Positive Mindset May Prime Students' Brains for Math

CAT Tracks Editor's Note:

Actually, my intro was too "positive"...

...as I wrote WILL make mathematicians of us all.

Our researchers only claimed "MAY".

Well, hell, thunking yourself upside the head "may" put your brain in gear too...

...or eating broccoli for breakfast.

Dinosaurs nailed this theory back in 1930, publishing their findings in a book entitled The Little Engine That Could.

You remember the refrain:

"I think I can, I think I can..."

...and by golly you could!

Well, maybe you could...or not.

And more silliness:

Chen and his colleagues found that students with higher positive-mindset levels in math were more accurate at identifying correct and incorrect math problems, even after controlling for differences in IQ, age, working memory, reading ability, and math anxiety.

A lower positive-mindset level was likewise associated with lower math performance.

Well, hell, again!

Could this "result" of their research be a simple case of the eternal question: "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

Could it be that the "higher positive-mindset level" folks were "positive" because they had had success in solving math problems in the past?!

Oh well, the researchers are getting paid, they've gotta justify their salary somehow...

...just like those "consultants" that drone on at your professional development sessions.

I mean...

...I know it's crossed your mind, that if these "consultants" were so damn good, why the hell aren't they in the classroom with the kids, instead of sneaking in and out when the kids have left for the day...

...or when school was canceled so that real educators could spend their day being insulted by so-called "experts" (who most likely failed in the classroom) instead of actually teaching the kids.

Yep, I may be old and be having short-term memory problems, but my blood still runs cold when teacher in-service memories light the corners of my mind.

Grrr...

A parting shot...

"She has found the cognitive habits often associated with a fixed mindset—like focusing on grades or considering errors a threat to your identity — can make the brain react emotionally to the wrong things during learning.

"If you are trying to do math and worrying about whether you are going to fail or not, rather than the process of doing math, ... that is not deep learning," she said.

Yeah, kids, don't worry (about grades and self-esteem), be happy...solve that math problem.

Well, good luck with instilling that atitude!

Okay, in the spirit of the article, I would like to close this post on a positive (and even seasonal) note:

God bless us, it's Saturday, for everyone!

And, if you want more of a positive mindset...

...retirement is coming, where everyday is Saturday!

How's that for "growth"...