Research shows that the following learning mindsets play a role in students’ educational outcomes.
- Growth Mindset: The belief that intelligence can be developed
- Belonging: The belief that one is respected and valued at school
- Purpose & Relevance: The belief that one’s schoolwork is valuable because it is relevant to one’s life and/or connected to a larger purpose
Learning mindsets are important factors that affect students’ motivation, engagement, and achievement. The following briefs summarize scientific research that illustrates how learning mindsets relate to motivation and how the learning environment shapes mindsets and motivation.
- Leveraging Mindset Science to Design Educational Environments that Nurture People’s Natural Drive to Learn
- The Scientific Story of Student Motivation
The role of learning mindsets in shaping academic outcomes
CHALLENGES ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE LEARNING PROCESS
Research tells us that we enhance our learning when we persist through intellectual challenges.
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LEARNING MINDSETS AFFECT STUDENTS’ INTERPRETATIONS OF CHALLENGES
Learning mindsets affect whether or not students engage with challenges because they affect the way in which students make meaning of those challenges. More broadly, mindsets are the lenses through which students interpret their day-to-day experiences in school, particularly experiences of challenge and uncertainty.
For example, different students receiving the same exact low score on an assignment early in the term may have very different responses depending on the mindsets they hold. If a student is uncertain whether they belong in the class, does not see the larger purpose or personal relevance of the work, or does not believe they can grow their intelligence, that student may interpret the low score as a confirmation of their beliefs, withdrawing effort and steering clear of future challenges.
In contrast, a student who feels respected and valued in class, has had the opportunity to connect the work to their life or a larger purpose, and knows that intelligence is malleable may see the test score as an indication that they simply haven’t mastered the material yet.
Mindsets about learning and school that are maladaptive can set in motion a negative, self-reinforcing cycle
A student who is questioning their belonging, the purpose and relevance of their schoolwork, or their ability to grow their intelligence may see the poor grade as an indication that they can’t “cut it” or may write off the class as not worth their time.
In turn, these beliefs can sap motivation and create distractions, which may lead to further low scores, confirming the student’s original hypotheses. This student can thus get caught in a negative, self-reinforcing cycle: the worse they do, the more they withdraw, and the more they confirm these beliefs.
Learning mindsets can spark a positive, self-reinforcing cycle
In contrast, a student who believes it’s possible to develop their intelligence may interpret the poor grade as a sign that they need to work harder, use different strategies, or ask for help. A student confident in their belonging may think that challenges are typical, especially when trying something new, and will not worry that their low grade is a sign they don’t belong in the class. A student who perceives the material to be personally relevant and purposeful may sustain their effort in the work, even if the content is challenging, because they see its value.
When these students perform better because they are more deeply engaged and can sustain their focus on the learning at hand, this can trigger a positive cycle: better performance provides more evidence for their adaptive beliefs, and the more they are motivated to remain invested and engaged in class.
STUDENTS’ MINDSETS ARE SHAPED BY THEIR DAY-TO-DAY EXPERIENCES, INTERACTIONS, AND OBSERVATIONS
Mindsets are not fixed traits. They come from messages students pick up from society, their interactions with others, and their experiences in school.
Even when students receive the same curriculum and the same instruction from the same teacher, their personal experience of that classroom differs depending on their beliefs about the nature of ability, their belonging in that context, and the purpose and relevance of their schoolwork. These beliefs are rational responses to a student’s prior observations and interactions. They are context-dependent, and are shaped by the interaction of a person’s identities with a given context.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT LEARNING MINDSETS
What We Know About Learning Mindsets from Scientific Research
This Research Summary synthesizes what we know about Learning Mindsets from years of scientific research.
Visit the Research Library, Additional Resources or the Blog for more resources and information on Learning Mindsets.
