Friday Mindset #156

Happy Friday fellow travellers.

We’re so tired… we’re forgetting how we got into work. So tired we’re watching each episode of Taskmaster across two nights… so tired we can taste colours. But we’re soldiering on. The ned is in sight. (See that’s how tired we are. Ned. Blimey.)

But has our enthusiasm dimmed? Not one bit. There’s a whole bunch of stuff to share this week. But first…

Announcement:

We love doing this newsletter, we’re excited about all the things we’ve got to share, and we’re looking forward to next academic year. But to keep this show on the road, we’re changing to a subscription model.

If you do nothing, you’ll still get Something we’re Reading and Portal Talk as usual, but the other two features, Something to Try and Our Latest Offer, will only be available to paid subscribers. Why? Well, each issue takes us between three and four hours to complete and we’ve done nearly 160 free issues - that’s 120,000 words. We’ve had some lovely donations via Buy Me a Coffee, and we thank you profusely if you’ve ever helped out this way, but we’ve spent it all ten times over on postage.

So if we’re to keep the project going as we want to (and we really hope we can!) we need a number of paid subscribers per month. The price will be very reasonable, about the cost of a coffee, and it’ll mean we can keep doing the work; that’s 32 newsletters per academic year as usual.

Anyway, you’ve still got five totally free, old-school issues to come, all the way through to July 11th. So let’s dive in…

Something we're reading...

We love Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits, and this post is a illustrative of why. Babauta writes with empathy and simplicity about the challenges of getting things done. He doesn’t linger, restate, or over-egg things, he’s direct and clear.

In this piece, he gives advice for how to tackle inertia or overwhelm. It’s something we see in students a lot, so this constitutes a great little guide to read and discuss together. In short, three pieces of advice are explored:

1. Make a list of things you’re avoiding.

2. Stay with the discomfort for a little while, breathe, trust yourself

3. Reward yourself with positive self-talk when you take even the smallest action.

It’ll take five minutes to read, five more to discuss. If you want an extension, ask students to suggest seven more approaches so you have ten, and explain it’s being written-up and used as a guide for next years’ cohort.

Neat.

Portal Talk...

Today we’re really excited to launch the BETA version of our brand new Flashcards App. We’re fired up about this one, and think it could be a game changer for some students.

The app is unique in 2 ways:

1. It uses our database of All UK exam board content (17000 records in total!) to allow students to create highly specific flashcards based on the subjects and topics specifically related to the courses they are studying

2. We use an algorithm to search the content and generate highly specific flashcard content for the students.

Students can create either self-marking multiple choice cards, short-answer, essay style or even acronym cards. It’s a leg-up for those who need a framework, or haven’t engaged with revision because they feel they’re too far behind, or don’t quite know where to begin.

And there’s more…

We’ve created a digital version of one of our favourite revision strategies - The Leitner Box from The A Level Mindset. Cards created by the student automatically pass into box 1 (everyday), if they get it correct, the card moves to box 2 (every other day), etc until the student manages to get their cards to ‘retire’ in Box 5. Again, a frameworked system for those who might not usually engage.

We’re allowing subscribers to the Friday Mindset free access until the end of term, however if your school is a Coaching Portal Subscriber all students will have full access to this app free of charge for all of next academic year! If you currently have a VESPA Academy account then simply login with your email address and password that you use to access the portal. NOTE: If you join as a new user then you will get a notification saying that your “pending approval” - please ignore this and simply login again after you have registered.

You can download the app using the link below or scanning the QR code on a mobile device. A reminder - this is currently in BETA so certain elements, for example the topic lists, may not be complete for some subjects.

As always we would appreciate any feedback or questions - using [email protected]

If you’re interested in learning more about the VESPA Coaching Portal please use my link below to schedule a quick call.

Something to try...

We were struck recently by this section of economist and writer Tim Harford’s pod, Cautionary Tales. Usually he’s doing a deep-dive on a particular topic, but in this episode he answers listener questions with Psychologist and professional poker player Maria Konnikova and numbers man Nate Silver.

An Australian listener asks about smartphones in schools. His child’s school has banned smartphones, and he’s got around it on the kid’s behalf by issuing his child with two phones, one to get locked away and the other to secretly access online material. He sees no issues with this.

Harford and Konnikova respond. Konnikova references a study we’ve shared with you in a previous newsletter - we’re ahead of the game on this issue, at least - and we’ve turned the bulk of her answer into a short powerpoint, with a link to the research so you can discuss it with a class.

It’s a good ‘un. Enjoy.

And if you want an extension - for yourself or perhaps a class - this nine-minute clip features Professors Cal Newport and Andrew Huberman discussing phone addiction:

Our latest offer...

We’re going to try and run this event with small numbers - bit of a balancing act, we’re looking for just enough to cover costs really, so let’s hope we can strike the right balance. Come along if you can:

VESPA training day with Steve, Martin and Tony, Tuesday 15th July, Central Manchester, 9:30am-3:30pm

We’ll cover whatever you want, but if we don’t have specific suggestions, it’ll be: (i) building engagement and aspiration, (ii) raising levels of effort, (iii) evidence-based revision strategies, (iv) effective coaching and intervention, (v) implementing VESPA.

There’s a cost so we can cover venue hire, catering and so on. Here’s the Eventbrite page if you’re interested:

VESPA Mindset Training Day

Empower Your Students: Become a VESPA Mindset Champion! This isn't just about understanding VESPA; it's about confidently delivering it.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/vespa-mindset-training-day-tickets-1399207650749?aff=oddtdtcreator

And that’s it for now. We’re off for a nap.

All the best to you and yours,

Steve, Tony and Martin

p.s. We love this - a simple mantra or morning ritual for July and August, and one to share with students. Rob Walker wrote a fave book of ours, The Art of Noticing. In this short blog he borrows a rule for the summer - a rule that has a lineage of brilliant women behind it, including Menka Sangvi, Sophie Howarth and poet Mary Oliver - Sky Before Screen. Every morning this summer, see the sky before looking at your phone.

This is a subscribers only piece, but the opening paragraphs are sufficient to give you the gist: