, we taught them

0:06:09.596,0:06:13.415
that every time they push[br]out of their comfort zone

0:06:14.289,0:06:17.449
to learn something new and difficult,

0:06:17.449,0:06:22.674
the neurons in their brain[br]can form new, stronger connections,

0:06:23.033,0:06:26.255
and over time they can get smarter.

0:06:27.071,0:06:29.598
Look what happened: in this study,

0:06:29.598,0:06:33.599
students who were not taught[br]this growth mindset

0:06:33.599,0:06:38.689
continued to show declining grades[br]over this difficult school transition,

0:06:39.584,0:06:45.605
but those who were taught this lesson[br]showed a sharp rebound in their grades.

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We have shown this now,[br]this kind of improvement,

0:06:52.707,0:06:58.370
with thousands and thousands of kids,[br]especially struggling students.

0:06:59.467,0:07:02.302
So let's talk about equality.

0:07:03.745,0:07:07.450
In our country,[br]there are groups of students

0:07:08.062,0:07:10.701
who chronically underperform,

0:07:10.701,0:07:13.832
for example, children in inner cities,

0:07:13.832,0:07:17.307
or children on Native American[br]reservations.

0:07:17.307,0:07:23.296
And they've done so poorly for so long[br]that many people think it's inevitable.

0:07:25.473,0:07:32.089
But when educators create[br]growth mindset classrooms steeped in yet,

0:07:33.199,0:07:35.485
equality happens.

0:07:36.774,0:07:39.688
And here are just a few examples.

0:07:42.237,0:07:46.712
In one year, a kindergarten class[br]in Harlem, New York

0:07:49.664,0:07:56.290
scored in the 95th percentile[br]on the National Achievement Test.

0:07:59.186,0:08:04.649
Many of those kids could not hold a pencil[br]when they arrived at school.

0:08:06.368,0:08:08.405
In one year,

0:08:09.937,0:08:14.184
fourth grade students[br]in the South Bronx, way behind,

0:08:14.688,0:08:19.283
became the number one fourth grade class[br]in the state of New York

0:08:21.568,0:08:23.910
on the state math test.

0:08:24.663,0:08:27.744
In a year to a year and a half,

0:08:29.240,0:08:33.702
Native American students[br]in a school on a reservation

0:08:34.987,0:08:39.520
went from the bottom of their district[br]to the top,

0:08:42.142,0:08:46.761
and that district included[br]affluent sections of Seattle.

0:08:47.821,0:08:51.972
So the native kids outdid[br]the Microsoft kids.

0:08:58.188,0:09:01.037
This happened because the meaning

0:09:01.037,0:09:04.363
of effort and difficulty were transformed.

0:09:05.503,0:09:08.227
Before, effort and difficulty

0:09:08.983,0:09:13.451
made them feel dumb,[br]made them feel like giving up,

0:09:14.743,0:09:17.777
but now, effort and difficulty,

0:09:17.841,0:09:22.157
that's when their neurons[br]are making new connections,

0:09:22.157,0:09:23.901
stronger connections.

0:09:23.901,0:09:26.506
That's when they're getting smarter.

0:09:31.630,0:09:35.708
I received a letter recently[br]from a 13-year-old boy.

0:09:37.373,0:09:40.366
He said, "Dear Professor Dweck,

0:09:41.747,0:09:46.577
I appreciate that your writing is based[br]on solid scientific research,

0:09:48.716,0:09:52.899
and that's why I decided[br]to put it into practice.

0:09:54.532,0:09:57.326
I put more effort into my schoolwork,

0:09:58.507,0:10:01.495
into my relationship with my family,

0:10:01.495,0:10:04.844
and into my relationship[br]with kids at school,

0:10:05.497,0:10:10.449
and I experienced great improvement[br]in all of those areas.

0:10:12.828,0:10:16.481
I now realize I've wasted[br]most of my life."

0:10:20.885,0:10:23.750
Let's not waste any more lives,

0:10:26.328,0:10:29.132
because once we know

0:10:29.815,0:10:33.117
that abilities are capable of such growth,

0:10:36.388,0:10:41.504
it becomes a basic human right[br]for children, all children,

0:10:43.031,0:10:47.066
to live in places that create that growth,

0:10:48.891,0:10:52.564
to live in places filled with yet.

0:10:56.981,0:10:58.971
Thank you.

0:10:58.971,0:11:01.540
(Applause)