Academic Mindsets & Non-Cognitive Factors
Academic Mindsets & Non-Cognitve Factors are the building blocks to embracing a learner identity.
A learner identity is paramount in humans seeing themselves as learners, who are capable of growth.
Identifying as a learner supports us in cultivating a growth mindset, which is crucial to positive self-talk and image.
Embracing and practicing the 4 academic mindsets supports a sense of belonging, meaning and purpose, as well as providing the necessary tools/strategies to succeed in challenging circumstances! The focus on deliberate practice and effort proves that one can succeed!
Can you teach neuroscience to 5 year-olds?
The first question we asked was can you teach neuroscience to 5 year-olds? Meet Elana as she explains how she discovered that her skills grow with her effort.
In the first video, hear how she engaged in deliberate practice to grow her skills, or as she states, "I did it over and over." In the second video, Elana explains what she needed to work on to succeed at aquiring her new ABC skills.
Why does this matter?
When you believe in your abilities and when you feel like you belong, opportunities boundless.
​
Think of a time where you felt that you could succeed, that you belonged and that your skills could grow with your efforts. What did it feel like, sound like, and look like for you?
​
Now think of a time where you didn't feel like you could succeed or belonged? What did that feel like, sound like, or look like for you?
What does the research say?
Gordon's Ladder is a representation of how deliberate practice supports the growth of new knowledge and skills. Essentially, as neurons fire together they wire together and our goal is to deepen that connection so that the new skill and knowledge becomes second nature. If academic mindsets and non-cognitive factors are cultivated and believed in, a human is more likely to continue their progression along the ladder. If the opposite occurs, then we will most likely give up at the conscious competence stage, especially if the newly acquired skill or knowledge takes more effort than we are willing to give. Basically, we give up because it is too hard. Believing in the 4 academic mindsets and non-cognitive factors equips us with the strategies we need to persevere even in the face of hardship.
Camille Farrington's work from UChicgo also highlights the importance of cultivating environments that support a learner identity with the academic mindsets and non-cognitive factors as the foundation. As a parent of two children, cultivating their four mindsets is the core of what I do. Albeit, it is not an easy journey, but one that is well worth it and continue with them as they grow through their experienced into adulthood.
​These mindsets, dispositions and beliefs is how I strive to cultivate happy, healthy children that can adapt to the most difficult situations socially and academically.
