How to Talk with Your Child about Their Learning - five approaches you can use

Oct 5, 2026

Upload by Mimi

The guide explains how the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) and the CogAT Ability Profile can help parents understand how children learn, highlighting both successes and challenges in school. It provides five discussion approaches to support self-reflection and conversation, including asking thoughtful open-ended questions and staying curious. The text also describes using a growth mindset by focusing on effort and strategy changes, and reinforcing children’s strengths through specific verbal and nonverbal encouragement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time6 min

AccessFree to download

How to Talk with Your Child about Their Learning

Make it a question

Stay curious

Encourage a growth mindset

Encourage your child in their strengths

Honor differences and strengthen weaknesses

Cog Res`ope_` Ikpecdqpԏ CogAT Parent Resource™ How to Talk with Your Child about Their Learning The Cognitive Abilities Test™ (CogAT®) gives us valuable information about how our children learn. The Ability Proaele™ can help inform the way we speak with our children by helping us see both successes and challenges our child faces at school through a lens of greater understanding. Here are five approaches you can use to talk to your child about their learning: Make it a question Thoughtful questions help children learn the skills of self-reflection and encourage conversation. When we ask open-ended questions and express curiosity about our child’s life, it allows them to reflect more deeply on their thoughts and experiences. While questions such as “How was school today?” and “Did you have a good day?”show we care, asking even more specific questions can open deeper conversation about learning: “How did you feel about the test you took today?” “What was the most fun thing you did in class?” “What was the most challenging thing you did at school today?”“Did you learn anything that surprised you today?” “What did you do at school today that you are proud of?” These conversations strengthen your bond, while also building verbal reasoning skills. Plus, asking questions encourages your child in their own curiosity, and curiosity is where learning begins. [riversideinsights.com](riversideinsights.com) Cog Stay curious Res`ope_` Ikpecdqpԏ Model lifelong learning by staying curious. When our children are small, it’s hard to imagine that the days of endless “Why?” and “How?” questions will dwindle to an end. When the opportunity arises, try to accept the invitation to curiosity from your child. “That’s an interesting question. I wonder about that, too. Why don’t we look it up together?” If you need to have a difficult conversation about your child’s learning, can you challenge yourself to start with curiosity? For example: “Look at this spelling test! I thought we studied this!” could become, “I remember you studied hard for this spelling test. How do you feel about how you did?” Starting with a question can help us come from a gentler place, and can give us more insight into our learner’s experience by encouraging the self-reflection, conversation and connection that statements do not. It is important to note that as parents, we aren’t always going to get this “just right”, especially at the end of along day or in a difficult moment. But remembering to stay curious and try to turn our statements into questions is one tool in our parenting toolbox to keep open conversations with our child about their learning. Have a coltqd jek_p`q You may have heard your child’s teacher use the term “growth mindset.” This is the belief that through effort, seeking help, and trying new strategies we can grow and improve our abilities. This can be distinguished from a fixed mindset, which instead sees intelligence, ability and talent as stable over time. While the fixed mindset says,“I can’t do this,” the growth mindset says, “I can try another strategy.” The CogAT Ability Profile shows a snapshot of your child’s abilities at this point in time, yet there is always potential for growth through intentional focus and support. Here are some statements and questions that can encourage a growth mindset: “Wow – that was a challenging problem. But I saw you try a different way to solve it and you didn’t give up!” “I can tell that you are really frustrated with that problem. Is there something different we can try, or do you need a break and we can come back to it?” “Do you remember last year when those addition math facts were really hard? Look at you now! How does that feel?” “I can tell you are almost ready for your test. Let’s study a little more of this today and the rest ofit tomorrow. What do you think?” “You read that paragraph all by yourself! Can you believe how many new words you have learned

FAQs

How can parents use thoughtful questions to talk about learning?

Parents can ask open-ended, curious questions that help children reflect on their thoughts and experiences. The guide gives examples like asking how a child felt about a test or what was most challenging at school.

What does staying curious mean during difficult conversations about learning?

It means starting from a gentle, inquisitive place rather than reacting immediately. The guide suggests turning statements into questions and using curiosity to better understand the learner’s experience.

How does the guide define a growth mindset, and how can parents support it?

A growth mindset emphasizes improving abilities through effort, help-seeking, and trying new strategies. The guide recommends praising specific process behaviors (trying different methods, not giving up) and offering supportive questions when challenges arise.

Oct 5, 2026

Upload by Mimi