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Misconceptions, Myths, and Our Students' Future

There is a misconception about the ability to understand Math. And so we share this myth that understanding Math is reserved for the “Math people.”

Students who do well on exams are labeled as “smart” and those who perform poorly are led to believe that they are not.

The “Math person” misconception leaves our lower achieving students feeling disinterested, frustrated, and unable. It leaves our higher achieving students feeling complacent, unchallenged, and bored. When our mindset towards learning is rooted in the idea that intelligence is fixed and unchanging, then our students are easily discouraged and fearful of making mistakes.

Mindset Means Everything

It was not our ability that was holding us back, but our mindset.

Students today deserve a better learning experience in the Math classroom—one that is rooted in sound scientific research and not common misconceptions.

The idea of a growth mindset was pioneered by Stanford University Professor, Carol Dweck. Her studies have shown that students who believed that their ability and intelligence could grow and change outperforming those who thought that their ability and intelligence were fixed.

Dweck’s research has shown that increasing focus on the process of learning, rather than the outcome, helps increase a student’s growth mindset and ability.

In the 21st century, jobs across the country and around the world require a higher level of Math fluency and comfort. Careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) are the fastest growing sector of jobs. 

If we want to give all of our kids a fighting chance at obtaining a 21st century career, then we need to show them that with hard work and the right mindset, they can achieve anything.

And when the day comes when a child decides that she wants to become a doctor, computer programmer, biologist, teacher, or anything else that she feels passionate about, every door will remain open to her.