Helping Our Students Succeed by
Encouraging a “Growth Mindset”
Mike Pinter
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Pete Giordano
Department of Psychological Science
Overall Structure
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Background information for mindsets
Prompts for table conversation
Examples for course and classroom use
Additional prompts for table conversation
Fixed and Growth Mindsets
(Mindset, pp. 12-14)
Which mindset do you have?
Answer these questions about intelligence. Read each
statement and decide whether you mostly agree with it or
disagree with it.
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Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change
very much.
You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you
are.
No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it a
bit.
You can always substantially change how intelligent you are.
You also have beliefs about other abilities. You could substitute “artistic
talent,” “sports ability,” or “business skill” for “intelligence.”
What is a fixed mindset?
A fixed mindset is characterized by:
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the belief that an ability is static, set in stone
the belief that an ability is constantly being
evaluated, and
ability must be re-proven at every turn
failure challenges who you are
looking to the failure of others to make you feel
better
What is a growth mindset?
A growth mindset is characterized by:
the belief that an ability is dynamic, changeable
 a willingness to embrace and work through
challenges
 the belief that failure is an opportunity to grow
and learn from the experience
 looking to the success of others to figure out how
to improve
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Those with a growth mindset …
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are more willing to take on challenging
tasks
are more willing to persist on challenging
tasks
believe that effort is what helps you learn
show a greater love of learning
Compare the two
Growth Mindset
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“Nothing ventured,
nothing gained”
“If at first you don’t
succeed, try, try again.”
“Fall down seven times,
get up eight.”
Fixed Mindset
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“Nothing ventured,
nothing lost.”
“If at first you don’t
succeed, you probably
don’t have the ability.”
“Fall down once, try
something else.”
Compare the two
Growth Mindset
► “I thrive when challenged
or stretched or growing”
► “My interest is kept by
challenge and growth”
► “I feel good enough when
…I try hard
…I started to figure it out
…I work hard and do
something I couldn’t do
before”
Fixed Mindset
“I thrive in safety –
feeling smart and/or
talented”
► “My interest is kept by
good results”
► “I feel good enough when
…I don’t make mistake
…it’s perfect or I win
…when I can do it and
others can’t”
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Failure
What does it feel like to experience failure?
 How do your students feel?
 How does an athlete feel?
 How does a colleague feel?
 How do you feel?
Responding to Failure
► What
would help after failure?
► IDeAS Process
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Identify and describe a recent failure
De-brief the failure
Analyze the failure
Strategize solutions, plans for moving forward
► Building
supports for a growth mindset for
your students
What does it feel like to learn?
Ken Bain
What the Best College Teachers Do
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"People are most likely to enjoy their education if they
believe they are in charge of the decision to learn.“ (p. 47)
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"They [best teachers] create a safe environment in which
students can try, come up short, receive feedback, and try
again.“ (p. 47)
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"[Best teachers] believe that if they understand their
students and the nature and processes of learning better,
they can create more successful environments.“ (p. 174)
Teaching to support a growth mindset
► First
day of class
 First course impressions
 An experience that invites growth
► End
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of course
Major assignments
Timelines
Role of Final Exam or course project
Opportunity for reflection
► Touchstone
points in between
Teaching to support a growth mindset
► Syllabus
language
 Ken Bain’s ideas for an invitation
 Expressions of expectations
 Instructor’s role and role modeling
► Course
structure
 Opportunities for “failure”
 High stakes v. low stakes
 Cognitive Load
► Feedback
to students
 Formative and timely
Teaching to support a growth mindset
► Student
development
 Stages of development (Baxter Magolda et al)
 Freshmen and lower level
 Upper level
 Majors v. nonmajors
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Knowledge construction and uncertainty
Expectation failure
Stereotype threat
Imposter Phenomenon
Mindsets Toward Learning
Terry Doyle and Todd Zakrajsek
The New Science of Learning:
How to Learn in Harmony With
Your Brain
Characteristics of Fixed and Growth Mindsets
The New Science of Learning
Self-Image
► Fixed: to protect self-image, take on only
easy tasks, discount others’ achievements
and try to make others look dumb
► Growth:
do not see self-image as tied to
abilities; accept failure as an important
part of learning
A Mindset Assignment
Fall 2014
Read the “Mindsets Toward Learning” chapter in
The New Science of Learning: How to Learn in
Harmony With Your Brain.
Prepare a 2-3 paragraph response commenting
on your mindset(s) toward learning (include
your major area and courses otherwise) and
toward something outside of academics (sports,
religion, relationships, and so on).
Student Responses
As a kid, I had always been told I was smart and
that school came natural to me….Looking back I am
positive I had an aggressively fixed mindset
….Starting last semester and going into this year I
am beginning to learn what a growth mindset is
looking like and how to approach it .... especially
with my Spanish class today….Now I am learning to
learn for the sake of learning….This has proved
difficult to counteract and humbling, but ultimately
more satisfying.
Student Responses
This reading really stood out to me. I experienced a
breakthrough in my [instrument] playing during my
first year at Belmont, and it was due to a major
change in mindset. Before, I had thought that I was
just a naturally good musician. I could play harder
music than my peers, although I didn’t practice very
often. [At Belmont] I was faced with extremely
difficult music and talented musicians....I soon found
that I could play almost anything if I practiced hard
enough. Sadly, I never grew out of my fixed mindset
in science.... When I took [science course] here, I
was not successful at first, my professor was not
helpful, so I basically just stopped trying to do well.
A Mindset Assignment
Spring 2014
A final exam question in Psychological Testing:
“Describe the most important thing you learned from
reading the book Mindset. Be specific.”
Student Responses
► The
most important thing I learned from Mindset
is how deeply engrained it is in our lives ….
Reading the book at this age has been critical as
we are developing skills and a sense of self. The
last chapter highlights the processes of changing
your mindset. Although it is sometimes hard to let
go of “fixed” ideas that you have planted in
yourself (or that have been planted by parents,
coaches, teachers, etc.), it is possible to change.
Having the growth mindset is exciting and
enriching. It makes a person more courageous,
more confident, and benefits both interpersonal
and intrapersonal dynamics of life.
Student Responses
► This
book opened my eyes to how important
perspective is in life. They way we look at
situations shapes everything. We can limit
ourselves so much and never see our true
potential, if we constantly live in a state of a fixed
mindset. People in the fixed mindset never see
change needed in themselves and they place the
blame on other things/people, rather than check
themselves first. Thus, a growth mindset is where
I want to be, how I always want to look at life,
always wonder what I could do better than last
time to improve, grow, and learn.
A Growth Mindset for Your Students
► Framing
Your Course
►Beginning
► Course
to End
Design
►Syllabus
► Feedback
and structure
to Students
►Formative
► Student
Developmental Needs
Conclusions
 We
can help our students develop a growth
mindset in their coursework.
 Mentoring students is a good opportunity to
explore a growth mindset.
 Think about your own teaching with a
growth mindset!
 Think about your scholarship with a growth
mindset.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained!!!
Resources
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Bain, Ken (2004). What the best college teachers do. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
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Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The impostor phenomenon in high
achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention.
Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice 15 (3), 241–247.
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Doyle, T., and Zakrajsek, T. (2013). The new science of learning: How
to learn in harmony with your brain. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus.
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Dweck, Carol. (2007). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New
York: Ballantine.