1. Growth Mindsets What we believe shapes our learning.
Thinking about something like luck….

2. Core Messages
Decades of research show a powerful relationship between mindset and achievement.
Students’ beliefs about intelligence and learning impact:
Motivation
Academic behaviours (e.g., studying and seeking help)
Responses to challenges and setbacks
Academic achievement

3. The Brain is a muscle that needs exercise
Thinking through something you might have heard a child or adult (or ourselves) say – ‘I’m no good at maths, my Mum was no good and I knew I’d only score less than 10 marks out of 50.’
The Cerebellum part of the brain controls motor functions. It is our flight or fight system.
This can be a good thing – Moving to get out of the way of speeding car. Adrenaline is triggered. This part of the brain is given precedence over other parts.
Ever had the feeling of not being able to think straight in a stressful situation?
Key message: THE BRAIN IS MALABLE

4. Basic Science of Neurons
When we learn something new, we fire neurons which in turn develop our brains. Neurons are also fired by our positive and negative experiences.

5. Exercise Time Fold your arms Now fold them the other way
You have 1 min to read the document and summarise it to your partner.
How did the experience make you feel?

6. Background Info
For an average person, it takes 5 positive interactions to make up for a negative one.
Therefore:
People will work hard to keep 100 (£, score, etc) than they will to earn it.
Painful experiences are more memorable.

7. Training Minds to Understand Everything takes effort

8. Examples - Mozart
Son of ambitious music teacher. Father devoted all his time to developing Mozart’s skills.
By the time he composed some of his best pieces as a young adult, he had put in over 10,000 hours of deliberate, targeted practice.
He was seen as a natural when in reality, he had played for 3,500 hours by the age of 6. Hardly surprising he was much better than most 6 year olds.

9. Examples - Beckham By the age of 3, his father was coaching him.
‘All the strengths in my game are the ones Dad taught me in the park. We’d work on touch and striking a ball properly until it was too dark to see. He’d kick the ball up in the air as high as he could and get me to control it.

10. Examples – Lang Lang
Interviewer: When did you start to play the piano?
Lang: At 2 ½ years old.
Interviewer: How many hours a day did you practice?
Lang: For the first 15 years, 8 hours a day.
Interviewer: And now?
Lang: 3 hours a day.
Interviewer: Everyday?
Lang: Yes.

11. Worth thinking
Can you see a different mindset between our most able and least able children?
Is it an accident that we are perceived by the local area to be a good, friendly and caring school?

12. Figurative things our children say…

14. Making it work in school
In what ways do we think that schools support or undermine growth mindset messages?
What are our environments like?
What language do we use?
What do we do that enables children
Where does self-esteem and positive/negative praise fit in?

15. Practical Suggestions
Work on giving process praise – praising of the process to get there.
Study where:
intelligence praise was given ‘Wow, that’s a really good score. You must be smart at this.
Process praise was given ‘Wow, that’s a really good score. You must’ve tried really hard.’
Control group praise ‘Wow, that’s a really good score.’

16. Outcomes

17. More Practical Suggestions
Talk with the children about neuroplasticity and brain growth.
Continually remind children intelligence is not fixed and what we believe about ourselves matters enormously.
Be mindful of the negative effects of ability groups – It isn’t always possible to change this.
Avoid labels that imply traits are fixed.
Focus praise on efforts, persistence, use of strategies.
Create a culture where making mistakes is valued.
Help children to understand that difficulties are positive and shows they are learning something new.

18. More Practical Suggestions
Environment reflects the messages we want to give.

20. More Practical Suggestions
At Goldfield Infant and Nursery School, they’ve made good use of puppets to explain Growth Mindsets to younger children…introducing Polly Perseverance, Roger Resourcefulness, Ryan Reflectiveness and Chloe Co-operation.

21. Even More Practical Suggestions
Challenge children, parents and each other when we say limiting, fixed mindset things.
Teach how to think not what to think.
Make children aware of their internal voices and what they can say to them.

22. Practical Suggestions
Think about how and when to give feedback to avoid cerebellum overload. Do this through curiosity questions – What would happen if rather than can you tell me the answer to…
Breath in breath out exercise using hands.
Train older children to make a plan – What will help me? What will not help me?
Modelling positive approaches to failure – It’s only failure if you haven’t learnt something, the ‘yet’ principle, etc
Use of blooms taxonomy.