LUCAS:Are you entering?
TOM:Yeah, why not? Are you entering?
LUCAS:Yes
CAITLIN:No way! I’m not
MEESHA:Whassup?
CAITLIN:Talent Show – are you going to sign up?
MEESHA:Ooh! Yes! And I know EXACTLY what I’m gonna do!
LUCAS/ CAITLIN/TOM:Dance!
MEESHA:I’ll do the dance I did last time. Everyone seemed to really like it
TOM:You’ll be the star of the show.
LUCAS:What about you, Tom?
TOM:Dunno. It says to challenge yourself to do something new!
MINI MEESHA:You don’t want to do that! Stick to the dance you know!
TOM:I might do some juggling…
MEESHA:Juggling? But you can’t juggle! Can you?
TOM:Not yet.
(LAUGHTER)
MINI TOM:C’mon Tom this is it, you know which way to go…
MINI TOM:That’s HIGH! Let’s take it one stage at a time.
MINI TOM:Let’s tackle the snowfield first. Then maybe you can find a way to the top.
MINI TOM:One foot in front of the other – you can get there Tom.
MEESHA:Ready for rehearsals Tom?
TOM:Um… almost! Oh!
MINI MEESHA:Poor Tom. Everyone will laugh at him.You’re definitely best off sticking to what you know!
MINI MEESHA:No point in heading that way, you could never get up that MOUNTAIN
MINI MEESHA:It all looks the same…and boring.
TOM:Well done, Meesha!
MEESHA:Um, yeah, thanks.
TOM:Hey, you don’t look very happy.
MEESHA:I’m SO bored of my dance! I’ve done it a million times before.
TOM:So challenge yourself!
MEESHA:It’s not that easy.
TOM:Of course not! That’s the point.
MINI-MEESHA:Maybe …
MINI MEESHA:Maybe if you take it step by step Meesha
MINI MEESHA:Look, there is a way to get up there!
MINI MEESHA:You might not reach the top today. But you can get as far as you can.
CHEERS, APPLAUSE)
TOM:Great dance, Meesha! You changed the ending!
MEESHA:Yes! Thanks to you.
TOM:Me?
MEESHA:Well, you’ve done something TOTALLY new. So I figured, maybe I could try doing something different too. It felt good!
MEESHA:Good luck Tom!
MINI TOM:Go on Tom!
MINI TOM:Last push.
MINI TOM:You did it!
MEESHA:Tom you were amazing! You worked so hard and you got there.
TOM:Thanks Meesha.
MEESHA:Next time, I’m going to challenge myself and try something TOTALLY new.
TOM:Tightrope walking?
MEESHA:Maybe!
(LAUGHTER)
Video summary
A school talent show is in the offing.
Tom and Meesha are both going to enter. Tom has a growth mindset, while Meesha has a fixed mindset.
Tom wants to challenge himself. Meesha wants to avoid a challenge.
She just wants to do something she's done before, that she knows is safe.
Tom decides to try juggling. He practices and practices, works hard at it and puts the effort in.
It takes a while, but he perseveres. By the time of the talent show he has taught himself how to juggle.
His growth mindset has helped him to embrace the challenge.
He believed he could get better at juggling and so he made decisions which reflected this belief.
He could imagine himself growing and developing by taking on the challenge. Meesha finds the idea of challenge difficult.
Her fixed mindset leads her to believe that she can't change, that talent, ability and intelligence are innate.
She fears taking on a challenge and doing something different. She doesn't believe she can grow and change.
After seeing Tom master the challenge he has set himself, and after feeling bored by the fact that she can already do the dance she is practising, Meesha decides to change her mindset.
She decides that she too can think differently.
That she too can take on the challenge of doing something new.
Meesha pushes herself to embrace the challenge - and she feels great as a result.
She changes her mindset and so we see both the influence of a growth mindset on the decisions and thoughts we take in lessons, as well as an important model of how anyone can change their mindset.
This is from the series: Growth Mindset.
Teacher Notes
This could be used as an introduction to growth mindsets and a fantastic tool for helping learners reflect on how they think about learning and their own potential to develop.
This clip is suitable for teaching PSHE/Modern Studies at KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1st and 2nd Level in Scotland.
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