Limitless Mind

In this revolutionary book, a professor of education at Stanford University and acclaimed math educator who has spent decades studying the impact of beliefs and bias on education, reveals the six keys to unlocking learning potential, based on the latest scientific findings. For decades, it was accepted wisdom that the range of our intellectual abilities were limited by our genetics. This presumption guided our understanding of learning. Even the simple idea that we are either good or bad at a skill such as math has been ingrained at a young age. These damaging—and as modern science has revealed, false—beliefs have influenced each one of us at some time, often limiting our choices and perhaps, ultimately our futures. Jo Boaler, an acclaimed educator at Stanford University, has spent decades studying about how individuals learn. In this groundbreaking book, she reveals the new science of learning that will unlock the way we see ourselves and the potential of those around us. Drawing from a series of studies involving thousands of students in the US and England as well as her years of primary research—carefully observing the most effective way to help people change from low to high achievers—and backed by the latest neurological science, Boaler offers six keys crucial to unlocking learning potential: The brain is not fixed and is capable of learning and growing regardless of age. Mistakes and challenges increase and strengthen our neural pathways and accelerate our ability to understand and learn. Our own beliefs change the potential of what we can achieve. Learning through a multiplicity of approaches to content fosters improved learning. Speed learning is a poor measure of aptitude and is not conducive to deep and sustained understanding. Collaboration and connection on any skill or discipline is a highly effective tool for learning. These six keys are not just about learning more powerfully—they are about empowerment: knowing you are good enough, that failure is an opportunity, and that life can be lived differently. Limitless Mind will radically transform our notions of education and learning, giving us the freedom to see ourselves and the world differently.