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The power of yet.

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I heard about a high school in Chicago

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where students had to pass
a certain number of courses to graduate,

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

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And I thought that was fantastic,

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because if you get a failing grade,
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
that you're on a learning curve.

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It gives you a path into the future.

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

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a real turning point.

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I wanted to see

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how children coped
with challenge and difficulty,

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so I gave 10-year-olds

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problems that were
slightly too hard for them.

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Some of them reacted
in a shockingly positive way.

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They said things like,
"I love a challenge,"

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

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They understood
that their abilities could be developed.

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They had what I call a growth mindset.

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But other students felt
it was tragic, catastrophic.

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From their more fixed mindset perspective,

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their intelligence
had been up for judgment and they failed.

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Instead of luxuriating
in the power of yet,

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they were gripped in the tyranny of now.

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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
they would probably cheat the next time

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instead of studying more
if they failed a test.

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In another study, after a failure,

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they looked for someone
who did worse than they did

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so they could feel
really good about themselves.

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And in study after study,
they have run from difficulty.

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Scientists measured
the electrical activity from the brain

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as students confronted an error.

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On the left, you see
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
the students with the growth mindset,

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the idea that abilities can be developed.

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They engage deeply.

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Their brain is on fire with yet.

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They engage deeply.

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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?

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Are we raising them for now
instead of yet?

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

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Are we raising kids who don't know
how to dream big dreams?

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

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And are they carrying this need
for constant validation with them

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into their future lives?

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Maybe, because employers
are coming to me and saying,

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we have already raised a generation

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of young workers
who can't get through the day

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without an award.

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So what can we do?

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How can we build that bridge to yet?

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Here are some things we can do.

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First of all, we can praise wisely,

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not praising intelligence or talent.

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That has failed.

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Don't do that anymore.

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But praising the process
that kids engage in:

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their effort, their strategies,
their focus, their perseverance,

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their improvement.

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This process praise

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creates kids who are hardy and resilient.

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There are other ways to reward yet.

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We recently teamed up with game scientists

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from the University of Washington

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to create a new online math game
that rewarded yet.

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In this game, students were rewarded
for effort, strategy and progress.

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The usual math game

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rewards you for getting
answers right right now,

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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
over longer periods of time,

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and more perseverance when
they hit really, really hard problems.

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Just the words "yet"
or "not yet," we're finding,

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give kids greater confidence,

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

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And we can actually
change students' mindsets.

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In one study, we taught them

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that every time they push
out of their comfort zone

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to learn something new and difficult,

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the neurons in their brain
can form new, stronger connections,

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and over time they can get smarter.

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Look what happened: in this study,

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students who were not taught
this growth mindset

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continued to show declining grades
over this difficult school transition,

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but those who were taught this lesson
showed a sharp rebound in their grades.

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We have shown this now,
this kind of improvement,

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with thousands and thousands of kids,
especially struggling students.

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So let's talk about equality.

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In our country,
there are groups of students

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who chronically underperform,

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for example, children in inner cities,

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or children on Native American
reservations.

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And they've done so poorly for so long
that many people think it's inevitable.

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But when educators create
growth mindset classrooms steeped in yet,

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equality happens.

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And here are just a few examples.

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In one year, a kindergarten class
in Harlem, New York

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scored in the 95th percentile
on the National Achievement Test.

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Many of those kids could not hold a pencil
when they arrived at school.

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In one year,

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fourth grade students
in the South Bronx, way behind,

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became the number one fourth grade class
in the state of New York

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on the state math test.

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In a year to a year and a half,

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Native American students
in a school on a reservation

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went from the bottom of their district
to the top,

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and that district included
affluent sections of Seattle.

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So the native kids outdid
the Microsoft kids.

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This happened because the meaning

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of effort and difficulty were transformed.

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Before, effort and difficulty

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made them feel dumb,
made them feel like giving up,

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but now, effort and difficulty,

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that's when their neurons
are making new connections,

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stronger connections.

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That's when they're getting smarter.

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I received a letter recently
from a 13-year-old boy.

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He said, "Dear Professor Dweck,

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I appreciate that your writing is based
on solid scientific research,

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and that's why I decided
to put it into practice.

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I put more effort into my schoolwork,

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into my relationship with my family,

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and into my relationship
with kids at school,

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and I experienced great improvement
in all of those areas.

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I now realize I've wasted
most of my life."

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Let's not waste any more lives,

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because once we know

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that abilities are capable of such growth,

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it becomes a basic human right
for children, all children,

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to live in places that create that growth,

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to live in places filled with yet.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)