The key to success and achieving our goals is not necessarily persistence, hard work and focus. These behaviours are the by-product of something else. What is actually critical to our success is our mindset. Mindsets are beliefs about ourselves and our most basic qualities, such as intelligence, talents and personality.

We all have innate talents and skills, things that we are naturally good at or that set us apart from other people. The trap that we can fall into is believing that we are special, that we are smarter than other people and do not have to work hard to be successful. The moment we think success is defined by an internally fixed level of ability, we will be brittle in the face of adversity. Researchers like Carol Dweck, the Lewis and Virginia Easton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, have defined two types of mindsets. Some people see intelligence as a fixed concept (fixed mindset), while others see it as a quality that can be developed (growth mindset). Fixed mindsets and growth mindsets lead to different behaviours and results.

The key to success is the adoption and development of a growth mindset that creates persistence and focus. Trying to directly address persistence, focus and hard work is not as effective as addressing the mindset that underlies the behaviours. In order to fulfill our potential we have to address how we think. Many of the most accomplished people of our era were thought to have little or limited ability, for example, Charles Darwin, Lucille Ball, Michael Jordan, etc. For more on this topic see the video here.

When we realize we can change our own abilities, we bring our game to a whole new level. How does it work? Neuroscience and brain imaging have given us some insight. For people with a fixed mindset, their brain becomes most active when receiving information on how they performed, such as a grade or a score. They are most worried about how they are judged. In contrast, for people with a growth mindset, their brain becomes most active when receiving feedback on what they could do better next time. They are most concerned about how they are learning.

Similarly, people with a fixed mindset see hard work and effort as a bad thing, something only people with low capabilities and intelligence have to exert. People do well at something because they are smart. When we inevitably hit a roadblock, challenge or failure, people with fixed mindsets tend to conclude that they are incapable. They protect their ego by losing interest or withdrawing. What appears to be lack of motivation is actually the result of a fixed mindset.

In contrast, people with a growth mindset see effort as a good thing, the thing that makes us smart and as a way to grow. When people with a growth mindset hit an obstacle, they tend to believe there is a way around it, that setbacks are part of growth, and that they that will figure it out. Growth mindsets view success as a result of effort and process.

How do we move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset? When faced with challenges, listen for a fixed mindset inner voice and counter with a growth mindset voice.

Fixed mindsets ask:

A growth mindset asks:

References:

Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House, 2006. Print.

“The Power of Belief – Mindset and Success: Eduardo Briceno at TEDxManhattanBeach.” YouTube. YouTube, 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc&feature=player_embedded

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Report cards, progress reports and parent-teacher conferences can be just as stressful, if not more, for you than for your child. No doubt you’ve been pushing and encouraging every day. You’ve set rules and you’ve done your best to make success possible. But maybe something about school just isn’t clicking.

When you’re reaching the point of ultimate frustration, it might be time to bring in reinforcements. It might be time for an academic coach.

What is an academic coach?

Academic coaches teach students how to be rock star scholars. They usually don’t work with actual academic content. Instead, they help with time management, organization, study skills and self-advocacy.

Wait, that sounds like a tutor!

Don’t be fooled! Academic coaches are not tutors or education therapists. Tutors help with content, but academic coaches teach students how to work smart and become excellent students.

Academic coach Gretchen Wegner typically uses this example to tell parents what she does: “A tutor helps with the Pythagorean theorem. I’m more interested in learning styles. How are you using your textbook? How are you practicing problems that are hard for you?”

But how do I know if this is right for my kid?

Coaches work with children from a variety of backgrounds. They are particularly skilled at working with children who have learning disabilities. Gretchen pushes her students to figure out how they learn and to come up with a study process that works great for their mind. This can be crucial for children whose brains process information differently.

Leslie Absher, another academic coach, works very closely with students who struggle with tests. She says many of her students “think they studied for a test, but what they did was a very passive form of studying,” which for most children won’t work.

Coaches also shoulder some of the burden for parents.

Wait, what? This helps me too?

Absolutely. Gretchen says she hears parents often say, “My student just won’t listen to me anymore. I’ve been trying to do X, Y and Z. He or she just won’t listen to me.”

Coaches help parents by taking away some of the “nagging tasks” that parents usually have to do themselves. With a coach’s help, you can be free to focus on building a healthy parent-child relationship. Let the coach do the nagging for you!

It sounds magical, but how does the coach do it?

Coaching is highly customized. What the coach does is almost entirely dependent on the child’s needs and learning style.

But Gretchen did offer an example. An eighth grader came to see her for help with his writing skills. In their first meeting, she saw that he didn’t have a planner or a sense of time management, and his notebooks were a mess. His entire academic life lacked structure.

At the end of the hour, she asked him to bring an essay with him next week so they could work on his writing. He didn’t write it down and completely forgot the assignment. Where a tutor might make up a writing assignment on the spot or go over some grammar, Gretchen talked with him about his thinking process and what he needed to do differently next time.

They made plans to get a planner and to start packing his backpack in the morning to include everything he needed. He was on his way to being a stronger, more independent student.

Eighth grade, huh? Well, my child is older (or younger).

Academic coaches typically work with students at a variety of age levels. Leslie has students in elementary, middle and high school. Gretchen has several clients in college who Skype with her from their dorm rooms.

Coaching can benefit students at any level, partially because it’s so customizable. Coaches just meet students where they are academically and emotionally.

Leslie believes that seventh or eighth grade is the ideal time for a student to start meeting with an academic coach. It’s a “great time to get your stuff together” before the pressures of high school. Children who improve their study skills in middle school will be more prepared for high school and college.

It really does take a village to raise a child. Your village probably already includes extended family members and teachers. If your student is struggling, it may also be time to add an academic coach to your village. They can help your child overcome academic hurdles and reach his academic goals while taking the pressure off of you.

By Jasmine Evans


Source: http://www.education.com/magazine/article/academic-coaching/

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Evoke Learning has a new Toronto location at Yonge and St. Clair!

As of March 24th, we will be located at 1407 Yonge Street, suite 206 (second floor).

Clients arriving by TTC can use the south exit of St. Clair subway onto Pleasant Blvd, turn right and walk to the corner of Pleasant and Yonge. For those driving, there is a Green P parking lot on Pleasant Blvd. across from the subway station.

Enter through the front doors of the building and take the stairs to the second floor. Turn left and we are at the end of the corridor.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

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Many of us live in a world where we can pretty much have anything we want at any point. Hungry? Grab something from the freezer and pop it in the microwave, or have food delivered. Need to do some research? Jump on the Internet. Need to ask a friend a question? Text them now. Want that new pair of boots? Pull out the credit card. The Internet, microwaves, cell phones, fast food, and credit cards are all wonderfully convenient, however, they are adding to a culture of instant gratification, and we may not have the brainpower to deal with it all. As more and more options are immediately available to us, it is becoming harder to exert the willpower to keep us committed to our goals. Kathleen Vohs, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota, notes that “here is research that shows people still have the same self-control as in decades past, but we are bombarded more and more with temptations,” and that “our psychological system is not set up to deal with all the potential immediate gratification.”

In this context, self-control is defined as goal setting, and willpower is moving from the current place to where you want to go. We are constantly exercising willpower and self-control, but the problem is that willpower is like a muscle and fatigues. Like a bicep, it can only exert itself so long before it gives out.

The brain area that is largely responsible for willpower is the prefrontal cortex, which is located just behind the forehead. Besides willpower and helping us stick to our resolutions, the prefrontal cortex has many other things to worry about. For instance, keeping us focused, handling short-term memory and solving abstract problems. Asking it to make sure we get to the gym, stay off of Facebook and make sure all of our homework is done on time is often asking it to do too many things.

When the prefrontal cortex is overtaxed, willpower weakens. A tired brain, preoccupied with its problems, is going to struggle to resist what it wants, even when what it wants is not what we needs to do.

The assumption that many of us make is that self-control is a character trait. If we are only more disciplined we would be more successful. However, the situation may not be as simple as that. Resent research is suggesting that willpower itself is inherently limited, and that our promises and resolutions fail in part because the brain was not built to handle the constant onslaught of temptations. If we ask our muscles to do too much, they will eventually give out. Tired muscles need rest and time to recuperate. The same is required of the prefrontal cortex.

How can we protect our prefrontal cortex and willpower? Consider the idea that willpower is like a battery. It has a finite amount of energy. We need to ensure that we both feed our willpower, and use the energy judiciously. Willpower requires real energy. The brain needs glucose and calories. If we do not feed our brain well, our behaviour can be negatively impacted. We also need to be selective about using our willpower. Consider how external factors play a role in guiding our behaviour. Habits and systems matter. Habits allow us to bypass our willpower. Once a good habit is developed, we no longer have to think about the behaviour. We are no longer using our willpower, and we have more energy and willpower available to devote to other things. Establishing routines that allow us to move into action without thinking and debating can be wonderfully supportive.

Setting up systems and using automated supports can be very effective. For example, rather than using up our willpower to avoid time-sucking websites (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest), we can off-load our willpower to a tool made specifically to help us avoid web distractions when we really need to work. Examples include StayFocsed, SelfControl and Concentrate that block our access to selected websites at selected times. Using external controls helps prevent us from having to control our own behaviour. If you feel you check your e-mail too frequently, install a program to shut it down temporarily. Learning to harness the power of habits and external controls will help us achieve our goals with less frustration than if we just rely solely on willpower.

References:

Herbert, Wray. “The Willpower Paradox.” Scientific American (2010): Print.
Lehrer, Jonah. “Blame It on the Brain: The Latest Neuroscience Research Suggests Spreading Resolutions Out Over Time Is the Best Approach.” Wall Street Journal (2009): Print.
Tugend, Alina. “Pumping Up the Self-Control in the Age of Temptations.” The New York Times 8 Oct. 2010: Print.

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