Practice Category: Growth Mindset Culture
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities are malleable and can be improved with effort, feedback, and using effective strategies for learning. In contrast, a fixed mindset is the belief that abilities are innate. When instructors convey a growth mindset about intelligence to students, students are found to experience less identity threat and perform better academically. Although students perceive these beliefs, research shows that these perceptions are quite accurate when compared to instructors’ self-reported beliefs. In this section you will find practice recommendations designed to communicate an instructor growth mindset.
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Creating An Attuned Assessment Wrapper
Resources for bookending (or “wrapping”) key assessments with practices that help students prepare for, and debrief their performance in a way that emphasizes potential for growth, connects to resources, and does not inspire identity threat.
Practice Categories: Growth Mindset Culture Self-Efficacy Social Connectedness Trust and Fairness
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Creating a Belonging Story
Guidance on developing and adapting a brief exercise to help students understand that belonging concerns in college are normal, and not a signal that they do not belong or cannot succeed.
Practice Categories: Growth Mindset Culture Belonging Self-Efficacy Social Connectedness
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Overview: Effective Growth Mindset Culture Messages
A foundational overview on how instructors can convey a growth mindset about student abilities, why they should, and how to use growth-mindset messaging.
Practice Categories: Growth Mindset Culture
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Establishing Expectations: A Growth Mindset Approach
Approaches for communicating about academic standards and course expectations in a way that promotes student engagement, learning, and academic success; most effective when implemented during the first week of classes; revisit principles throughout the term.
Practice Categories: Growth Mindset Culture Self-Efficacy Trust and Fairness
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Creating a Wise Feedback Framing Statement
Guidance on delivering critical feedback in a way that engenders trust, increases academic engagement, and helps close academic outcome gaps; most effective when implemented on all significant assignments or assessments.
Practice Categories: Growth Mindset Culture Identity Safety Self-Efficacy Social Connectedness Trust and Fairness
