At ISM, we believe that schools should be a hub of learning experiences for the whole community. In this spirit, we were thrilled to host our first live Parent Academy sessions on Lower Campus since 2019.
We started with a brief seminar on developing children into self-confident explorers of mathematics. It’s so important for children to feel as if maths mastery is within their reach.
When the community praises children for courage, resilience and hard work, they learn to repeat those behaviours and take challenging risks. This is so much more important than focusing on ‘correctness’, which can steal the excitement of exploring new maths skills and be detrimental in the long term. When we all cooperate together, the children build up positive behavioural habits which ultimately translate into great learning progress.
After learning about these key principles, parents visited classrooms to see the children tackling tough new challenges. It was terrific to hear a stream of supportive feedback bouncing around the room. The children were so motivated by their parents’ voices recognising their hard work and courage. It’s no wonder maths is such a strength of ISM!
Written by
Justin Noack
Head of ISM Lower Campus
Research shows that confident students are more likely to succeed academically.
In fact, several science-backed studies cite self-confidence as the number one predictor of academic achievement. Researchers found that students with greater confidence were more willing to learn and challenge themselves. They were also more motivated, resilient, and capable of dealing with adversity.
At the International School of Moscow (ISM), our job is to build and nurture positive self-esteem in children. But what is confidence? And how does it affect academic performance?
