Monthly Archives: April 2022

Motivating and engaging students is challenging. Edward Deci, one of the premier researchers and authorities on intrinsic motivation, wrote: “The proper question is not, how can people motivate others, but rather, how can people create the conditions within which others will motivate themselves?” When we are trying to motivate students—often unsuccessfully—the energy is coming from us. When we help students discover their own motivation and challenge them to act on it, more of the energy is coming from them. In fact, this perspective is in keeping with the original roots of the word motivation. It comes from “motive” which, in the 15th century, meant “that which inwardly moves a person to behave a certain way.” I advocate considering the difference…

Our mindset impacts on our effectiveness and ultimately our success according to acclaimed researcher Dr Carol Dweck. Through her research Dweck discovered that people have different mindsets about their talents and abilities and that these mindsets make a big difference. Some people believe that their talents and abilities are fixed traits – they have a certain amount and that’s that. Dweck calls this a fixed mindset. But other people have a growth mindset. They believe that their talents and abilities can be developed through hard work and perseverance. In her excellent book, ‘Mindset’, Dr Dweck explains that how people view themselves has a significant impact on their response to challenges. People with a fixed mindset often shy away from challenges.…