James Anderson - Growth Mindsets

It’s worth paying close attention to the language used in classrooms — not only to what students say, but what we say as educators.

The questions we ask, the feedback we offer, and the moments we choose to intervene or step back all send powerful messages about learning. Over time, these messages shape how students respond to effort, challenge and uncertainty.

Learning cultures are rarely built by programs alone. They are built through language, used deliberately and consistently.

We talk a lot about teaching.

The real shift happens when we focus on learning.

Love love love the way the team at Mount Marrow state school are using the zones of learning to help students understand themselves as learners and develop Learnership!

How do we help students think about their own thinking—when AI is doing some of that thinking for them?
That’s the challenge of metacognition in an AI-rich classroom.

In this new article, I explain why Metacognition is now the master habit for learning in a tech-driven world—and how we can help students reflect on their thinking and how AI is shaping it.

Some key strategies include:
- Teaching students to ask “What can I contribute that the AI can’t?”
- Reflecting on differences between their answers and AI responses
- Keeping AI Thinking Journals
- Explicitly identifying the assumptions AI tools might be making

➤ Read it here: https://www.jamesanderson.com.au/metacognition_the_master_habit_for_navigating_an_ai_world/

💬 What strategies are helping your students think more clearly about their thinking?

What if the most important thing your child learns this year… isn’t the answers, but the questions?

With AI now helping students research, write, and explore ideas, the real skill isn’t using the tools—it’s how they think with them.
That’s why one of the most powerful learning habits we can teach is Questioning and Problem Posing.

In a recent classroom I visited, students using AI got wildly different results—not because of what they knew, but because of the questions they asked.
One student asked: “Tell me about World War II.”
Another asked: “What economic factors contributed to WWII that textbooks usually leave out?”
Which one do you think learned more?

This post shares why questioning has become a core learning skill, and how we can help students grow the thinking habits that help them thrive—even with AI in the mix.

➤ Read it here: https://www.jamesanderson.com.au/questioning-problem-posing-the-ultimate-habit-of-mind-for-the-ai-era/

💬 What kinds of questions do you hope your child is learning to ask?