Carol Dweck herself has written that the information on the value of changing mindsets needs to be accompanied by a different approach to teaching, one that enables students to learn differently. One of the things that she says keeps her up at night is when students are told to put in effort and that success is all about hard work, without their being given the tools by teachers to learn more effectively. As she says, “Effort is key for students’ achievement, but it is not the only thing. Students need to try new strategies and seek input from others when they are stuck.”
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Fluid and flexible brains, neuroscientists conclude, come from the synchrony that occurs when multiple brain areas are working together. Communication between brain areas comes about when we approach knowledge through multiple avenues, encountering ideas in different forms and representations.
A multidimensional approach can be used in the teaching of all subjects to bring about higher engagement and achievement. Many subject areas, particularly in the humanities, already value treating the subject in multiple ways by asking students to give their own interpretations of texts they read and employing such forms as group discussions, debates, and plays. In most cases they could still become more multidimensional, but they are rarely as narrowly taught as some other subjects. In my experience the subjects that seem most in need of change are mathematics, science, and language teaching. Coming at the subject matter from multiple angles is an ideal learning approach for all of these disciplines.
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Working in these multiple ways encourages brain communication while also bringing the content to life. The vast majority of students think about math as a set of numbers and methods and about English as books and words. When we approach math, English, science, or other subjects as opportunities for creativity and seeing things in multiple ways, it changes everything, stimulating vital brain growth and neural connections. Additionally, as teachers diversify the curriculum, moving from a simple list of numerical answers, pages of text, or scientific equations to visuals, models, words, videos, music, data, and drawings, the classroom changes from a place where all the work looks the same to one where the variety is enticing and creativity can be celebrated.
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This new openness to challenges and uncertainty seems to be a common reaction to becoming unlocked—people realize that it is good to struggle, that it is not a sign of a brain weakness, but of brain growth. This leads to more confidence in times of struggle and a willingness to share ideas that they are unsure of. One of the saddest, most central characteristics of fixed-brain thinking is the fear of being wrong. People’s minds are literally locked, immobilized, by their fear, which is why an approach to life that values multidimensionality, growth, and struggle is so liberating. Holly said: “I have so many more ideas because I let myself have ideas.”
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Another core benefit of working and living with a multidimensional approach is that when roadblocks appear, you know there are alternate routes. Many of the adults I interviewed for this book said they would no longer stop when they met challenges or roadblocks; they simply would find another strategy, another approach. A multidimensional approach to knowledge reveals that there isn’t only one way to do anything; there are always multiple ways forward.
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In many classrooms students are given problems they do not know how to access—which causes them to think negatively about themselves and their learning. When problems are changed to become “low floor and high ceiling”—problems that are accessible by all but lead to more challenging work—everybody can access them and take them to different places.
