Purpose and Relevance

This research snapshot provides an overview of a project led by Neil Lewis, Jr. and Rene Kizilcec, funded through the SERN K-12 Teachers and Classrooms Research Portfolio. The study investigates the psychological experience of more than 106,000 high school students from across the United States who were enrolled in Code.org's Advanced Placement Computer Science course during the 2017-2018 school year. The researchers examine relationships between student demographics, mindsets, and course outcomes.

This research brief offers a summary of what we know about purpose & relevance from years of scientific research.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a SERN-funded project led by Sidney D'Mello, Angela Duckworth, Margo Gardner, and Donald Kamentz. The project analyzed language used by students in their college applications to explore the connections between extra-curricular/work experiences, psychological factors, and college success (as measured by graduating within four or six years). The snapshot shares key findings, insights, and future directions for the project.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a SERN-funded project led by Katie McLaughlin and Rob Crosnoe. The project explores whether exposure to common forms of childhood adversity is associated with children’s learning mindsets, including growth mindset, sense of belonging at school, perceived utility value of school, and purpose for learning, as well as how these associations vary across different types of adversity. The snapshot shares key findings, insights, and future directions for the project.

This research summary brief provides an overview of a paper by Greg Walton and Tim Wilson, exploring how wise interventions can improve outcomes and implications for policy and practice across a broad range of domains. The brief shares a background on what wise interventions are, how they work, and the ways they can be used to improve outcomes.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a SERN-funded project led by Christopher Hulleman and Stephanie Wormington. The project explored whether students’ learning mindsets as they enter college are related to their academic success during the first two years of school. The snapshot shares key findings, information on the interdisciplinary research team, and insights and future directions for the project.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a SERN-funded project led by Mary Helen Immordino-Yang and Camille Farrington. This project was designed to leverage data collected from a longitudinal, cross-cultural project on the social-emotional brain development of adolescents from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The researchers explored how students’ neurobiological predispositions in social-emotional processing interact with their learning environments (i.e., community and family) and cultural influences to shape their social functioning over time. The snapshot shares key findings, information on the interdisciplinary research team, and insights and future directions for the project.

This research snapshot provides an overview of a SERN-funded project led by Geoff Cohen and Tanner LeBaron Wallace. In this project, the researchers examined how teachers weave messages of growth, belonging, purpose, and affirmation (or their opposite) into their day-to-day practice, as well as whether creating learning environments that may support adaptive learning mindsets through these verbal messages is related to teachers’ ability to promote gains in students’ math achievement. The snapshot shares key findings, information on the interdisciplinary research team, and insights and future directions for the project.