scottleduc

Success Revealed with Marshmallows?

Marshmallows Image by John-Morgan at Flickr.com

“…a seemingly simple experiment devised by Walter Mischel to test will power: put a kid in a room with a marshmallow, and tell her if she can resist eating it for 15 minutes, she can have 2 marshmallows. It turns out the kids who could wait were much more likely to be successful as adults. “- RadioLab.org – Your Future in a Marshmallow

Steps

Create the blog post titled, How Children Succeed

  • Remember to embed and cite an image from Creative Commons – Video Tutorial
  • Create two headings
    • Radio Lab
    • This American Life
  • Place this link under the Radio Lab heading:
  • Place this link under the the This American Life heading:
    • This American Life podcast Back to School
    • Listen to act 1 from minute 3:45 to 37:00.  Then skipped to act 2 from 43:00 until the end.
    • Take notes
  • Take notes on important steps to help you succeed
  • Participate in class discussion

Listen to the Podcast at RadioLab.org and Learn More

RadioLab does a great job of summarizing this study in a glorious audio experience.  Listen for a precious 15 minutes to this episode and you’ll quite possibly never think about parenting, teaching, learning and being successful the same way!

Be sure to read some of the comments on the RadioLab.org podcast page. Two in particular raise interesting concerns; Eric Mauro from Boston MA and Kimi from Hartford, CT. What limitations are inherent in this study?  What do we need to consider when interpreting data from studies like Mischel’s?  Do the concerns raised mean we throw out the results of the study?  How do you feel about the commenters observations and the data shared?

Want to Learn More?

Listen to the podcast Back to School from the This American Life radio program. You will hear Theo, pictured below, struggle with delaying gratification to receive two treats, instead of one. The hour long program details data and strategies to help young people overcome stress and stay focused on goals, compensate for deficiencies in resources and be successful in all areas of life. It’s profound and worth your time!

Listen to act 1 and 2 from minute 3:45 to 37:00.  Then skipped to minute 42:30 until the end.