British educationalist and specialist in philosophy for children, Will Ord, returned to the BSN this week to deliver another insightful workshop to a packed audience of parents and staff.
Will was invited back to JSV by popular demand after his highly successful Growth Mind-Set presentation last year. He briefly recapped the Growth Mind concept for new parents by introducing the idea of children having either a fixed or changeable mind, depending on how their parents praise them. Being of a fixed mind-set impacts on how a child tackles challenges. Praising effort, practice and energy instead of simply saying “you’re so clever” encourages the changeable, growth mindset within and allows children to approach challenges with excitement and not trepidation.
After the useful recap, Will then focussed on the themes of memory and dialogue in the home. He posed the question: ‘How do we remember and what tactics do we use?’ To answer this Will got the audience to write down the 12 signs of the Zodiac in one minute. Suddenly the atmosphere in the room heightened as people scribbled down Taurus, Capricorn etc. They then feedback how they remembered with methods such as:
• Association
• Visual
• Category
• Chronological
• Hearing
This one simple activity demonstrated to the audience the varied tactics we use to remember and thus how many ways to learn and support children as they revise or learn topics.
It was a fascinating hour, totally engaging and presented masterfully. Thank you Will for sharing your expertise once again.
