Cuemath's Learning Methodology

The Growth Mindset in Every Part of A Math Class

growth mindset
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What does a “growth mindset” mean?

In theory, having a growth mindset means that an individual believes that their success is due to hard work. Having a fixed mindset on the other hand, means that they believe success is due to intelligence or talent.

Let’s understand this with the help of an example like swimming. There are those that are good at swimming and others that are not. The “others” may feel that they cannot learn because they are not good at it and are never meant to swim. They may even ponder over the use of this skill.

Unfortunately, emergencies don’t come with a warning. Nobody is a born swimmer, they practise and learn. Similarly, nobody is a born mathematician, but with persistence and a vision to grow, they can evolve. Therefore, a growth mindset is a state of mind that allows one to push themselves and get better.

Now, if you were a Cuemath student, you would be given the opportunity to improve your skills and grow to solve real life problems. This would happen with the help of our learning system. Let’s see how a growth mindset is integrated in every Cuemath class:

The basics in math help you understand the reason why you follow a particular approach. Only when you understand something you get intrigued, ask questions and grow your knowledge.
For example: Understanding the basic operations like addition, subtraction, etc., are important to understand higher order problems related to shopping, investment, marketing, business, etc. Understanding the basics enables your mind to assimilate more complex information. Hence, your mindset grows.

When you solve a math problem, you think about the involved concept. You visualize the idea in your mind. When you practice questions based on probability, geometry, numbers, etc., you train your brain to relate with these concepts. This training triggers your instincts when you have decisions in hand to make.
For example: You judge whether a proposed plan will work or not based on its previous success rates. You figure out whether an object will fit inside a box by comparing their size and dimensions. You also are able to estimate how much you need to save from your earnings in case of an unforeseen crisis by not compromising on your current needs. Bigger the decisions, greater the visualization, bigger the growth of mindset.

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Every statement that you propose in math asks for a justified reasoning and vice versa. How does integration define the area of a region, what is the significance of knowing derivations when we ultimately have to use formulae, the answers to all these questions make sense as long as your reasoning is strong.
For example: What is (-22) + (- 20) equal to ?
An amateur might suggest that you add the two numbers (22+20) and incorporate the common sign (negative) to get (-42). Someone who can reason well will tell you that -22 is already in the negative direction. If you add more negative to it, it will go to a further negative direction. Hence, the negative sign.

The concepts may remain the same but your approach can differ. This is how math promotes your growth by allowing you to discover unique ways to find answers.

With greater understanding, visualization and reasoning, your approach will seem more simple and elegant so you wouldn’t have to fix your mindset to one single approach.

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Aishwarya Sinha Ray

Aishwarya is a math expert and works with the Curriculum team at Cuemath. She believes in bringing out the "why" of every simple mathematical concept that we have learnt. Her articles focus on basic math and she makes them interesting by including simple puzzles and fun facts. Follow her articles to understand how passionate she is about making math interesting for us.