The Mindset For Academic Success

Education concept. Student studying and brainstorming campus con

Concerned about your mental health towards your studies and the effect it has on your academic success? You are in luck, that is the topic for this article.

Recent studies have shown that beyond having a great tutor and working hard for a set of exams, one of the prerequisites for academic success is a person’s mindset. Not just a positive mindset but the growth mindset.

Dr. Carol S. Dweck, a psychologist at the University of Stanford spoke on the topic of growth mindset in her book- Mindset- Changing the way you think to fulfill your potential. 

The question then, is what is the growth mindset?

What is a Growth Mindset?

After years of research in motivation and intelligence, Dr. Carol stated that the growth mindset is believing that skills, talents, and abilities can be developed with practice. It is the belief that you can attain or develop success through hard work, failures, challenging times, etc. 

So, people with an academic growth mindset, always see through the lens of positivity. For example, instead of saying, ‘A level maths is so hard, I wonder if I will pass it’, with a growth mindset consciousness, so you will say instead, ‘A level maths is quite difficult, but I will work harder to pass it.’

Steps to developing an academic growth mindset

Here are some steps that will help you develop an academic growth mindset which will inevitably set you up for success.

1.  See failure differently

Just as John C. Maxwell said, ‘the difference between average people and achieving people is their perception and response to failure’.

The proper mindset for academic success then is to view failure as an essential experience in your journey to success. It is not who you are as a person and therefore should in no way define you.

Allow the pain of failure to run its course, but don’t give it a second more. Dust your back and use that academic failure as a springboard to your success.

2.  Become a curious reader

Don’t just read to pass your exams. Get attracted to the word ‘learning’. Readers are leaders after all. And so if you must succeed academically, you must become a curious reader.

Don’t wait to begin reading or revising your GCSE or A level modules at the announcement of a mock exam or test. Read because you need to know those lessons. Of course, this would not be an easy habit to form, but understand that the success of your exam grades lie in this attribute.

3.  Set an academic goal

People with a growth mindset are the ones who set a goal and against all odds, work towards achieving it.

Every goal begins with a decision. And so, to succeed in your academics, you have to periodically set up goals for yourself. But, be sure to set up SMART academic goals. They must be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.

4.  Reward your achievements after every milestone

Achieving an A when you were expecting a B is one of such moments when you can reward yourself. Likewise, studying for three hours when you allotted two hours for reading.

Learn to enjoy and reward your successes. Doing so aids in building a positive academic mindset and boosts your confidence. You can reward yourself by eating your favourite meal, taking some time off, or watching your favourite TV show.

A teacher smiling at camera in classroom

Of course, if you do want support with your practice Maths revision, and you want a professional eye to help support, coach and mentor you through your studies then be sure to reach out and get in touch.

Should you require support throughout the year we also offer tutoring services with an experienced online maths tutor. Our classroom based courses cater for a small group of students at any one time and are highly bespoke catering towards student needs.

Our classroom based A Level  maths revision courses take place in a variety of locations including Manchester, Lymm, London and also York.

Our courses take place during half term holidays and we are currently taking bookings for our courses. With exams in England taking place in 2021 we expect our Easter Revision Course. With the current situation with Covid-19 this course will of course be online. The course will be packed full of information to help students prepare for any mock exams in January 2021. It is hoped that we can offer our traditional face to face GCSE maths revision courses as soon as possible.

If you, or your parents would like to find out more, please just get in touch via email at info@exam.tips or call us on 0800 689 1272.

If you, or your parents would like to find out more, please just get in touch via email at info@exam.tips or call us on 0800 689 1272

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