Kathleen Cushman 
Fires in the Mind 
What Kids Can Tell Us About Motivation and Mastery

Teens talk to adults about how they develop motivation and
mastery

Through the voices of students themselves, Fires in the Mind
brings a game-changing question to teachers of adolescents: What
does it take to get really good at something? Starting with what
they already know and do well, teenagers from widely diverse
backgrounds join a cutting-edge dialogue with adults about the
development of mastery in and out of school. Their insights frame
motivation, practice, and academic challenge in a new light that
galvanizes more powerful learning for all. To put these students‘
ideas into practice, the book also includes practical tips for
educators.

* Breaks new ground by bringing youth voices to a timely
topic-motivation and mastery

* Includes worksheets, tips, and discussion guides that help put
the book’s ideas into practice

* Author has 18 previous books on adolescent learning and has
written for the New York Times Magazine, Educational
Leadership, and American Educator

From the acclaimed author of Fires in the Bathroom, this
is the next-step book that pushes the conversation to next level,
as teenagers tackle the pressing challenges of motivation and
mastery.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword by Dennis White ix

1. What Does It Take to Get Good? 1
Young people are developing mastery in ways we easily overlook

2. Catching the Spark 11
Kids tell what draws them in and gives them confidence in learning

3. Keeping at It 31
When do young people stick with something and make it their own?

4. Asking the Experts 55
Looking at how experts work, students make sense of their own process

5. Exploring Deliberate Practice 71
Young people look closer at what makes practice effective

6. Practice and Performance 87
Demonstrating mastery also helps students improve

7. Bringing Practice into the Classroom 97
Students imagine the classroom as a community of practice

8. Is Homework Deliberate Practice? 117
Whether, when, and how to give kids practice after class

9. School Projects That Build Expert Habits 135
Students talk about their most compelling curricula

10. Making School a Community of Practice 153
Kids suggest ways that schools can foster expert habits

Appendix A: The Practice Project: A Five-Day Curriculum Outline for Secondary Teachers or Advisers 159
How to help students investigate the expert process

Appendix B: Resources That Help Light Fires in the Mind 165
Inspiration, tools, organizations, and other resources

The Student Contributors 173

Acknowledgments 177

About the Author 181

About What Kids Can Do 182

Index 183

Über den Autor

Kathleen Cushman writes, speaks, and consults to a national audience of educators. A journalist and documentarian, she cofounded the nonprofit What Kids Can Do, which collaborates with diverse youth in the United States and abroad, bringing their voices to bear on the complex challenges that affect their lives and learning. She is also author of Fires in the Bathroom and coauthor, with Laura Rogers, of Fires in the Middle School Bathroom.