GCSE Mindset: Navigate the Crossroads with Growth

This week's GCSE Mindset session by Mr Worden focused on a pivotal moment for students: receiving results from their second set of PPEs.

“These grades can feel like a crossroads, triggering either a "fight or flight" response. Students might choose to fight and leverage the growth mindset techniques they've learned to improve their study habits,” remarked Mr Worden. “However, the fear of failure might lead to a flight response, adopting a fixed mindset and giving up.”

The session covered the crucial skill of overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of success. Students identified common barriers and categorised them based on the level of control they have:

• No Control: Fortunately, there are very few things in this category, like a sudden illness.
• Influence: Many obstacles can be impacted with effort. For example, a lack of time management skills can be addressed by creating a study schedule.
• Complete Control: These barriers offer the most opportunity for immediate improvement. Examples include negative study habits or procrastination.

Through the exercise, students realised they have more influence over their outcomes than they might have initially thought. By prioritising and tackling barriers one by one, they can develop solutions and experience positive change.

We then delved deeper into the concept of justifications. Students explored the difference between external justifications, which blame external factors for their struggles, and internal justifications, which identify areas for improvement within their control. Examples like:

• External Justification: "The Science topics are impossible to understand!"
• Internal Justification: "I haven't been keeping up with notes, making it harder to grasp the concepts."

Similarly,

• External Justification: "Maths is so boring, there's no point in trying!"
• Internal Justification: "I haven't been asking questions to clarify my understanding, which would make it more interesting."

Mr Worded added: “By identifying internal justifications, students take ownership of their learning. They can then implement specific changes to address these areas of weakness and watch their performance improve.”

Next week, the GCSE mindset session will explore the concept of "Finding Flow" and how to achieve optimal performance in the face of academic challenges.