Barbreck – Developing a Growth Mindset

The aim of every teacher is to teach students – to unpack, explain, model and support students at every level of their development. The days when the whole class completed identical learning at the same time and to the same level (the lock step approach) no longer exist. Today, at St Catherine’s, learning is much more personalised. We aim for every student to feel successful with their learning, and that they are progressing and developing. We encourage them to be excited about learning regardless of their starting points, which are as individual as each student.

This lock step approach does not cater to the whole class, limiting the opportunity to adapt and tailor teaching according to each students’ knowledge, needs and interests. Some students can be left behind and experience difficulty in catching up, while some who may be more advanced would make little progress, while for some it would be just right. Each student’s journey is different and our approach is to cater for these variations.

We achieve this by offering a differentiated approach – providing new learning for each of the levels of achievement within the class, usually in the form of small group work. Some of these activities support students requiring extension, while others provide greater support.

Year 2 exploration of the many possibilities for fractions

In Year 2, I have enjoyed taking a group of girls for Extension Maths. They have been discovering fractions and I have been amazed at how quickly they have grasped new content, moving quickly from an understanding of what a fraction is, to being able to add and subtract fractions with like denominators, and exploring the many possibilities for equivalent fractions.

Phases of learning

What is apparent with this group is the learning behaviours they employ. They are open to new learning and understand that they may not grasp it straight away. They understand that their learning will go through phases. They can place themselves on this scale at the end of each lesson – monitoring their development.

They are honest and confident to ask questions to clarify understanding, they seek teacher guidance and feedback to improve their performance and they are confident that with time and practice they will understand and apply their learning. They demonstrate a growth mindset.

 

 

Ms Karen McArdle, Head of Junior School