What is a growth mindset and why is it important to have one?

Most students view intelligence and talent as innate qualities, which are consequently very hard to change.

This is both wrong, and a very unfortunate way of thinking – as it removes our incentive to try to improve.

You can test the mindset of the students in your class by using a simple questionnaire – click on the following link to launch the questionnaire (page 1) and an explanation of how the scoring works.

People with a ‘growth mindset’ – who understand that talent and intelligence can be improved through hard work – significantly outperform people who have a ‘fixed mindset’.

The following link takes you through to a brilliant Radio 4 talk by Matthew Syed; a British journalist who used to be the UK’s table tennis champion. His section runs from 15.10 until 27.45.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b038hghk

Four Thought – Best of Four Thought – Original Thinkers – BBC Sounds Georgie Fienberg, Matthew Syed and Ben Dyson give talks that challenge received wisdom. www.bbc.co.uk