How to Get Smarter Every Day

Matthew Syed is the author of a new book ‘Bounce – The myth of talent and the power of practice’.

Matthew’s main point is that people with a Fixed Mindset have a fixed intelligence because they give up easily, whereas, people with a Growth Mindset get smarter every day – because they keep on learning.

Matthew’s reasoning is as follows:

People who believe that talent is genetically determined do less well in many parts of their lives because as soon as they hit an obstacle they draw the inference that they just lack talent and so are much more likely to give up. A good example of this is learning Maths – many people think they have a poor mathematical brain so they give up easily – they don’t do their homework properly and so they don’t learn very well – this is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

People with a Growth Mindset think that success is not about talent but about hard work – so they are more resilient and will work to overcome the obstacles they encounter.

You can listen to an interview Matthew did on the ABC Radio National here: Interview with Matthew Syed.

Find Out If You Have a Growth Mindset or a Fixed Mindset

A lot of Matthew’s ideas rely on the extensive scientific research done by Carol Dweck – you can read all about it in her excellent book ‘Mindset’. Carol has a website where you can test your mindset.

You Learn From Your Mistakes

Ha!!! What a joke!

Most people rarely learn from their mistakes.

Yet most people pay lip service to this platitude – especially when giving advice to others about their mistakes – but they rarely live up it to it themselves.

Why?

Well – it is often very difficult to learn from a specific mistake unless you know HOW to.

Most Experts Miss the Point

Both Carol Dweck and Matthew Syed stress the importance of perseverance and hard work to overcome problems. And then there is the whole Positive Mental Attitude Movement which says that all that you need is the right attitude – as Napoleon Hill says, ‘Whatever your mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve’ – he stressed the power of positive thinking and goal visualization.

I am a great advocate of developing a Growth Mindset, and a Positive Mental Attitude, but it is a big mistake to think that these are sufficient in themselves – they most definitely are NOT.

There is NO merit in hard work when there is an easier way to do something – just relying on hard work and hope will not work in many instances – especially in education and learning – precisely where a Growth Mindset is so important.

The missing ingredient is SKILLS.

Having a Fixed Mindset, where you blame your problems on weaknesses in your brain – ‘I’m no good no good at Maths, just like my father.’ – will stop you looking for the skills you need to learn to succeed. That is why it is so important to break out of a Fixed Mindset mentality.

The Skills You Need to Maintain a Growth Mindset

I will list the types of skills needed when moving into a new area of learning and growth, and then relate them to the example of learning basic algebra:

1. Necessary background knowledge – also called ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ (Learning algebra: Ability to express mathematical ideas in good English and basic arithmetic skills of: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages, order of operations, powers, etc.)
2. Appropriate technical information (Learning algebra: Algebra tuition, textbooks, exercise books, reference books)
3. Skills and strategies to develop the new technical language required (Learning algebra: Key words exercises for words such as: pronumeral, variable, constant, equation, expression, term, etc. should be done prior to doing exercises and summaries)
4. Skills and strategies to develop the new language of instruction required – these are the new words that will be used by teachers and textbooks to explain the new concepts (Learning algebra: Key words exercises for words such as: simplify, expand, solve, etc. should be done prior to doing exercises and summaries)
5. Skills and strategies to develop complete understanding of all the new concepts (Learning algebra: Concept mapping should be used for analysis of each topic as well as practice applying the knowledge to real world situations)
6. Skills and strategies to gain long term memory of the appropriate information (Learning algebra: The appropriate use of a variety of specific techniques to learn and revise the necessary information and procedures such as: appropriate use of memory aids, review procedures to find out what you don’t know, etc.)
7. Motivation and time management skills (Learning algebra: Here is where the Positive Mental Attitude and Growth Mindset come in BUT, hard work of the wrong sort will lead to frustration and failure – a Positive Mental Attitude and a Growth Mindset don’t work without the other skills above)

You Can’t Develop a Growth Mindset UNLESS You Have Skills Too

As you can see, it is difficult, or even impossible, to maintain a Growth Mindset if you don’t have good learning skills like those detailed above.

It is not enough to just go around saying ‘I learn from my mistakes’ unless you know HOW TO LEARN in the new area you are exploring.

Contrary to what is said by many of the so-called experts in this field – EFFORT IS NOT USUALLY ENOUGH.

You cannot expect yourself – or your child – to keep putting in effort if the effort does not seem to be working. If a person cannot find someone to teach them the skills they require, then it is only sensible to give up on that goal and put the effort somewhere else where gains can be made.

The Best Way to Dig a Hole for a Swimming Pool

To illustrate my point, try this mind experiment:

Suppose you are going to dig a hole for a swimming pool in your backyard – all on your own.

Let’s say you have a shovel and a car with a trailer. You could dig the hole with the shovel and remove the dirt with your trailer. This would be extremely hard work and I’m sure your motivation would waver.

Would a Growth Mindset person do this? Not for long.

A Growth Mindset person would get appropriate training in using some earth-moving equipment, then hire the equipment, then do the job. In other words, get the appropriate skills first, then work on the task in an efficient manner.

Learning Stuff and Learning How to Learn the Stuff

Our philosophy at High Performance Learning is this: it is just as important to LEARN HOW TO LEARN something as it is to learn that something.

Learn to work smarter not harder!

In all our programs we include teaching on HOW TO LEARN, as well as on WHAT TO LEARN – in every subject area! – and at every age level!

Efficiency is much more important than effort – we show you where to put your effort so you get the best results.

So, if you or your child is struggling with learning in a particular area, contact us to find out how we can help you develop a much more effective approach to learning. Click here to apply for a FREE 15 minute consultation.

You can read more about the influence of Mindset on education, and details of some of the other key skills needed to be a good learner, by downloading the free book from the High Performance Learning website here: Click Here for your Free DIY Handbook: ‘7 Ways You Can Help Your Child Overcome Homework & Study Problems’

Chris Brooks
Principal
High Performance Learning

I welcome your comments. You can add them below.