All In Your Mind

September 11, 2015

Will the tower hold up the tennis ball? "They were so excited by the challenge," says teacher Nadia Boria. COURTESY NADIA BORIA

Keegan Deters, 8, says math used to be hard for her. "It made me feel frustrated," she told TFK. "I didn't try my best."

Then Keegan and her classmates at Scouters Mountain Elementary, in Happy Valley, Oregon, learned about growth mindset. It is the idea that you can strengthen your mind through hard work.

Now Keegan enjoys a challenge. She says she thinks "I can do this!" when she works on a math problem.

Work Your Brain!

Carol Dweck studies how people learn. She found that when kids know they can grow their intelligence, they do better in school. "We teach kids that every time they work on something hard and stick to it, their brain forms stronger connections. These connections can make them smarter," she says.

Change Your Mind

"Growth mindset is just a different way of thinking about things," says teacher Nadia Boria. Here are some tips on how to boost your brainpower.

Nadia Boria is Keegan's teacher. She says learning about growth mindset has changed how students work. "Even when a problem gets hard, they don't stop," she says.

INSTEAD OF SAYING ...

I'm not good at this.

This is too hard.

I made a mistake.

I don't know the answer.

I give up.

TRY SAYING ...

I'm not good at it yet.

I like a challenge!

Mistakes help me learn.

I can figure it out!

I'm going to keep trying.