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Do you believe that: • Intelligence is something very basic that you can’t change very much? • You can learn something new, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are? • No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit? Our fundamental beliefs about intelligence shape the way we respond to a challenge. If we believe intelligence is a fixed quantity, then we are more likely to believe that we should just give up when faced with something that is difficult or challenging. This is a ‘fixed mindset’. If we believe we can improve our intelligence, then we are more likely to believe that we can learn by pushing ourselves to try more and more difficult problems. This is a ‘growth mindset’. If we want our children to be resilient individuals who persevere when the going gets tough, then we must help them to develop a ‘growth mindset’. This relates not only to intelligence, but to sporting talent, business skills, artistic talent, leadership and many other endeavours. In schools, teachers demonstrate daily that they believe in growth mindsets. They: • Present new skills in ways that show they can be learned • Gradually increase the level of challenge to build on early successes • Show their students they value learning and persistence • Give feedback to promote learning and future success |
