Assistant Principal
Growth Mindset in Math
In general, a growth mindset is a belief that intelligence and ‘smartness’ can also be learned and that the brain grows from experience and effort. The opposite, a fixed mindset, is the idea that you are smart, or you are not. In math, that translates into “some people are good at math, and some are not.” Did you know that praising efforts rather than intelligence or results can impact your child’s ability to persevere in challenges?! The goal is to have children thrive on challenges and see failures, not as a sign of low intelligence, but as a learning opportunity. Brain research tells us that making mistakes actually wires more connections into the brain! When a person has a growth mindset, they accept challenges, see their efforts as worthwhile, and are open to learning from mistakes. Students with a growth mindset achieve at higher levels than those with fixed mindsets. How can you help? Some simple ways:
- Adding “yet” when they claim they are “not good at this” (Respond: “You are not good at this yet”).
- Ask questions that focus on their effort and choices and get them to reflect on
the satisfaction of that effort (e.g. What did you learn today? What mistake did you make that taught you something? What did you try hard at today?). - Model this yourself as you share about your day.
Congratulations on the Term
I have been very pleased with the wonderful learning of our students and their creativity, adaptability and resilience over this term. Congratulations on all of your hard work. I thank the school community for the positive feedback about the learning activities, online platforms and Zoom meetings. I look forward to seeing everyone when they return to school mid-Term 4
Mr Green
Assistant Principal