Angela Duckworth
@angeladuckw
Professor at @Penn. Author of Grit. Co-host of @NSQ_Show. Co-founder of @thecharacterlab.
Willpower is overrated. The real key to behavior change? Situation modification. 📵 Put your phone in another room 🌳 Step outside when you're bored 🛏️ Charge it outside your bedroom 🍽️ Keep it off the dinner table Change your environment—not just your intentions. This is…
We overestimate willpower. We underestimate context. Situation modification is the simple, science-backed idea that you can change your behavior by changing your surroundings. Put your phone in another room. Sit next to what you want to focus on. Create friction for…
Angela Duckworth gives a brilliant graduation speech at Bates: "Where you physically place your phone may be one of the most consequential decisions you make." Guard your attention. Not with willpower, but situation modification: @angeladuckw youtube.com/watch?v=HxVsaN…
📱 Willpower is overrated. Study after study shows that focus isn’t about forcing it—it’s about changing your environment. It’s called situation modification. That’s why I launched Phones in Focus—the first national study on how school phone policies shape student success.…
In an AI world, it’s easy to avoid effort. That’s why students need teachers more—to push them toward the hard things now that shape who they become later. #Education #AI #TeachingMatters #FutureOfLearning
🎉 Congrats to the GRAND PRIZE winner from @Andrews_ISD in Texas! 🏫📚 TEACHERS: take the confidential phonesinfocus.org survey to help shape policy and see how your school compares PLUS be eligible for our drawings this fall! #PhonesInFocus #EdResearch #TeacherVoices…
Re-posting my praise for @BillMcGowan22 and adding the Amazon link!! The best book on public speaking I've ever read by the best public speaking coach in the world!!! a.co/d/cMyz5lg
The best book on public speaking I’ve ever read by the best public speaking coach in the world!!!
In a world full of digital distractions, context is crucial for behavior change. Psychologists call it situation modification—changing environments to support better choices. That’s why I launched Phones in Focus—a national study on how school phone policies can support student…
📱 Just seeing your phone—even face down—can lower test scores. Why? It drains mental energy. The farther the phone, the higher the GPA. This isn’t about willpower—it’s about situation modification. Change your environment. Change the outcome. That’s why I launched Phones in…
🎉 Congrats to this week’s raffle winner from North Caroline High School in Maryland! 🏫📚 TEACHERS: take the confidential phonesinfocus.org survey to help shape policy and see how your school compares PLUS be eligible for our next drawing! #PhonesInFocus #EdResearch…
Six ways to deal with your phone One powerful idea Zero demand on willpower #situationmodification youtube.com/watch?v=HxVsaN…
Proud mommy! My daughter Lucy has taught me more about the how and why of social connection than I ever taught her ❤️ news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/0…
📚 Carol Dweck signed a copy of Mindset with “Keep on Growing”—and YOU could win it. Take the 5-min Phones in Focus survey on school phone policies. 🎯 30,000+ educators have joined 🎁 Weekly + national raffles 📊 Help shape evidence-based recommendations 👉…
🎉 Congrats to this week’s raffle winner from @BurnsMiddleScho in Tennessee! 🏫📚 TEACHERS: take the confidential phonesinfocus.org survey to help shape policy and see how your school compares PLUS be eligible for our next drawing! #PhonesInFocus #EdResearch…
Rivals or Teammates? What happens when scientists with opposing theories come together - not to win, but to learn? 🌐 arc-cogitate.com 📄 doi.org/10.1038/s41586…
In the age of AI, what can teachers say to their students? "You need me anyway. So much of the grit required to do hard things now that are good for you later comes from wanting to make our mentors proud." In my commencement address to 2025 @PennGSE graduates, I argue that…
🎉 Congrats to this week’s raffle winner from Queen Anne's County High School in Maryland! 🏫📚 TEACHERS: take the phonesinfocus.org survey to help shape policy and see how your school compares PLUS be eligible for our next drawing! #PhonesInFocus #EdResearch…
If you go back far enough in your family tree, you discover that you, too, are an immigrant... And if you think hard enough about what makes this country great, you realize that our success depends on welcoming gritty strivers nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/…
📱How are phones REALLY impacting student mental health? This #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, we’re asking educators to share what they see every day in schools. Take 5-mins to join the national conversation 👉 phonesinfocus.org #PhonesInFocus #EdPolicy #StudentWellbeing…
