Donna Wilson and I Reveal ‘The Forgotten Secret to Leadership Success’

What is “The Forgotten Secret to Leadership Success”? Donna and I provide the answer at our blog post appearing on the School Leaders Now website.

The forgotten secret is metacognition—thinking about thinking—which London neuroscientist Stephen Fleming confirms may be the most powerful tool that professionals such as educational leaders can use to question, monitor, and adjust their thinking as a means of driving action toward achieving goals.

Teachers can work together in using metacognition to improve their teaching practice too. By reflecting on best practices together, teachers can increase their opportunities for being more effective educators—both individually and collectively.

We Promote the Importance of a Growth Mindset with Our TeachThought Blog Post

Donna and I continue to stress the importance of cultivating a growth mindset in the classroom. Our latest blog post, which appears on the TeachThought website, stresses how developing a “mindset of practical optimism” is a key component of focusing on the brain’s capacity to change as a result of learning.

In the blog post, we talk about the “BrainSMART Big Five” approach, which identifies five key factors that teachers and students can use to improve engagement, motivation, and learning. These include: 


• Keeping brain plasticity front of mind
• Driving your brain with effective learning strategies
• Asking for help when needed
• Developing finishing power, and
• Investing the necessary time and effort.