Head of Primary - Growth Mindset Maths
During Primary Assembly last week, our Primary students received a huge thank you from staff and the leadership team for the respectful and engaged way they have started the new school year. Our students have also been excited with the changes in their learning spaces, getting to know their new teachers as well as welcoming new classmates who have joined St Peters this year.
Growth Mindset Maths
At a whole school level, we have a range of strategic intentions to implement over the year as we continue to provide excellent teaching and learning in our classrooms. One of our focus areas is Growth Mindsets, and in our Primary classes, we are going to narrow this down further to understand more about Growth Mindset Maths. This is an approach to teaching mathematics which believes that mindset is more important than the initial ability in determining the progress made by students in their mathematical understanding.
During Teachers Week, staff were involved in a session on Maths Inquiry and Growth Mindset Maths. Melissa Fanshawe from the University of Southern Queensland worked with our Primary staff focusing on the ‘joy’ in maths and how as teachers we can get each student to challenge their thinking on their learning in maths. We are delighted that Melissa will continue to work with us over the year in this area.
We want our students to know that everyone is capable of anything with an open and growth mindset.
Within the framework one of the most important sentences students can say is ‘I can’t do this yet…’ It brings in the thinking that there are challenges, risks, mistakes to be made in each lesson but it is a journey to understanding. Linked to this is the importance of individual feedback about the topic or lesson so the teacher knows what it is the student needs to work on in the future so they can eventually say ‘I can do it!’ or ‘I understand’.
Families can also use this framework at home in any area of their child’s life. There are always going to be times when your children will say ‘I can’t do this’ but by encouraging a change in words to ‘I can’t do this yet…’ will make all the difference to their thinking and how they approach new or challenging times.
Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." -- Albert Einstein
God’s Blessings to our St Peters community
Debbie West-McInnes
Head of Primary
