Empowering Students Through Growth Mindset Strategies
Impact on Faculty
When these interventions have been used, students demonstrate higher persistence and higher success rates than classes that do not use this approach.Toolkit Survey
Toolkit Overview
In recent years, interest in metacognitive approaches to enhance student performance and success has gained national attention. One of the best researched approaches has been Carol Dweck's growth mindset theory, first introduced in her bestseller—Mindset: The New Psychology of Success—and written up in the New York Times and New York Magazine. This toolkit will introduce Dweck's approach—which takes issue with the "self-esteem" approach to educational development—and discuss how the concept of a growth mindset can be applied in the classroom and academic support services.Steps To Implement
1. Review the PowerPoint titled, “Empowering Students Through Growth Mindset Strategies” to get an overview of the concepts.
2. To completely understand the theory and approach it is highly recommended that you read Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck; however, “Brainology: Transforming Students Motivation to Learn,” by Carol Dweck, provides a sufficient overview and can even be assigned to students.
3. Four core interventions, created by Doctors Mary Jo Apigo and Miguel Powers, can be integrated into any course and are designed to take thirty minutes of class time each. These interventions have been studied and have proven to aid students in their understanding of mindset theory.
4. Review the materials and suggested script for each intervention.
5. Consider how you will integrate these interventions into your course curriculum. Note: Presenting the information towards the beginning of the semester is more advantageous.
