I’ve been a fan of the Khan Academy for a long time now. The website was set up by Salman “Sal” Khan after he began tutoring his cousin, and has developed into an international organisation with the aim of providing a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. There are tutorial videos on a mind-boggling array of topics – great for revision or just for pushing yourself and understanding something new. 

What’s particularly great, though, is the philosophy behind the Khan Academy – You Can Learn Anything. Khan explains: 

Most people are held back not by their innate ability, but by their mindset. They think intelligence is fixed, but it isn’t. Your brain is like a muscle. The more you use it and struggle, the more it grows. New research shows we can take control of our ability to learn. We can all become better learners. We just need to build our brains in the right way.

Khan Academy

Helpfully, the Academy has provided a couple of videos explaining exactly how the brain grows when we learn something new. Here’s the short version: 

And for those with a real appetite for it, here’s the detail: 

Finally, Sal Khan himself met with Carol Dweck to explore the ideas behind a growth mindset approach: 

Remember: if you set your mind to it, you can learn anything.