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October 31, 2017

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Nurturing the perfect growth mindset

OUR school is a full IBO continuum school and as such STEM is not a grouping that we officially use. However, it is a natural grouping, one that I support and is easy to nurture either through specific interdisciplinary units or by explicit usage within the subject. Design is after all a very rich and diverse subject and designing a product from concept through to actualization, in its basic form, requires the designer/student to research, analyze, design, make and evaluate the success of the product.

Many subjects in schools are taught in isolation and as a result students view them in isolation, but as we know this is not how the world works. Design is a dynamic subject and unlike most subjects, it naturally brings together a range of disciplines and uses them together in real life situations. It places a design cycle at its heart and gives students the opportunity to bring their ideas to life through a creative process. Students use knowledge and skills from a range of other subjects, such as science and maths, in context when solving real life design challenges and the process is so fluid that quite often students don’t even realize the skills transfer that they are utilizing.

A part of my learning environment approach fosters the growth mindset philosophy. Creating vibrant learning environments in which students feel inspired, safe and free to experiment with new ideas helps nurture the growth mindset. Carol S Dweck’s findings in her book “The New Psychology of Success” suggest that “people believe that their talents and abilities can be developed through passion, education, and persistence.” I believe that passion and persistence can only thrive when we are happy and feel engaged by a subject or topic. Providing engaging learning environments supports our students and helps them achieve far more than they ever thought possible.




 

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