Using the Chilli Challenge to develop a can-do attitude
Danielle Craig, the Primary 4 teacher at St Anthony's Primary School in Renfrewshire, used growth mindset to give her pupils the confidence and skills to keep trying in maths, even when the task is hard.
Danielle worried that her pupils would give up before they had even started. When they got the answer wrong, they’d get angry, frustrated or disappointed.
“I wanted them to understand how a growth mindset and can-do attitude could help them become good learners, so they wouldn’t be afraid of maths anymore,” said Danielle.
She started to address this using a ‘Chilli Challenge’ scale ranging from ‘mild’ to ‘hot’, where the children could select their own maths activities based on the level of difficulty.
They set their own targets (such as practising addition with three-digit numbers), and tracked their progress with an interactive wall display, which showed stars moving up a rocket as they reached their goals.
The aim was for children to feel confident pushing themselves towards more challenging tasks, but without feeling obliged to choose the hardest tasks because others were doing so.
You can view or download the full case study below (5 minute read).
“I wanted them to understand how a growth mindset and can-do attitude could help them become good learners, so they wouldn’t be afraid of maths anymore,” said Danielle.
She started to address this using a ‘Chilli Challenge’ scale ranging from ‘mild’ to ‘hot’, where the children could select their own maths activities based on the level of difficulty.
They set their own targets (such as practising addition with three-digit numbers), and tracked their progress with an interactive wall display, which showed stars moving up a rocket as they reached their goals.
The aim was for children to feel confident pushing themselves towards more challenging tasks, but without feeling obliged to choose the hardest tasks because others were doing so.
You can view or download the full case study below (5 minute read).
St Anthony's PS case study