Perspective Taking

As baby steps become giant leaps

May 03, 2010

By Julie Marsh

My younger daughter lost her first tooth last week.

This is the same daughter who will start kindergarten in August, who’s been riding a bike without training wheels since Thanksgiving, who proudly identifies sight words and spends hours painstakingly creating works of art with any craft supplies she can find. The same daughter who was a newborn when we moved to Colorado, who screamed instead of speaking for her first three years, who consistently hit developmental milestones late and drove me to bury my copies of “What to Expect…” on the basement bookshelves.

Why I Am Concerned About Learning

Featured article

April 16, 2010

by Ellen Galinsky

Curiosity, according to Laura Schulz of MIT, is fueled by having two ideas that are at odds with each other. Her research shows that when this happens, children typically will explore and experiment until they figure things out. That’s my story too. Having two images of learning that disturbingly conflicted with each other has led to eight years of exploration—so far.

The first image was from interviews I conducted with children a few years ago as background for a study we were planning on children and learning. In my travels around the country, I interviewed groups of children from the third through the twelfth grades, asking them about their experiences in learning—at home, in their neighborhoods, in school, in church, anywhere. Despite the fact that these children came from very different backgrounds and communities—they told me very similar stories.

They described learning as “learning stuff”—as the acquisition of facts, figures, and concepts. The learning experiences they described were primarily imposed—and their motivation was primarily extrinsic rather than also being intrinsic.

I asked the children to finish this sentence: “It is important to learn so I can….” And the children I interviewed all over the country said:

Get good grades.

Go to good schools.

Get a good job.

Support myself—have a good house—have a nice car.

Their reasons echo those of 81,499 students in a nationwide study conducted by the High School Survey of Youth Engagement from the University of Indiana. When asked why they go to school, 73% said because they want to get a degree and go to college, 69% said because of their friends, and 58% said because it’s the law.

These are valid reasons, but there’s a major problem, too. In the High School Survey, only 39% said they go to school to learn. Likewise, I heard little connection to learning in the children I interviewed. Even worse, I found that there was little, if any, fire in their eyes when they talked about learning.

So I pushed. I asked children to finish the sentence, “When I am learning, I feel….” Those few children who had experienced a broader connection to learning said things like:

Bedtime Battles

Featured article

March 07, 2010

A Parent's Perspective

Bedtime is always a battle these days. Analia usually finds any excuse to stay awake for “just a little bit” longer. After we’ve read a few books, I announce it’s time for “nighty-night.” She says, “We can read three more books and then I can go to bed—is that a great idea?” It’s late, I’m sleepy, and I grow increasingly frustrated with this game.

Reducing Aggression in Children

Featured article

March 01, 2010

By Ellen Galinsky

Last week, I wrote about preventing aggression in young children, but what about reducing violence when it has already flared up?

Several years ago, Families and Work Institute (FWI) conducted a nationally representative study of young people in the fifth through the twelfth grades on this issue. Our findings—as always when we study young people’s views—were surprising and enormously helpful.

We found that although much public discussion about aggression has focused on extreme violence, such as school shootings, the largest proportion of young people talk about teasing that goes beyond being playful; about cruel put-downs and gossip; and about rejections as very real aggression to them.

This emotional aggression is very much a part of young people’s lives. In fact, two-thirds of young people (66%) have been teased or gossiped about in a mean way at least once in the past month and 25% have had this experience five times or more.

This is not to say that other kinds of aggression are unimportant—almost one third (32%) has been bullied at least once and 12% have been bullied five times or more in the past month; 46% of young people have been hit, shoved, kicked or tripped at least once and 18% have experienced this five times or more in the past month. Finally, one in 12 has experienced extreme violence.

Young people focus on emotional aggression as the trigger for other kinds of aggression—and this insight is echoed in the seminal studies of Larry Aber of New York University.

Mind in the Making is now available as a Vook

Mind in the Making: Experiments in Children's Learning (DVD)

Here is a list of Mind in the Making researchers and educators filmed to date

Community Schools: “Mind in the Making and Community Schools: Crossing Boundaries and Creating Strong Linkages for Children Birth through Eight and their Families,” is a collaborative project with The Children’s Aid Society’s National Center for Community Schools and the Institute for Educational Leadership. (Read more)

Learning Communities: Throughout the country, groups of parents, educators, and other family support and health professionals have joined together to learn more about the research on children’s learning from birth through the early elementary school years, and about how to use this research to promote better outcomes for children. (Read more)

Learning Modules for Educators: Mind in the Making Learning Modules for Educators is an 11-part, facilitated learning process designed to bridge the gap between research and teaching practice. (Read more)

Seven Skills Modules: We have created new Modules from the book, called the Mind in the Making Seven Essential Skills Modules. (Read more)

Experiments in Children's Learning DVD: This two-volume series of 42 videos take viewers on a series of virtual “field trips” to laboratories in the U.S. and abroad. (Read more)
View a crosswalk of the experiments to the seven essential life skills

Download a companion Catalogue to Mind in the Making: Experiments in Children's Learning

Have you seen the Marshmallow Test?

What does eating marshmallows have to do with how your kid does on the SAT?
Watch the video

Ask a MITM team member to speak at your event.

The MITM staff is having conversations about Mind in the Making with audiences across the country. Click here to invite a team member to speak at your event.

The Seven Skills:

Calendar

May 24, 2012 2012 MCCA 35th Annual Early Childhood Education Conference, Manitoba, CA (Ellen Galinsky)

see all events

As baby steps become giant leaps

Why I Am Concerned About Learning

Bedtime Battles

Reducing Aggression in Children

Daily Kid

Search

Mind in the Making is now available as a Vook

Mind in the Making: Experiments in Children's Learning (DVD)

Here is a list of Mind in the Making researchers and educators filmed to date

Have you seen the Marshmallow Test?

Ask a MITM team member to speak at your event.

The Seven Skills:

Calendar

Perspective Taking

As baby steps become giant leaps

Why I Am Concerned About Learning

Bedtime Battles

Reducing Aggression in Children

Daily Kid

Search

Mind in the Making is now available as a Vook

Mind in the Making: Experiments in Children's Learning (DVD)

Here is a list of Mind in the Making researchers and educators filmed to date

Have you seen the Marshmallow Test?

Ask a MITM team member to speak at your event.

The Seven Skills:

Calendar

Signup for email updates