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Showing posts from October, 2016

The Importance of a Growth Mindset in Math

Growth Mindsets in Math are important for student learning.  Our youngest students are often very excited about learning math. But then something happens. I believe that  a students diminishing excitement for math is directly related to a lack of a growth mindset. What is a Growth Mindset?  A Growth Mindset is a philosophy promoted by  Dr. Carol Dweck . With a growth mindset, we each have the ability to achieve success beyond our innate abilities. We also have the option to move forward in the face of adversity, and become successful in our own right. When it comes to math, there is no such thing as a 'math person'. This is because a person's true potential is always unknown, or unknowable.  But often, in school, we become focussed on getting the 'correct' answers, as fast as we can. This leads to students having fixed mindsets about their abilities in math.  In math, we want students to NOT feel shame that there are deficiencies - this is why we lea