Growth Mindset
"All things are difficult before they are easy." - Thomas Fuller
At King's Wood School, we know that pupils who have a positive attitude towards their learning will make good progress and be successful.
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We have a strong focus on helping our children to develop 'growth mindsets' based on the theories of Dr Carol Dweck. Our aspiration is for all learners - both children and adults - to relish challenges, embrace their mistakes as part of the learning process, value the importance of effort, respond carefully to feedback and take inspiration from others.
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This will help them to achieve, not only with us, but also in their future lives as adults.
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Encouraging children to become confident and resilient learners
We aim to encourage children to become confident and resilient learners. To this end, we - as a team of parents and staff - need to be modelling the mindset of a learner who is not afraid of making mistakes but who thrives upon them and understands that this is all part of the learning process. The way in which we encourage children to learn and explore is vital to their success, not only at school but at home as well.
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Our Growth Mindset philosophy is not just talk! Children use concepts like "The Learning Pit" as part of their everyday learning in lessons.
Increasingly, our children understand that it is a good thing to get stuck (to get into the learning pit) because the sense of achievement when they climb out of the pit is immense!
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We support children to access learning at a level which challenges them. As different children have different starting points, we have activities with varied levels of challenge. We call these "Chilli Challenges". Pupils have learned to self-select appropriately so that they always have the opportunity of getting into the pit and climbing back out of it.
Key aspects of growth mindset at King's Wood School:
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We celebrate making mistakes – we can learn from them;
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We never give up – perseverance is the key if we are to succeed;
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We have a go every time - lolly sticks help us to remember that we always need to be ready to participate and make sure that we all get a fair turn
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We learn from each other, in mixed ability groups;
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We don’t compare ourselves with others;
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We challenge ourselves and take risks;
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We remember that our brains are making new connections and growing all the time.
Helpful Web Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn_TJTrnU
https://www.mindsetworks.com/parents/growth-mindset-parentinghttps://www.oxfordlearning.com/growth-mindset-tips-for-parents/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/help-your-child-try-new-things
