It’s All About Mindset

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While I am currently a masters student in the Applied Human Development program at Boston University’s School of Education, I previously received my degree in Middle School Education with a specialization in mathematics. One of the reasons that I want to be a math teacher is that there is an overwhelming number of people who dislike math and I think that needs to change. I have heard numerous people say that they are bad at math or that they are not a math person, but it doesn’t have to be that way- it’s all about mindset.

Carol Dweck is the mother of mindset psychology, which revolves around two main mindsets: fixed and growth. A fixed mindset is the belief that your ability is set in stone and therefore cannot be changed through any amount of effort, just like the example above of someone who is “not a math person” and believes that they can never be good at math. A growth mindset is the belief that your ability can expand with time and effort (Dweck, 2007). Research shows that those who have a growth mindset perform better and participate more in school and also persevere more when faced with challenging problems (Bostwick, Collie, Martin, & Durksen, 2017; Moorman & Pomerantz, 2010). Conversely, a fixed mindset can lead someone to feel discouraged and inadequate.

Several interventions have been designed to educate people about the plasticity of the brain, which allows it to constantly grow and improve. These interventions encourage people to feel as though they are able to define their ability instead of the other way around. While typically implemented in educational settings, mindset interventions can be used to motivate and revitalize anyone, even those who already associate with a growth mindset. The positive effects of growth mindsets can be seen in children as young as 6th grade and can impact several areas of life. In language alone, improvements can be seen in reading comprehension, decoding, and text comprehension by praising your child’s effort instead of their success (Andersen & Nielson, 2016). Younger children can also benefit from their parents growth mindset if it is used to inform their interactions and help the child to develop a similarly positive mindset (Bostwick et al., 2010).

Mindset interventions have consistently shown significant impacts on student achievement and participation, but it is not the only way to ensure a successful future. Teaching children at a young age that they have the power to mold their own minds and learn anything that they want to learn is crucial. There is no child who is unable to learn, they just need the right mindset.

References

Dweck, C. (2008). Mindset : The new psychology of success (Ballantine books trade paperback ed.). New York: Ballantine Books.

Bostwick, K., Collie, R., Martin, A., Durksen, T., Lüftenegger, Marko, & Chen, Jason A. (2017). Students’ growth mindsets, goals, and academic outcomes in mathematics. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie, 225(2), 107-116.

Andersen, S., & Nielsen, H. (2016). Reading intervention with a growth mindset approach improves children's skills. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America, 113(43), 12111-12113.

Moorman, Elizabeth A., & Pomerantz, Eva M. (2010). Ability mindsets influence the quality of mothers' involvement in children's learning: An experimental investigation. Developmental Psychology, 46(5), 1354-1362.