Do you have things in your day-to-day school life that distract you or detract from your learning?
Obstacles to success include:
Screens/Distractions
Friends
Extra-curricular Activities
Attitude
Note-taking habits
Phone use during homework
Self-esteem/belief in abilities
Attendance/lateness
Attentiveness
How can you overcome these obstacles?
The acronym H.A.B.E is a good reminder of the key factors you need to consider for successful learning and study routines.
Habits (Attendance; note-taking; attentiveness; phone use; etc.)
Attitudes (positive/negative)
Beliefs (belief in abilities; mindset)
Expectations (what’s expected?)
H.A.B.E. shape your REALITY:
How you act on a daily basis
Your performance
Perform at your belief level based on past experiences and conditioning
i.e. Strong belief in areas you are ‘good’ at; you already do this today
Habits, Attitudes, Beliefs and Expectations can CHANGE!
Raise the bar by changing BELIEF and your PERFORMANCE follows
What Would You Think If I Said...
You are the hardest working person in your company/class?
You are the kindest person in your family?
You are the person who always lets people down?
You are the most helpful?
You are strong at math?
You are a weak speller?
What was your INITIAL reaction?
Did you AGREE or DISAGREE with the statements?
This is your SELF-TALK. Your opinion about yourself and abilities = YOUR BELIEF
The Self-Talk Cycle
The Power of Yet
When faced with adversity, rephrase your thinking:
“I don’t understand….YET…”
“I’m not good at math...YET…”
“I haven’t made many friends...YET…”
Why do you think it matters?
The Power of Your Mindset
Take on a growth Mindset:
Intelligence, personality, and abilities are open to development
Effort makes a difference
Failure is an opportunity to learn, and mistakes make your brain grow
Focus on IMPROVING
The average amount of time a typical high school student spends before saying “I don’t get it” and stops trying to solve the problem is from about thirty seconds to two minutes. Success comes from persisting and sticking with it to work out a solution. And sticking with a problem builds new neural pathways and literally grows your brain!
Every time you think a new thought, your brain “fires” and new synapses begin to form
Making mistakes works the same way -- every time you make an error, YOUR BRAIN GROWS
Struggling with challenging concepts is a necessary part of long-term learning
When you PRACTICE the most efficient way of getting from QUESTION TO ANSWER, the neural pathways you are using in your brain GET STRONGER
Mistakes are GOLD! Mistakes create new paths to “jump in”: divergent thinking creates new pathways, and actually MAKES YOUR BRAIN GROW.
Take risks and explore varied practice. We often hear ”But this isn’t how we did it in class!” This is WHY there are questions in the homework that you’re not familiar with. The teacher may be asking you in a different way to see if you can play with the concepts to come up with a solution. Don’t be afraid to spend a little time figuring it out.
The math department shares the following advice:
Attempt all homework questions. Try it!
Check your answers with Adnan, or Susie, or Kimiko…..
Redo the ones you got wrong.
Ask for Help: online (Khan Academy, Purple Math, YouTube, peer, MASH, PASS), Teacher.
Stress and Anxiety
Stress is a common, short term, reaction to situations that are not realized everyday and that are important to an individual
E.g. exams, public speaking, first dates
Anxiety is an intense, persistent, and excessive sense of worry associated to everyday situations
symptoms of anxiety interfere with sleep, relationships, and everyday life
When does anxiety become a concern?
A few signs that anxiety is becoming a clinical problem:
Constant feeling of nervousness, fear, and apprehension, lasting 6 months or more
Avoiding situations, people, or activities due to fear, resulting in closing off oneself
Stress in situations that pose no risk, but may be perceived as dangerous
Interference with work, school, and social life
If you are finding that anxiety is a concern, make an appointment with your guidance counsellor. They can connect you to resources to tackle this.
Which of the obstacles are present in your day-to-day school and home life?
Identify behaviours you engage in that interfere with learning. What can you do to reduce or eliminate these?
What would you think if I said:.
You are the hardest working person in your company/class?
You are the kindest person in your family?
You are the person who always lets people down?
You are the most helpful?
You are strong at math?
You are a weak speller?
What was your INITIAL reaction? Did you AGREE or DISAGREE with the statements?
4. Why does the idea of “YET” matter so much to learning?
5. Stress is a normal part of life. Anxiety is present when stressors prevent you from progressing or taking action. Who can you talk to if you think you may be struggling with anxiety?