Learning to ‘fail’: changing student mindset
to develop the learning resilience required
for research and enquiry in HE
Dr Udaramati Pope
Academic Practice Consultant, CPLD
Padlet address for this session
http://padlet.com/udaramati_pope/dweck
27 July 2016
2
What I want to introduce you to today
• the characteristics and qualities students need to be successful in
research and inquiry work
• the implications of a ‘fixed-mindset’ and ‘growth-mindset’ attitude
for HE learner behaviours and outcomes, with specific focus on
research and enquiry
• two ways we can support learners in developing the growth mindset
that research and enquiry work require
Activity 1
Individual activity
• Find a copy of the handout on your table
• Read the three statements in each section
• Mark the one you agree with most in each section
• Save this for later…..
So what qualities do students need in
order to engage successfully in research
and enquiry?
Activity
Watch James Dyson talking about the process of invention, which is
one form of research and enquiry.
After you have watched, using Padlet, enter words that
describe the qualities/characteristics of someone who
engages successfully in research and enquiry.
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James Dyson on the process of research and
inquiry that resulted in the development of the
bagless, dual-cyclone vacuum cleaner.
Professor Carol Dweck, Stanford University
The Benefits of a Growth Mindset
Characteristics of fixed- and growthmindsets
Fixed mindset
Growth Mindset
• Believes intelligence is fixed,
cannot change
• Believes talent is something
you are born with (or not)
• Believes that if you are
successful at something, it
should be easy
• Believes intelligence can be
developed
• Believes talent is something
you can develop
• Believes that to be successful
at something, you need to
make a lot of effort and
practice
• Believes that failure is negative • Believes that failing is positive
and indicates that you are not a
and is an integral part of the
success
learning process
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Now use your responses from Activity 1
to identify your own mindset tendencies
More fixed mindset
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Mixture of fixed and
growth mindset
More growth
mindset
9
What are the implications of a fixed
mindset for the undergraduate?
• Used to being top of the class – probably won’t be in HE
• Used to high achievement with little effort – will probably be hard
work in HE; may give up quickly
• Used to being spoon-fed and getting the ‘right’ answers easily –
won’t understand how there are not ‘right’ answers in research and
enquiry; can’t function without showing they are ‘right’ or the
lecturer telling them the answers/how to do it
• Used to being told they are ‘clever’ – might not feel so clever any
more – leads to drop in self-esteem, and may then give up quickly,
feeling a failure before they begin. May also avoid participating in
the first place so that they do not have to ‘fail’
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What do research and enquiry-based
learning require from students?
The ability to…
• Identify and ask questions
• Keep asking questions - tenacity
• The willingness to try and try and try to find answers or solutions – with lots
of failure – more tenacity
• Making links, working out what those links are
• Self-assessment/peer assessment – there is no ‘right answer’
• Look for an unknown answer - lecturer doesn’t provide the answers!
• Self-Motivate and motivate others in the group
• Be able to recognise the limitations of their current skill set, be willing to
develop new skills and be proactive in doing so
• Self-assessment of progress when the goal may be unknown
How can we support students to
develop a growth mindset?
Full workshop on this on July 13th –
details to follow from CPLD
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How can we support students to
develop a growth mindset?
Two ways we can approach this in HE
1. Create opportunities to ‘fail’ – formative assessment
2. Use feedback to praise effort and tenacity, not intelligence
and ‘correctness’
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Create opportunities to ‘fail’ – formative
assessment
This does not mean more ‘practice summative assessments’….
It means opportunities to practice skills/apply knowledge and
understanding to build step-by-step towards summative assessments
= more active learning in sessions e.g. SCALE-UP, flipped learning,
and other active learning methods
= more opportunities to ‘get it wrong’ in a supported environment
= more opportunities to get feedback on their progress, (from peer
and self-assessment, not only from their lecturer!)
= more opportunities to be shown how to use that feedback to
improve progress
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Use feedback to praise effort and tenacity, not
intelligence and ‘correctness’
When effort and ability to stick with the task are recognised and
rewarded, students learn to value their intrinsic appreciation for
learning, and to enjoy the experience of ‘failure’, recognising it as
integral to their learning.
This is particularly important in giving verbal feedback during learning
activities in sessions, but is also relevant to written feedback
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Even Geniuses Work Hard!
Dweck, Carol (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New
York: Random House.