A growth mindset is a credence that talent, capability, and learning potential can develop over time. With the help of proper tools, most of us use the growth mindset to gain expertise in new skills, writes Marisa Suwanpatra

MANY children suffer as they face realities of the greater world despite their talent and some knowledge. Added to that in Bangladesh is the struggle many job entrants have in coping with new challenges. In a global context, even grown-up people grapple with unforeseen problems of life.

So, inspiring young minds to be receptive to learning, play and a growth mindset is essential for brain development. It contributes vastly to a child’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being.

In the last three decades, numerous scientific types of research have shown that the most crucial time in an individual’s development is from the birth to the age of eight years.

During these vital years, young people should be provided with opportunities to learn about the world and explore their surroundings through play- and inquiry-based learning.

The curriculum encourages open-mindedness and curiosity among youngsters. We do not want young learners to be merely fed information; instead, we want our children to explore and experiment with hands-on learning activities. As a result, children are not indifferent bystanders; they can play essential roles in their own learning and progress. Therefore, the curriculum promotes children’s natural curiosity.

A growth mindset is a credence that talent, capability, and learning potential can develop over time. With the help of proper tools, most of us use the growth mindset to gain expertise in new skills.

However, young people who have actively matured their growth mindset from early childhood are placed to succeed in life as adults for numerous reasons — they will be confident in their capabilities to learn, they will understand ways to build upon erstwhile knowledge, they have routed the skills of questioning, theorising, and testing conclusions, they have open mindsets and obtain new information, and they would understand the fact that there will always be someone who will know more.

Students who have developed their growth mindsets have little to no trouble applying what they have learned to everyday life. Moreover, children with expertise in critical thinking skills at an early age can have a noticeable advantage later in life. They tend to excel in life with fewer stress and setbacks. With their growth mindset, it becomes easier for these children to tackle obstacles that they encounter in life. Therefore, the world turns into an open playground of possibilities.

One of the foundations of the primary years is transdisciplinary learning, as it is the International Baccalaureate programme. Such an approach allows students to study numerous subjects under one theme. It enables students to develop concepts and skills across subject areas, rather than studying them in isolation. The topics are different but interconnected, allowing children to experience holistic learning that they can apply in numerous contexts. The primary years circumscribe six transdisciplinary themes of global importance: who we are, where we are in place and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organise ourselves, and sharing the planet.

The six themes help our young learners to explore topics outside the subject and how they apply them in the real world. For example, for the theme ‘How does the world work?’, senior primary year students have recently researched potential solutions to global issues like hunger, malnutrition, and food sustainability. They created nutritionally dense food by using local ingredients.

Play- and inquiry-based and transdisciplinary learning goes beyond traditional subject areas and they help the students to get a bigger picture of the world. The approach provides young learners with essential skills applicable within and beyond the classroom, making them critical thinkers, problem-solvers and lifelong learners. It may be followed in other national curriculums so that all children can have fun during activities, understand that it is okay to make mistakes and become lifelong learners.