Brain Based Strategies
These principles focus on how learning happens and how to support effectively. They promote metacognition, deliberate practice, emotional regulation, and learning how to learn.
TimeToBelieve.TimeToBelieve.
Believe. Improve. Achieve.
... a culture of belief, values and behaviours which enables everyone to improve, believe & achieve.
Four connected pathways
A colourful framework that turns belief into visible routines.
Personal Growth & Responsibility
These principles focus on internal beliefs, motivation and the process of learning through struggle. They nurture perseverance, grit, a belief in self improvement and owning one's learning journey.
Belonging & High Expectations
These principles focus on creating an inclusive, psychologically safe and high-expectation learning culture. They promote environment, equity and the shared responsibility of staff and pupils.
Diversity of Thought
These principles focus on encouraging creativity, collaboration and multiple perspectives. They value the importance of different ways to think about a problem and group intelligence.
Is there a hierarchy?
Two places to start the journey.
Brain Plasticity - Make a Path and Better Today than Yesterday are game changers in shifting the beliefs, values and behaviours of teachers and pupils.
12 Principles
Brain Plasticity
Principle
Use the 'cornfield' analogy to help teachers and pupils understand the concept of making paths in a meaningful way.
Key language and behaviours
Use the 'cornfield' analogy to help teachers and pupils understand the concept of making paths.
Questions
What tasks generate learning / are critical to making secure pathways?
Always follow Rule 1
Believe to Achieve
School leader mode
Turn the profile into an implementation conversation.
Rate the school, identify the priority principle, then use the generated agenda and first-term plan with staff, SLT or governors.
Priority principle
Complete the self evaluation
The school profile will identify the best starting point.
Staff meeting agenda
- 1. Share the priority principle.
- 2. Agree one teacher move.
- 3. Use the key language.
- 4. Capture examples of improvement.
Implementation plan
- 1. First 7 days: one principle.
- 2. First term: consistent routines.
- 3. Review: domain scores and evidence.
12 Principles
Establishing and Embedding a YesUCan Culture.
12 principles
Culture lift
Start with the likely difference this principle can make to beliefs, values and behaviours.
Ease and time
Balance what can begin now with what needs deliberate embedding over the term or year.
Look beneath the average
Use the self evaluation profile, classroom questions and context before choosing a move.
Better Today Than Yesterday
Better Today Than Yesterday
Culture lift
Transformational
Ease
Low effort
Time
Now
Confidence
Strong
Encourage pupils to focus and celebrate on their own progress, however small, and not the progress of others.
Where this works best
Feedback focuses on self-improvement not attainment.
Implementation steps
- 1. Encourage pupils to focus and celebrate on their own progress, however small, and not the progress of others.
- 2. Feedback focuses on self-improvement not attainment.
- 3. Do all staff and pupils believe they have the growth mindset that they can be better today than yesterday?
Common mistakes
Always follow Rule 1.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Control the Controllables
Control the Controllables
Culture lift
Strong
Ease
Low effort
Time
Now
Confidence
Strong
Encourage all pupils to be active participants in the classroom.
Where this works best
All pupils are encouraged to be active participants in the classroom.
Implementation steps
- 1. Encourage all pupils to be active participants in the classroom.
- 2. All pupils are encouraged to be active participants in the classroom.
- 3. Do pupils give up too easily? Is this an accepted behaviour?
Common mistakes
Do nothing as an option.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
The Power of YET
The Power of YET
Culture lift
Strong
Ease
Low effort
Time
Now
Confidence
Strong
Change the language to remove any fixed mindset inner voice e.g. 'I can't do this', to 'I can do this if I keep practising'.
Where this works best
Change the language to remove any fixed mindset inner voice.
Implementation steps
- 1. Change the language to remove any fixed mindset inner voice e.g. 'I can't do this', to 'I can do this if I keep practising'.
- 2. Change the language to remove any fixed mindset inner voice.
- 3. Do staff model and use language to promote growth mindset?
Common mistakes
Fixed mindset inner voice. Ability as fixed.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Climate Control
Climate Control
Culture lift
Transformational
Ease
Medium effort
Time
This Term
Confidence
Strong
Assess and evaluate the 'weather' in the classroom.
Where this works best
The teacher's personal approach creates the climate in a classroom.
Implementation steps
- 1. Assess and evaluate the 'weather' in the classroom.
- 2. The teacher's personal approach creates the climate in a classroom.
- 3. Do pupils give up too easily? Is this an accepted behaviour?
Common mistakes
Underestimate their power of influence.
StaffAll staffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Live it not Laminate it
Live it not Laminate it
Culture lift
Transformational
Ease
Medium effort
Time
This Term
Confidence
Strong
Continually promote the 12 YesUCan principles through the use of key language and behaviours.
Where this works best
All staff continually promote the 12 YesUCan principles through the use of key language and behaviours.
Implementation steps
- 1. Continually promote the 12 YesUCan principles through the use of key language and behaviours.
- 2. All staff continually promote the 12 YesUCan principles through the use of key language and behaviours.
- 3. What cultural artefacts are used to continually promote #YesUCan, improve, believe and achieve?
Common mistakes
Policy compliance. Policies, procedures or posters.
StaffAll staffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
No Artificial Ceilings
No Artificial Ceilings
Culture lift
Transformational
Ease
Medium effort
Time
This Term
Confidence
Strong
Give pupils the same learning opportunities.
Where this works best
Pupils have a sense of belonging in the classroom when given the same learning opportunities.
Implementation steps
- 1. Give pupils the same learning opportunities.
- 2. Pupils have a sense of belonging in the classroom when given the same learning opportunities.
- 3. Do all pupils have the same equitable learning opportunities in the classroom?
Common mistakes
Lowers, less able, highers, the red group, bottom set, nurture set.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
FAIL: First Attempt in Learning
FAIL: First Attempt in Learning
Culture lift
Strong
Ease
Low effort
Time
Now
Confidence
Strong
Celebrate making mistakes as a key part of new learning.
Where this works best
Celebrate making mistakes as a key part of new learning.
Implementation steps
- 1. Celebrate making mistakes as a key part of new learning.
- 2. Celebrate making mistakes as a key part of new learning.
- 3. Are mistakes made but not discussed or corrected?
Common mistakes
Mistakes made but not discussed or corrected.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Cognitive Diversity
Cognitive Diversity
Culture lift
Strong
Ease
Medium effort
Time
This Term
Confidence
Strong
Celebrate and champion diverse ways of thinking.
Where this works best
Different ways of thinking about a problem are valued and championed.
Implementation steps
- 1. Celebrate and champion diverse ways of thinking.
- 2. Different ways of thinking about a problem are valued and championed.
- 3. Are all pupils happy sharing their thinking in the classroom using language such as 'what I notice is ...', 'what I wonder ...'?
Common mistakes
Group think. Fixed ways of thinking.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Thinking Habits
Thinking Habits
Culture lift
Strong
Ease
Medium effort
Time
This Term
Confidence
Strong
Encourage and champion pupils to be guessers, describers, tinkerers, visualisers, conjecturers, pattern sniffers, experimenters and inventors.
Where this works best
Encourage and champion pupils to be guessers, describers, tinkerers, visualisers, conjecturers, pattern sniffers, experimenters and inventors.
Implementation steps
- 1. Encourage and champion pupils to be guessers, describers, tinkerers, visualisers, conjecturers, pattern sniffers, experimenters and inventors.
- 2. Encourage and champion pupils to be guessers, describers, tinkerers, visualisers, conjecturers, pattern sniffers, experimenters and inventors.
- 3. Are pupils encouraged to reflect on, and develop, the different ways of behaving intellectually?
Common mistakes
Pupils not safe sharing their thinking in the classroom.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Don't Panic!
Don't Panic!
Culture lift
Strong
Ease
Medium effort
Time
Now
Confidence
Strong
Stay in the growth zone and out of the anxiety zone.
Where this works best
Establish a culture where pupils understand and expect to be pushed out of their comfort zone as part of the learning process.
Implementation steps
- 1. Stay in the growth zone and out of the anxiety zone.
- 2. Establish a culture where pupils understand and expect to be pushed out of their comfort zone as part of the learning process.
- 3. Do pupils give up too easily? Is this an accepted behaviour?
Common mistakes
Do pupils give up too easily?
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Brain Plasticity
Brain Plasticity
Culture lift
Transformational
Ease
Medium effort
Time
This Term
Confidence
Strong
Use the 'cornfield' analogy to help teachers and pupils understand the concept of making paths.
Where this works best
Pupils understanding the basic biology of the brain realise why it's important to build from existing knowledge.
Implementation steps
- 1. Use the 'cornfield' analogy to help teachers and pupils understand the concept of making paths.
- 2. Pupils understanding the basic biology of the brain realise why it's important to build from existing knowledge.
- 3. What tasks generate learning / are critical to making secure pathways?
Common mistakes
One walk through may be hard and will flatten some growth, but it will quickly disappear if effort is not put into revisiting the path.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Believe to Achieve
Believe to Achieve
Culture lift
Transformational
Ease
Low effort
Time
Now
Confidence
Strong
Capture and celebrate case studies of how individual pupils are better today than yesterday.
Where this works best
Capturing and celebrating case studies of how individual pupils are better today than yesterday is critical to transforming values, beliefs and behaviours.
Implementation steps
- 1. Capture and celebrate case studies of how individual pupils are better today than yesterday.
- 2. Capturing and celebrating case studies of how individual pupils are better today than yesterday is critical to transforming values, beliefs and behaviours.
- 3. Do all staff continually promote 'better today than yesterday' so that it becomes - and importantly, remains - part of every conversation about learning?
Common mistakes
A process not an event.
PupilsStaffPrinciple guideClassroom promptPoster
Embedding the Principles
Establishing and Embedding a YesUCan Culture.
Classroom prompt
Better Today Than Yesterday
Do all staff and pupils believe they have the growth mindset that they can be better today than yesterday?
Teacher move
Encourage pupils to focus and celebrate on their own progress, however small, and not the progress of others.
Pupil reflection
Better today than yesterday. Believe. Improve. Achieve.
Quick activity
Feedback focuses on self-improvement not attainment.
Believe to Achieve
Don't Panic!
Stay in the growth zone and out of the anxiety zone. We learn best if we are cool, calm and collected.
Key language and behaviours
Stay in the growth zone and out of the anxiety zone.
Questions
Do pupils give up too easily? Is this an accepted behaviour?