Ricci (2013) surveyed kindergarten, first-, second-,
and third-grade students about their beliefs about
intelligence. While 100 percent of the kindergarteners
had a growth mindset believing they couldlearn, a dramatic shift in mindset took
place over the first 4 years of schooling
as shown in Table 1. By fourth grade, 42
percent of the students demonstrated a
fixed mindset suggesting a belief that
intelligence is not malleable. The data
indicate that traditional educational
practices squash curiosity for learning
in almost half of our students before
the end of elementary school. It is obvious
that our educational practices are
in desperate need of transformation in
order to create opportunities where all
students can grow and succeed.