Mathematics at GEC

Growth Mindset

It is nearly the end of term 2 and it is the time at GEC when students in Years 10, 11 and 12 undergo/have undergone mid-year exams.   The junior year students would also be undergoing many different assessments to prove their understanding and skills on different concepts they have been learning in class, before their semester report is prepared by the end of this term.  

 

There are many things that would contribute to a student's successes in their assessments but one that came to my mind which stops students from making progress, especially in Maths, is the lack of ‘Growth Mindset’.  So, I would like to address key principles of growth mindset that I have gathered from few different online sources and that students need to develop to achieve success or to make progress in their assessments, if success is considered a relative word. 

<Growth mindset Image downloaded from: https://society6.com/emblemthreads >
<Growth mindset Image downloaded from: https://society6.com/emblemthreads >

 

Carol Dweck, the author of mindset, also who coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset says: 

“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”
(source: https://fs.blog/2015/03/carol-dweck-mindset/)   

 

Thus, growth mindset is about being positive, being resilient, and being prepared to take challenges knowing that you learn by making mistakes. 

 

The following website talks about 25 ways to develop a growth mindset: https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/develop-a-growth-mindset/  

Of the above 25 ways, I would like to highlight in this edition of newsletter, the key point No. 2 (View challenges as opportunities) and the key point No. 20 (Use of word ‘yet’)

 

Key point 2:  View Challenges as Opportunities

As John Hattie a well-known professor of educator says, “A teacher’s job is not to make work easy. It is to make it difficult. If you are not challenged, you do not make mistakes. If you do not make mistakes, feedback is useless.”  In other words, one can only grow by taking up challenges and learning from mistakes instead of shying away from them. 

 

Key point 20: Use the word ‘yet’

Learning is continuous and ongoing.  It never stops when the assessments are done and the results are given out as either successful or not successful.  When one does not succeed, this means that they have not succeeded ‘yet’.  When one has not understood a concept, they have not understood it ‘yet’.  This is a powerful word to start including in our statements to encourage the growth mindset among the learners.

 

In conclusion on this brief note on Growth mindset, here is a short video by Carol Dweck on Growth Mindset: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ 

 

Arivu Kumaran

Maths Learning Area Leader