MINDSET AND ME

OR ...

HOW I LEARNT TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT ABILITY, AND STARTED TO BELIEVE IN EVERY STUDENT

Tom Boulter

Dominant attitudes towards talent / ability

Ability is something that we are born with – it’s in our genes and innate

The level of success we can individually reach is largely dictated by our level of ability

You are ‘dealt a genetic hand’ and then ‘do your best’, aiming to ‘fulfil your potential’

‘Genes dictate. Genes instruct. Genes determine.’

Common beliefsThe Genius in Us All - Schenk

Some ‘natural’ talents

We Love Talent...

Effortless

brilliance...

She’s a natural .

..

Incredibly

gifted...

An amazing talent...

The most talented of

his generation..

.

A genius...

Schools love Talent...

Low ability

students

Talent walls...

Gifted and

talented...

Mixed ability...The most

talented of his year...

A talented student...

Where does ability come from?

Fixed Mindset

• Ability is largely natural – people are just born that way

Growth Mindset

• Ability is something that is grown and developed – they’ve learnt to be good

Who are our ‘most talented’ English students? How much do they read?

0

5000000

10000000

15000000

20000000

25000000

30000000

Series1

25 million, 920 thousand

words read through reading books, whilst at

SS

Student 1

Student 2

Student 3

Words read per year

Words read so far at Sec

School

What if we add in some C/D borderliners?

Ellie (WPY)

Ellie (WAC)

Rob Rob April (WPY)

April (WAC)

Jack Jack Zoe (WPY)

Zoe (WAC)

CJ CJ0

5000000

10000000

15000000

20000000

25000000

30000000

Series1

Student 1

Student 3

Student 4

Student 5

Student 6

Student 2

Mindset and Me

High-achieving at school Told (and believed) that I was ‘talented’ –

‘good at English’ Assumed that it ran in the family –

genetic justification

Mindset and Me

Countless hours

reading, playing word

games, talking to English

teachers etc etc

Mindset and Me - then

Got to University Game had changed – introduced to

concepts and ideas beyond textual analysis

Floundered – no experience of failure, explicit learning, learning strategies

Significant impact on results Significant impact on self-perception and

self-esteem

Mindset and Me - Now

I do not have natural talent in English High-achievement was as a result of

time spent in an environment which developed the necessary skills

I could get much better as an analyst / writer if I created the right conditions and chose to

I could do the same with Maths, fishing, Swahili, playing the oboe, teaching, leadership, conkers etc etc etc

In the classroom?

Gaining an evidence-based belief in the potential of all children

Changed the way I interact with students in ways that are impossible to control…

… and impossible to fake

Matthew Syed – Bounce – on Talent “The talent theory of expertise is not merely

flawed in theory, it is insidious in practice, robbing individuals and institutions of the motivation to change themselves and society.”

“Even if we can’t bring ourselves to embrace the idea that expertise is ultimately about the quality and quantity of practice, can’t we accept that practice is far more significant than previously thought? That talent is a largely defunct concept? That each and every one of us has the potential to tread the path to excellence?”