Adaptive Mindset Skills Training for Students

Doing well in college means staying engaged, staying focused, and staying motivated. Decades of research from psychology and education have revealed consistent psychological factors that predict better performance among students in college. Those factors determine whether students stay engaged and perform at their full potential, or not. Now, for the first time, we have developed a pioneering non-cognitive skills training program for Pitt students. The Succeed at Pitt Toolkit is an in-person training experience that will walk you through 5 essential non-cognitive skills for success in college. Through this interactive workshop, you will learn about the specific strategies empirically proven to predict better student outcomes, giving you the competitive advantage you need to succeed in college.

Mindset & Frontiers of Ability

Decades of research in psychology has identified the impact of our beliefs on our achievement. The question is: "Can we improve our performance and achievement by focusing the underlying beliefs that determine our reactions in the face of challenge and difficulty?" Why is it that some are able to come back over and over again to tackle very difficult tasks, while others tend to give up more quickly? The answer has to do with your mindset. In this section, we will identify a handful of optimal mindsets that you can cultivate in order to give you a competitive advantage in school.

Master your Myopia: Managing the Hot System

Human nature is such that the immediate, more urgent, needs tend to hijack our attention at the cost of neglecting long-term goals and needs. This tendency to favor the short-term rewards and emergencies, while adaptive for our survival as a species, may not serve us in school. However, there are ways to leverage our own myopia so that we can more consistently and more successfully make progress on our long-term goals. The important insight from this principle comes from the recognition that we can achieve at highly efficient levels when faced with a perceived deadline. This myopic reaction to time management, when understood, can be leveraged to increase our productivity.

Embrace Bad Beginnings: Anything Worth Doing Well is Worth Doing Poorly (at first)

In order to progress towards mastering new skills, we must take that first step. And yet, fear of not being good at something may hold us back. It festers into the perception that, if we aren’t good at something to begin with, we may never become good at it. Indeed, our emotional system is designed to give that negative feedback, compelling us to not try again. However, when you can understand and anticipate the experience of starting something, then you will have the ability to get past that initial attempt, and move onto the rest of the mastery process. However, you become great at anything if you don’t first start. This module helps to connect you with the power needed to get started.

Giving up on Grit: Building Resilience through Networks

Despite growing in popularity, the notion of Grit is being critically reviewed for some of the implicit messages that the concept can convey. Specifically, the notion that you will be able to grind your way through the hard times is, at best, not accurate, and at worst, harmful. In this module, we identify the harmful effects that our culture of ‘grit mania’ has been promoting, and instead offer a more sustainable model of resilience that is likely to ease the challenges ahead.

The Powerful Secret of Self-Control: Divorce Willpower and Marry Context

To understand self-control, you must first recognize the nature of impulse and distraction. Temptation (once activated) is a process that grows in strength until it attains what it wants. Practical and easy to apply strategies are shared in this module, which can guarantee to keep temptation and distraction at bay and consequently keep your focus and behavior under your control.

Devotion over Emotion

What does it mean to follow your passion? How should pursuing your goals feel? Why does studying feel so boring and tedious? We all confront these questions from time to time. Those who know how to navigate these questions can either go on to accomplish their goals, or become disenchanted with, and disconnected from, important tasks that will allow you to succeed in school. We’ll show you how to understand the “feelings” behind your behaviors, giving you the tools to better navigate those challenging questions.

Activate Optimal States

The only constant is change. As such, we discuss how our motivation can sometimes feel fleeting—you may feel like running tomorrow morning, but when the time comes to go running, all you want to do is sleep. What happened to our inspired decision to run? In this module, we show you proven ways to keep your initial motivation for pursuing your educational goals top of mind and burning strong.

Self-Authored Goals: Taking Ownership Back of Your Own Destination*

While the data supporting the effective use of goal-setting dates back several decades, which show that setting effective goals can consistently improve your performance. However, missing from current instructions on how to set smart goals is a key factor that was highlighted in the original research, but that has been omitted in recent years. That missing factor is that goals need to be self-authored and driven by one’s prioritized values. Therefore, to set more effective goals, it is important to regain ownership of your goals.

Student Testimonials

The only constant is change. As such, we discuss our motivation can sometimes feel fleeting—you may feel like running tomorrow morning, but when the time comes to go running, all you want is to sleep. What happened to our inspired decision to run? In this module, we show you proven ways to keep your initial motivation for pursuing your educational goals top of mind and burning strong.