The GPS Difference

When you tour GPS, you’ll often witness teachers sitting alongside students, not lecturing from the front of class, to encourage open dialog and conversations.

According to author Carol Dweck, PhD, girls are more likely to have a fixed mindset—the idea that one’s intelligence cannot be altered, even with effort. Students with a growth mindset believe their intelligence can be expanded with effort. So GPS faculty realize that to get girls to persevere, to step out of their comfort zones, they need to encourage them to embrace the word YET. When a girl thinks she’s not good at something, her teacher steps in to say, “Well, maybe not yet, but ….”

Our teachers structure learning to help girls adopt a growth mindset. They engage their students with methods that provide social learning opportunities and collaborative work. In a collaborative learning environment, teachers use dialogic teaching—using discussion and conversation to further learning—that encourages students to explore together and reach consensus through thoughtful interactions.

I don’t think you know how good an all-girls school is until you are here. In classes, the teachers are on board with you—they talk with you.