Mindset

This is such a significant topic of interest for everyone living in this 21st century. From my perspective mindset can not only affects leaning but it can also impacts on living. As an educator, we need to demonstrate and teach students the life long lessons and give them the tools that can be useful for happy, positive, and successful life. People with fixed mindset gives up when challenges come, ignore the feedbacks and fixes their mind on abilities in terms of can/can not. People with growth mindset embrace challenges, learn from failures and criticism and find the inspiration from others.  
We all need to observe ourselves regularly and help ourselves to develop our brain to act like a growth mindset. Our continues effort and regular practice can sure make our thinking in positive direction.
As an educators, we need to teach students to develop growth mindset.
Stanford professor Carol Dweck has discovered that how we praise our children can benefit or detriment their self view. Being mindful about how you praise your child can help your child foster a growth mindset and boost his or her motivation, resilience and learning.

When you praise for effort, you encourage a growth mindset, the belief that intellectual ability can be developed through education and effort. Those with a growth mindset believe that they can get better at almost anything, as long as they spend the necessary time and energy. Instead of seeking to avoid mistakes, they see mistakes as an essential precursor of knowledge.

Few praises that can benefits students develop growth mindsets are:

• “Good job trying something new and different – I know you haven’t done this before.”
• “I noticed you spent a lot of time figuring out your homework – I’m happy that you’re so dedicated. Let’s work together to figure out what you don’t understand.”
• “I’m proud of you for sticking with it and taking the time to understand the concepts you’re trying to learn."

                                                               

Brain Research

Few years ago when I came to know that 90% of brain develop before the age of 5, I was disappointed not only for me but the all children who didn't get the supportive, mentally rich and challenging environment to grow and develop their brain to full capacity.
This PD session didn't only bring the hope and excitement but also gave me a fresh start by stating that new research inform us that Brain is not rigid but is like plastic-"having the ability to change structure and chemistry in response to the environment."

Few artefact from the brain research that I would focus and reflect on are.

• The brain hierarchy of tasks start with Physical survival----->Emotion survival------->Thinking and Learning.  It means that students should feel physically and emotionally safe before they can learn. (Safe Emotional Environment and physical environment is very important to learn)
• You can learn anything with some practice, connection and environment.
• Learning new things rewires the brain. 
• The brain strives to create connections, so learning should build on prior knowledge and should be multi sensory and interactive.
• One quote that strike my head "The brain...Use it or lose it." 

(Google images based on Brain tips)

"According to Neuroplasticity, a new research, intelligence is at least partially determined by environment, nutrition, prior learning, life experiences, and even beliefs and values. No wonder everyone is so unique.
As an educators, we need to provide emotionally and physically rich environment to all of students which is the foundation for learning and thinking. To get the best academic results, we need to make sure that the lesson plans should be interactive, well connected, based on students prior knowledge and be under the zone of proximal development.