The children at Inglehurst Infant School are encouraged to develop a growth mindset.
A person with a growth mindset:
• Knows intelligence is expandable (I want to learn more)
• Embraces challenges
• Persists in the face of setbacks
• Sees effort as the way
• Learns from criticism
(A fixed mindset: intelligence is static, I must look clever! Gives up easily, sees effort as pointless, ignores useful criticism – Likely to plateau early and achieve less than full potential)
Therefore any praise should be focussed on achievement and effort not on ‘being clever’.
We want children to develop the learning powers of resilience, resourcefulness, reflectiveness and reciprocity/relationships (see Guy Claxton’s work). We have taken elements of these and simplified them.
Challenge yourself
Concentrate
Think and imagine
Keep trying
Work and improve together.
Children are taught to assess and improve their own work with a learning partner and on their own.
Children are encouraged to assess their own achievement (e.g. against success criteria) and not see the adults as the only judge of success.
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We use books to illustrate the learning powers:
Ryan the Spy and the Superhero Secret
Giraffes Can’t Dance
Ish
The Dot
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain
The Little Engine That Could.
The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes