Recently, a close friend was having trouble graduating from college. She needed to pass a science class to graduate but wouldn’t take it because she feared failing it. A belief that she just wasn’t “good at science” was keeping her stuck from graduating, unable to move on with her life.
I know my friend isn’t the first person to be afraid of a science course or some other seemingly impossible barrier to success. Maybe someone gave you the message that you weren’t talented enough to succeed in a certain subject; or you just didn’t have the confidence to persevere when you struggled.
Boaler, a Stanford University professor, argues that people can learn just about anything once they understand how their brains work and how to support their own learning.
“Millions of children, every year, start school excited about what they will learn, but quickly become discouraged when they get the idea they are not as ‘smart’ as others,” writes Boaler.
As a math professor, Boaler has seen this firsthand. Many young adults enter her class anxious about math, and their fear about learning impacts their ability to learn.
“The myth that our brains are fixed and that we simply don’t have the aptitude for certain topics is not only scientifically inaccurate; it is irrelevant and negatively impacts not only education, but many other events in our everyday lives,“ she writes.
Understand that your brain is always changing.
Every time we learn, our brain forms, strengthens, or connects neural pathways.This means that no one is stuck at birth with a limit on what they can learn.
Learn to embrace struggle, mistakes, and failure.
Students and teachers commonly believe that getting the right answer on a test shows that students are learning. When students practice difficult things the brain works harder and imprints new knowledge. This also makes the knowledge more accessible later on. So, challenge yourself!
Change your beliefs about your mind, and your brain will follow
When you change your mind about yourself, it turns out that this will also change your body and brain.
Try multiple approaches to learning
Though it’s important to have a growth mindset for learning—a belief that knowledge isn’t fixed, but can be developed through effort and perseverance—it’s also important to try new learning strategies. Multi-dimensional approaches to teaching and learning work best because they engage many areas of the brain at once, and communication between different brain areas aids in learning. This suggests that approaching something you want to learn from multiple angles is better than just trying to get it “right.”
Aim for flexible thinking rather than speed
Too often, learners think that being fast at something means you’re good at it. But, as research suggests, that’s not often the case. Trying to do something under pressure—such as a timed test—can cause stress, which compromises the working memory needed to recall important information. That’s why Boaler argues that giving students long problem sets to solve at home, or trying to measure math performance under timed conditions, is not useful. It could also unnecessarily discourage potential future math scholars who give up early because they think speed equals competency. While some students thrive in timed tests and are adept at cramming for exams, it’s not likely their learning will stick, says Boaler. Instead, engaging with material in flexible ways over time is key to learning.
Try collaboration
It’s crucial for schools to reinforce the idea that learning together is better than learning alone. As one study showed, working together instead of alone can make the difference between passing a difficult math class and giving up and failing the class.
An important change takes place when students work together and discover that everybody finds some or all of the work difficult. It reinforces the idea that learning is a process and that obstacles are common. Focusing on collaboration in the classroom, rather than trying to test students individually. Additionally, collaboration prepares and resembles the real work world.
In the case of my friend, she ended up drawing on the support of her friends and connecting with a tutor who encouraged a growth mindset, taught her new strategies for problem solving, and helped reduce her science anxiety. Eventually, she took the math class and passed with flying colours.
Her story is an important reminder that the obstacles to learning are often more a function of our approach than of our ability. Our minds may be less limited than we think.
