How to Learn Maths for Students: Positive Education Course (Week 2)

As part of Positive Education learning, we have been inviting students to work through a course led by Dr Jo Boaler (Professor Mathematics Education at Stanford University) and her undergraduate students.

This will help students to develop a Growth Mindset in Maths. This course includes useful information about the brain and the best ways to learn Maths effectively.

Here is some of our learning from Week 2...

Smashing Stereotypes

James: Companies think that girls do not like some things boys like, they use stereotype thinking. More people should have access to different toys, video games, board games and computer programming - they all use maths. People should also let people have more choices of t-shirts colours that aren't just pink for girls.

Inigo: Maths is for everyone! Never get boxed in to anything! Ideas are for everyone to enjoy.

Ajooni: Today, I learned that no one should think in stereotype. For example, pink is not only for girls and blue is not only for boys. The video said that to be good in maths, you should play maths game, board games, build stuff with Lego. It's for everyone not only for boys. No one should tell you that something is not for you.

Mindset in Maths

Darragh: You need to be confident about it and not give up.

Billy: People need to persist and have a growth mindset in order to learn Maths.

Emelie: They need to use perseverance and believe in themselves even when things get hard, and even if they get it wrong they believe that next time they will be able to see the mistakes they did last time and learn from them!

Emily: If you have a growth mindset you think that you can grow your brain if you have a fixed mindset you think that you are smart or not smart.

Sammy: If you want to get better at maths you have to have a growth mindset and just keep trying because if you fail once, you can just try harder the next time and you will get better. You also need to believe in yourself to have a growth mindset.

Messages about Maths and You!

Sophie: When students are praised for being smart they sometimes choose the easy problem. This is because they wanted to get it right again so that people would still think they are smart.

Sabine: Why do you think that when students were praised for being smart they then chose the easy problem? Maybe because if they think they were smart they thought they wouldn’t have to do the hard problem because smart means that you know a lot so they probably thought that if someone said they were smart they wouldn’t have to challenge their brains because they knew that question so they wouldn’t have to get muddled up doing the hard question.

Mae A: I think it is because they really want to know that they are smart. It can be just wanting to think that they are smarter than other people, but it would just make them not as good as the people who choose the hard problem. Even if the people that choose the hard problem get it wrong, their brain still grows and they will get it.I f you set yourself at the easier problems your brain can still grow but not as much as the people who choose the hard problem.

Messages about you

Alex: When people say you are failing it doesn't matter just keep trying.

Coco: The thoughts in your head can really affect your learning. When the students had a test half the class got feedback saying"Im giving you this feedback because I believe in you"and their results were much better at the end of the year.

Hunter J: The negative messages you receive will affect your future in learning unless you shut the negative messages out of your brain and let the positive messages come in instead. you should always try the hard problem because when you struggle it might seem that your bad it but when you struggle it actually helps you to learn so make sure you try the hard problem next time.

Fülöp: The first thing is that the students' achievements are changed by the messages they get. If they get, for example the message, "This is bad. I can't understand what made you think this" then the student will be hurt, and they will think that they can't do that. if they get the message, " I'm giving you this feedback because I want to help you" then the student won't lose much confidence.