We are learning how to grow our brains at Roebuck Academy.  To help do this, we are using Guy Claxton's Building Learning Power alongside Carol Dwek's approach. Carol Dweck believes that it's not just our abilities or talent that bring us success but whether we approach our goals with a fixed or growth mindset. With the right mindset, children can be motivated to reach their goals.

Children who have a ‘growth mindset’ will try new things, persevere when times are difficult and learn from their mistakes. They solve problems and communicate their thoughts and ideas.

Children with a ‘fixed mindset’ will not rise to a challenge and may be worried about making mistakes.

Through the use of Learning Behaviour targets in everyday school life, our children become aware of not just what they learn but also how they learn. 

Try thinking about these questions…

• How do you like to learn?
• When do you feel clever?
• When do you feel less than clever?

How you answer these questions will give an indication of which mindset you have - but don’t worry as you can change your mindset and grow your brain…

One of the significant ways to change your mindset is to change your words. Here are some examples which can be used both in school and at home…

I’ll never be as smart as him / her	I’m going to figure out what he / she does and try it
I give up	I’ll use some of the strategies I’ve learned
I’m awesome at this!	I’m on the right track
It’s good enough	What am I missing?
I’m not good at this	I can always improve – I’ll keep trying
I made a mistake	Mistakes help me improve
This is too hard	This may take some time and some effort
I can’t do maths, spelling, Science, anything!	I’m going to train my brain to learn
I can’t make this any better	Is this really my best work?

As our children learn about mindset and meet their Learning Behaviour targets, we hope that they learn skills that they can employ in their academic work as well as life outside of school. Don’t be surprised if you start to hear you child coming home and using the power of yet!...

Did you know that in the world today, there are some very high profile failures!...

Do you know who was told that they couldn't work in the TV industry because they lacked creativity and imagination?

It was Walt Disney!

Click here to see videos about growth mindset which you can share with your child.