Audrey Hepburn had many great quotes, but none more profound than this one:
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible.”
When learning difficult tasks, students can be encouraged to change “impossible” into “I’m possible” by having a positive attitude and reaping the learning benefits that come from this positive attitude.
The saying “Attitude is Everything”, which happens to be the motto of my district’s middle school, has a great deal of merit. For better or worse, a person’s attitude when learning has an impact on the person’s learning experience. Benefits of having a positive attitude when learning a new task, be it academic or otherwise, has been widely studied. Here’s what we know:
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- A positive attitude helps you relax.
- A positive attitude helps you focus.
- A positive attitude helps you remember information better.
- A positive attitude helps you handle stress, even when a task becomes difficult.
- A positive attitude increases the performance of your brain’s memory center, the hippocampus.
- A positive attitude makes others more interested in being around you.
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Wow, huh? These are pretty powerful reasons to have a positive attitude towards learning, especially when tasks become challenging!
Likewise, a negative attitude when learning something new can hinder or limit a person’s ability to master the task. Being discouraged, stressed and tense interferes with the learning experience.
What does all of this mean for students in the classroom? It means that practicing a positive attitude when learning is beneficial to the learner! So, let’s get busy teaching students how to develop a positive attitude towards learning, especially when tasks are hard and, as a result, it is more tempting to have a negative attitude.
If interested, a Growth Mindset lesson on the benefits of a positive attitude when learning can be found here (for grades 5-8). The lesson covers the following American School Counselor Association standards and includes activities, strategies, and a slideshow to use when teaching the lesson to students.
ASCA Standards:
- Mindset 2–Self-confidence in ability to succeed
- Mindset 6-Positive attitude toward work and learning
- Behavior Standard LS 4–Apply self-motivation and self-direction to learning