Strategies For Creating A Genius Mindset In Students

Mindset refers to the beliefs you have about yourself and your basic qualities. If you don’t believe you can be a genius, then you may not be able to become one. But if you open your mind to the possibility, then your future becomes an unwritten book.

When it comes to cultivating intelligence, mindset is a huge factor. Research from top cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience labs is demonstrating that fundamental aspects of intelligence, and even intelligence itself, can be altered through training.

Consider Leonardo Da Vinci, who was an artist, an engineer, an inventor, and, above all, a brilliant thinker. Da Vinci’s curiosity was the driving force behind all of the things he accomplished. The specific skills he needed, such as the ability to draw or paint, or the ability to think in mathematical terms, were all developed by him out of a mindset that he could do these things—and needed to—in order to investigate the world in the way that he wanted.

5 Strategies For Creating A Genius Mindset In Children

1) Change your Own Mindset

Struggling students can either be viewed with a fixed mindset, as simply stuck forever with an understanding that is sub-par—or, they can be viewed as a welcome challenge, and an opportunity for you to hone your teaching skills, and them to hone their learning skills.

2) Change the Emphasis

In mathematics, instead of focusing on correct answers, focus on correct process. If students are learning and following the correct process, then they will eventually also produce the correct answers. A good automated tutoring program can help by honing in on the exact step a student struggles with when attempting a challenging problem.

3) Value Mistakes

No has ever learned something valuable without making mistakes. Mistakes are going to happen, and they are actually part of the process of learning. Encourage students to see their mistakes as one of many steps toward mastery.

4) Encourage Perseverance

Students often need practice in hard work. Model the many steps it might take to master a concept or skill by talking them through it, and emphasizing the work itself as valuable over the final outcome of mastery. After all, the skill does not come without all of the practice and instruction that gets you there.

5) Praise The Process, Not The Person

The same applies with your students—instead of pointing out individual students who are doing well, and praising them as if they are innately “good at math,” point out the process those successful students used to find the answer. By highlighting the process over the person, other students can see a path toward accomplishing the same goals, and move away from believing that those students are doing well because, well, they’re just “Math People.”