Pass It On September 2013, Issue 1 | Page 4

Mindset

It is important that students develop a positive mindset when approaching learning. This means they are independent and resilient. It means that when they are faced with a difficulty or a failure, they are able to cope with it. When students don't have such resilience, it can affect their success on a programme of study as well as any study or work they progress onto. Embedding 'growth mindset' into your classroom culture is a positive change you can make.

Why not teach your students about famous people who have failed? This will teach them that some of the most successful people they know, have bounced back from disaster.

You could tell students stories of your own failures and how you overcame them.

The most important message about failure should be that it is a necessary part of success but you must learn and grow from it. Don't just accept failure but embrace it and create something out of it.

Dealing with problems effectively is a principle aspect of having a growth mindset.

THIS SITE offers some of the research and science behind mindsets. One of the suggestions I liked the most, was the conversation that should happen around learning through questioning why something didn't go as planned., as well as what can be changed in the future.