when you believe in yourself your brain operates...

9/12/2015 When You Believe In Yourself Your Brain Operates Differently

https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/believe-brain-operates-differently/ 1/10

1 (https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/anyone-can-learn-to-high-

levels/) 2 (https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/mistakes-grow-

brain/)3 (https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/believe-brain-

operates-differently/) 4 (https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/ideas-

of-giftedness-hurt-students/) 5 (https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-

up/speed-time-pressure-block-working-memory/)6

(https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/visual-math-improves-math-

performance/) 7 (https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/when-you-

believe-in-your-students-they-do-better/) 8

(https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-up/parents-beliefs-math-change-

childrens-achievement/) 9 (https://www.youcubed.org/think-it-

up/aligning-assessment-brain-science/)

When You

Believe In

Yourself Your

Brain Operates

Differently



Differently

by Jo Boaler

Stanford Professor of Mathematics Education, Online Course

Experimenter,

Co-Founder of Youcubed, author of the new book: Mathematical

Mindsets.



Carol Dweck and her colleagues have shown thateveryone has a mindset, a core belief about howthey learn (Dweck, 2006). People with a growthmindset are those who believe that smartnessincreases with hard work, whereas those with afixed mindset believe that you can learn thingsbut you can’t change your basic level ofintelligence. Mindsets are critically importantbecause they lead to different learningbehaviors, which in turn create different learningoutcomes. When people change their mindsetsand start to believe that they can learn to highlevels, they change their learning pathways(Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007) andachieve at higher levels.

Students with a fixed mindset aremore likely to give up easily,whereas students with a growthmindset are persistent and keepgoing even when work is hard.

In one study, seventh‐grade students were givena survey to measure their mindset. Thenresearchers followed the students over two



years to monitor their mathematics achievement.The results were dramatic, as the achievement ofthe students with a fixed mindset stayedconstant, but the achievement of those with agrowth mindset went onward and upward(Blackwell et al., 2007)

Graph 1: Mindset impacts mathematicsachievement (adapted from Blackwell et al.,2007)

An important study showing the relationshipbetween our beliefs and our brain activity foundthat when people with a growth mindset made amistake, they experienced more brain activitythan those with a fixed mindset (see section 2Mistakes). The brains of people who believed in



their ability to improve acted differently when amistake was made than the brains of those whodid not. The study also found that individualswith a growth mindset had a greater awarenessof errors than individuals with a fixed mindset,so they were more likely to go back and correcttheir mistakes. This research supported anotherstudy (Mangels, Butterfield, Lamb, Good, &Dweck, 2006) which showed that students with agrowth mindset experience enhanced brainreaction and pay greater attention to theirmistakes.

All participants responded with abrain spark—a synapse firing—when they made mistakes, buthaving a growth mindset meantthat the brain was more likely tospark again, showing awarenessthat a mistake had been made.



These two brain images from the study, arevoltage maps showing the activity in the brainsof those with a growth and fixed mindset. Theorange color of the growth mindset brainsreflects the greater activity in the brain withmore intensity and attention to error.

The relationship between our beliefs and theoperation of our brains is clearly profound. Ifyou believe in yourself, and do not think thatyour ability is fixed, your brain is more likely tospark and grow when mistakes are made.



The fact that brain activity is most intense whenpeople have a growth mindset, shows just howimportant it is that people believe in themselvesand they know that brains can grow and changewith hard work.

This article contains excerpts from Jo Boaler’s newbook, Mathematical Mindsets: UnleashingStudents’ Potential Through Creative Math,Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching(http://www.amazon.com/Mathematical‐Mindsets‐Unleashing‐Potential‐Innovative/dp/0470894520)

References:Boaler, J. (2015). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages andInnovative Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success.

Random House.

Mangels, J. A., Butterfield, B., Lamb, J., Good, C., & Dweck, C.

S. (2006). Why do beliefs about intelligence influence learning

success? A social cognitive neuroscience model. Social cognitiveand affective neuroscience, 1(2), 75-86.

Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007).

Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an

adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an

intervention. Child development, 78(1), 246-263.



Further Resources

One Week of Inspirational Math (https://www.youcubed.org/week-of-inspirational-math/) curriculum for students in grades 3 through12

Resources for Parents (https://www.youcubed.org/parents/)

Papers and videos about Number Sense(https://www.youcubed.org/category/teaching-ideas/number-sense/)

More information about Growth Mindset(https://www.youcubed.org/category/teaching-ideas/growing-mindset/) in mathematics teaching and learning

Our 7 favorite Positive Classroom Norms(https://www.youcubed.org/positive-classroom-norms/) to start theschool year

How to make Group Work Equal(https://www.youcubed.org/category/making-group-work-equal/)in the math classroom

Online courses for students (https://www.youcubed.org/how-to-learn-math-for-students/) or teachers and parents(https://www.youcubed.org/how-to-learn-math-for-teachers-and-parents/)

Emphasizing Depth and Not Speed(https://www.youcubed.org/category/teaching-ideas/depth-not-speed/)

Some of our favorite Math Apps and Games(https://www.youcubed.org/category/teaching-ideas/math-apps/)

Assessment and Grading



(https://www.youcubed.org/category/assessment-and-grading/)

Low floor, high ceiling Math Tasks

(https://www.youcubed.org/tasks/) and activities

See Jo facilitating a Dot Card Number Talk

(https://www.youcubed.org/jo-dot-card-number-talk/)

See a video Tour of Mathematical Connections

(https://www.youcubed.org/tour-of-mathematical-connections/)

See a video on Why We Need Common Core Math

(https://www.youcubed.org/why-we-need-common-core-math/)

Go to our Youcubed video page

(https://www.youcubed.org/category/papers-videos/videos/) to

see more videos by Jo

What’s Math Got to Do with It? (http://www.amazon.com/Whats-

Math-Got-Transform-Mathematics/dp/0143128299)How Teachers

and Parents Can Transform Mathematics Learning and Inspire

Success.

About Youcubed

Our Mission (https://www.youcubed.org/ourmission/)

Our Team (https://www.youcubed.org/our-team/)

Our Supporters (https://www.youcubed.org/our-supporters/)

Follow Youcubed

Upcoming Events (https://www.youcubed.org/events/)

In the News (https://www.youcubed.org/category/in-the-news/)



(https://www.youcubed.org/category/assessment-and-grading/)

Low floor, high ceiling Math Tasks

(https://www.youcubed.org/tasks/) and activities

See Jo facilitating a Dot Card Number Talk

(https://www.youcubed.org/jo-dot-card-number-talk/)

See a video Tour of Mathematical Connections

(https://www.youcubed.org/tour-of-mathematical-connections/)

See a video on Why We Need Common Core Math

(https://www.youcubed.org/why-we-need-common-core-math/)

Go to our Youcubed video page

(https://www.youcubed.org/category/papers-videos/videos/) to

see more videos by Jo

What’s Math Got to Do with It? (http://www.amazon.com/Whats-

Math-Got-Transform-Mathematics/dp/0143128299)How Teachers

and Parents Can Transform Mathematics Learning and Inspire

Success.

About Youcubed

Our Mission (https://www.youcubed.org/ourmission/)

Our Team (https://www.youcubed.org/our-team/)

Our Supporters (https://www.youcubed.org/our-supporters/)

Follow Youcubed

Upcoming Events (https://www.youcubed.org/events/)

In the News (https://www.youcubed.org/category/in-the-news/)

when you believe in yourself your brain operates...

Documents