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How We Learn

Love of learning more important than IQ

Decades of research from educational psychologists Adele and Allen Gottfried show that motivation is more important than high IQ in success and that we need to recognise this for education

One of the most important thing parents can do for their kids is stimulate their curiosity and give them the chance to become good at something they enjoy

Schools do children no favors when they dissuade them from exploring the subjects that naturally interest them, force-feeding them AP calculus instead

Kids who scored higher on measures of academic intrinsic motivation at a young age—meaning that they enjoyed learning for its own sake—performed better in school, took more challenging courses, and earned more advanced degrees than their peers. They were more likely to be leaders and more self-confident about schoolwork. Teachers saw them as learning more and working harder. As young adults, they continued to seek out challenges and leadership opportunities. If there’s a secret sauce to winning at life, the motivational kids seemed to have found it

Read the article from Quartz: Highly motivated kids have a greater advantage in life than kids with a high IQ (Quartz, December 19, 2017)

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