What do your students believe about their abilities in mathematics? Do they say “I can do this”, or “I’ll never get this”?
Original article link: How ‘Everyone Can’ Succeed at Maths – TES UK, 6th July 2016
I’m sure all teachers know about the idea of the “self-fulfilling prophecy”: if you start off believing that you have a high achieving class, they are more likely to do well than if you believe from the star that they are a “weak” class.
This article focuses on the message that “Everyone Can” succeed at math, urging teachers and students to believe in the students’ success.
I recommend that you watch the video linked in the article, which has a really nice performance by a young girl taking the role of teacher “Miss Rose”, teaching a class of adults acting as the students:
Maths: Everyone Can from White Rose Maths Hub.
What do you think? Is simply being positive about students’ abilities and capabilities really going to make a difference to the results that they achieve? And are some people simply born “with a maths brain” and others not? Please leave a comment below; I’d love to hear what you think.