The Promise of Non-Cognitive
Factors: Basic Concepts and
Evidence
Diana Gruman, WWU
Mike Hubert, OPSI
Washington School Counselor Association
Conference, Seattle February 2014
Objectives for Today
• Provide an overview of the latest research on
noncognitive skills
• Define key concepts
• Connect the findings on noncognitive skills to
school counseling practice
• Provide a sample of our favorite resources to
learn more about the topic and potential
interventions
Sources of Inspiration & Knowledge
We would like to acknowledge the following
sources as the foundation of this presentation:
1. CCSR Literature Review (2012): “Teaching
Adolescents to Become Learners.”
2. DOE-Office of Ed. Tech . Report (2013):
“Promoting Grit, Tenacity and Perservance.”
3. Carol Dweck (2007): “Mindset.”
4. Paul Tough (2012): “How Children Succeed.”
Making the Case
Posted: May 2013
http://new.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit
Cognitive Factors
Cognitive: “Relating to, or involving conscious
mental activities (such as thinking,
understanding, learning, and remembering).”
(Merriam-Webster: m-w.com)
– Some ways we measure cognitive skills:
• Grasp of Content Knowledge
• Writing Skills
• Problem Solving Ability
Noncognitive Factors
Noncognitive: Attributes, dispositions, social
skills, attitudes, and intrapersonal resources,
independent of intellectual ability—that highachieving individuals draw upon to accomplish
success. (OET Report, 2013)
TURN AND TALK: What are the factors you are
hearing and reading about??
What’s in a Name?
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Habits of Mind (Dewey, 1880-1940)
Natural Development (Montessori, 1910-50)
Internal Locus of Control (Rotter, 1954)
Self efficacy (Bandura, 1986)
Student Agency
Learner Attributes
Social-Emotional Learning
21st Century Skills or Soft Skills
Character Education
Emotional Intelligence
Teaching the Whole Child
Five Categories of Noncognitive
Factors:
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Academic Behaviors
Academic Perseverance
Academic Mindsets
Learning Strategies
Social Skills
https://ccsr.uchicago.edu/publications
Academic
Performance
(Course Grades)
Socio-Cultural Context
School & Classroom Context
Academic Mindsets
Social
Skills
Academic
Perseverance
Academic Behaviors
Academic Performance
Learning
Strategies
Can these skills be taught? Learned?
Research shows that some noncognitive factors
can be shaped in all children:
• Academic Mindset- I can grow my ability and
competence with effort
• Effortful Control—I can push through the
“boring” stuff
• Strategies and Tactics—I can define my tasks,
monitor progress and change course if needed
#1 Academic Behaviors
• Behaviors associated with being a “good
student”
– Regular attendance
– Ready to engage the work
– Participating in class discussions
– Completing assignments
Connection to SC Practice
• Talk, Turn and Share
• What ways do school counselors play a role in
improving the academic behaviors in
students?
• Which ones of these methods are evidencebased?
#2 Learning Strategies
• The processes and tactics employed to aid in
learning such as:
– Study skills
– Metacognitive strategies ( monitoring one’s own
comprehension)
– Self-regulated learning ( ability to self correct)
– Goal setting & time management
Connection to SC Practice
• Talk, Turn and Share
• What ways do school counselors play a role in
improving the learning strategies in students?
• Which ones of these methods are evidencebased?
#3 Academic Mindsets
• Beliefs, attitudes, or ways of perceiving
oneself in relation to learning
– I belong in this academic community
– My ability and competency grow with my effort
– I can succeed at this
– This work has value for me
Growth Mindset
When faced with failure or challenge,
people with a GROWTH mindset:
• Pay attention to learning information, and so do
better on future tests.
• Focus on what they are learning, rather than
focusing on how they feel.
• Try out new ways of doing things.
• Use self-motivating statements such as ‘The
harder it gets, the harder I try’.
• When faced with tests which are impossible to
pass, they consider other factors rather than
blaming their intellect (e.g. “This test was beyond
my ability for now.
Growth-mindset thinking results in:
•a love for learning and self-improvement
•a desire to be challenged
•a willingness to work for positive results
•a belief that you can control the outcomes in
your life with effort and practice
•the ability to learn from mistakes and failures
•emotional resilience
Fixed Mindset
When faced with failure or challenge, people
with a FIXED mindset:
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Do not pay attention to learning information
Get depressed, lose self-esteem
Say to themselves ‘I am not smart.’
Under-represent past successes and overrepresent failures (I NEVER do things right)
• Explain the cause of events as something
stable about them. (I am ALWAYS this way!)
Fixed-mindset thinking results in:
• a false sense of superiority, undermined by a
deep sense of self-doubt
• a fear of failure; refusal to take risks
• a feeling that failure permanently defines you as
a loser
• the belief that only untalented, ungifted people
have to work for success; effort somehow
reduces you
• a desire to blame others or outside circumstances
when things don’t go your way
Academic Mindsets Evidence
• Sense of belonging
– Learning is a social activity, constructed through
interaction
• Belief of ability
– Those that increase effort, display perseverance and
succeed
• Self-efficacy
– We engage in activities in which we feel confident
• Value
– When activity is connected to our preferred future,
we are more likely to pursue it
Connection to SC Practice
• Talk, Turn and Share
• What ways do school counselors play a role in
improving the growth mindsets in students?
• Which ones of these methods are evidencebased?
#4 Social Skills
• Interpersonal qualities such as:
– Cooperation
– Assertion
– Responsibility
– Empathy
Noncognitive Learning Skills
Background:
And are They Important? Teacher
Beliefs about SEL
Positive Student Outcomes
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Workforce Readiness
School Attendance &
Graduation
Life Success
College Preparation
Academic Success
Positive Student Outcomes
The Missing Piece: A National Teacher Survey on How Social and Emotional Learning Can
Empower Children and Transform Schools - http://www.casel.org/library/the-missing-piece
Connection to SC Practice
• Talk, Turn and Share
• What ways do school counselors play a role in
improving the social skills of students?
• Which ones of these methods are evidencebased?
#5 Academic Perseverance
• A student’s ability to remain focused and
engaged in school work despite distractions,
setbacks, or obstacles
– Grit
– Self-control
– Tenacity
– Delayed Gratification
Grit and Perseverance
Factors essential to an individual’s capacity to
strive for and succeed at long-term and
higher-order goals, and to persist in the face
of the array of challenges and obstacles
encountered throughout schooling and life
(OET Report, 2013)
Academic Perseverance Evidence
• Perseverance is a trait that is not directly
malleable.
• The evidence can be found in academic
mindsets that encourage perseverance and
the adoption of learning strategies
What type of learning environment
promotes grit and perseverance?
1) Opportunities to take on appropriate
challenges (in the child’s Zone of Prox. Devpt)
2) Rigorous and Supportive Environment:
– Fair and respectful climate, conveys high
expectations,
– Emphasizes effort over ability, and provides
necessary tangible resources—materials, human,
and time.
Connection to SC Practice
• Talk, Turn and Share
• What ways do school counselors play a role in
improving the perseverance of students?
• Which ones of these methods are evidencebased?
Teaching the Whole Child
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Student-Centered Discipline
Teacher Language
Responsibility & Choice
Warmth & Support
Cooperative Learning
Classroom Discussions
Self-Reflection & Self- Assessment
Balanced Instruction
Academic Press and Expectations
Competency Building – Modeling, Practicing, Feedback, &
Coaching
Center on Great Teaching and Learning at AIR January 2014 “Teaching the Whole Child: Instructional Practices That
Support Social-Emotional Learning in Three Teacher Evaluation Frameworks.” http://www.gtlcenter.org/
Barriers and Potential Solutions
Adverse Childhood Experiences
• http://acestudy.org/
• http://acestoohigh.com/
Trauma Informed Schools
• http://acestoohigh.com/2013/08/20/spokanesch
ools/
Restorative Justice and School Discipline
• https://aclu-wa.org/blog/restorative-disciplinepays-suspensions-down-grades-behaviorimproved
RESOURCES
BOOKS
How Children Succeed, Paul Tough (2012)
Mindset, Carol Dweck (2007)
WEBSITES
-CASEL: http://www.casel.org/
-Chicago/CCSR: csr.uchicago.edu/
-Center for Great Teaching at AIR
http://www.gtlcenter.org/
Growth Mindset Resources
Mary Cay Ricci (2013), “Mindsets in the
Classroom.”
http://www.mindsetworks.com/free-resources/
http://classteaching.wordpress.com/2013/04/07
/developing-a-growth-mindset/
http://ams.auburnschl.edu/pages/AuburnMS/C
ORE/Additional_CORE_Activities/Mindset_Act
ivities
"The function of education is to teach one to
think intensively and to think critically...
Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of
true education." - Martin Luther King, Jr.