What is a Growth Mindset Culture?

Mindsets are beliefs people hold, that they may or may not be aware of, that act as a lens through which they interpret events in their lives. People who have a growth mindset about ability believe that it is malleable and can be improved with effort, feedback, and using effective strategies for learning. In contrast, people who have a fixed mindset about ability believe that people either have ability or do not have ability and nothing can be done to change it (Dweck, 2006). Past research on learning mindsets in educational settings has largely focused on the impact of students’ mindsets. This research demonstrates that when students have a growth mindset about abilities, they are better able to persist through setbacks and are more likely to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth.

Encouraging students to take on a growth mindset, however, will not necessarily support their academic success. If a student believes that they can learn and grow (i.e., has an individual growth mindset), and puts in the time and effort to do so, but the course is not designed to support their learning and the instructor does not convey belief that students are capable of growing their abilities, then the students ability to succeed will be limited by an environment that is not conducive to learning.

Recent research has demonstrated the critical importance of the growth mindset culture of a learning environment on students' academic experiences and outcomes. Mindset culture refers to the degree to which values, norms, policies, and practices in an environment signal that ability is malleable or fixed. Mindset culture is often shaped by leadership and supported by staff and faculty. An organization’s mindset culture can be conveyed through practices, policies, and messages from authority figures (Dweck 1999; Emerson & Murphy, 2015; Murphy & Dweck, 2010). Mindset cultures can impact all students’ engagement and learning, but may have a disproportionate effect on students from groups that have been historically excluded or underserved in higher education (e.g., racial/ethnic minorities, first-generation students, low income students, and women in STEM).

When instructors and administrators create growth mindset cultures in their classrooms and campus communities by communicating that they believe that all students can grow their abilities over time with effort and support, they can increase student engagement, and improve student learning and academic outcomes. Effectively cultivating a growth mindset culture about ability can also decrease students’ experiences of identity threat, and increase levels of trust among students who belong to groups that are targeted by negative stereotypes about their abilities (Canning et. al, 2019).

Key Ingredients for a Growth Mindset Culture in Your Classroom:

Communicate that ability is something that students develop, and not the result of innate qualities
Provide assurance that ability can be improved over time by applying effort, seeking feedback, and developing effective strategies for learning
Structure the course so that students can learn from their mistakes by providing specific, constructive feedback on how they can improve, and connecting students with resources to support their learning

What does this look like?

In the course syllabus and/or verbally during the first week of the course: When describing the objectives of the course, use growth mindset language to invoke high standards, along with assurances that the student can meet those high standards by putting in effort, reaching out for help, and making use of available course resources.

Example 1: “This course will include challenging material. However, the tests and assignments are designed so that any student can grow their abilities if they are willing to put in the time to attend class consistently, work on assignments outside of class, use or develop good study strategies, and contact the TA or instructor when they are struggling.”

When discussing course prerequisites and necessary skills: Communicate that struggling with material does not indicate that a student is incapable, but instead is a sign that they are learning and may need to further review past material, and ask peers, TAs, or instructors for help and new strategies.

Example 2: “Although there are no college prerequisites for this course, this course builds on concepts generally covered in high school math, such as calculating means, working with fractions and decimals, and order of operations. If you are uncertain about whether you have mastered those concepts, you should contact me or a TA and we will connect you to resources that can help you learn and review the concepts, which should prepare you for this course. If a review of these concepts is not sufficient, you might consider taking Math 1 to get a more solid grounding, then returning to this course next term.”

Before key exams or assignments: Use growth mindset messaging leading up to exams to establish for students that exams are designed to be assessments of students’ learning at a particular time, and students can take agentic steps to increase their understanding of course material over time.

Example 3: “In two weeks, we will have our first exam of the term. The exam is designed to assess your learning and comprehension of the material that we have covered so far, and has been written to help you assess your areas of strength, as well as areas where you may still have room to grow your understanding of course material. If you have been having trouble with any of the concepts or assignments we have completed so far, or you are unsure about your preparedness for this exam, please reach out to your TA or myself, or come to our drop in hours, to get connected with resources.”

At the end of the term: Send a brief email acknowledging the gains that students have made over the term, reiterating that challenges are a normal and vital part of the learning experience, and reminding students of the resources that are available to help them continue to improve their skills.

Example 4: “Good afternoon class, in this end of the week announcement, I wanted to send some encouragement for finishing out this semester strong. Across the course of this semester, we have focused on learning and applying our statistical knowledge. This hard work has required our effort, learning from feedback, and trying new strategies to succeed on our quizzes and homework assignments. I have seen growth, big and small, across the term. Importantly, it is not too late to grow in our mastery of our course content: ask questions, review my feedback, try out the additional practice problems, and find new ways to focus on our remaining course pieces. Even if your final grade in this course prompts the need to retake it in a future semester, this work will not be in vain. You will have a firmer foundation to start from and have more tools in your toolkit for how to be successful from the outset. I might not see you in another class until closer to graduation, but I will look forward to seeing you then.

Consider enhancing the growth mindset culture of your classroom by involving Teaching Assistants and other members of the learning team in efforts to communicate that ability is malleable and can be developed over time with effort, resources, and support.

Example 5: SEP participating instructor Dr. Kimran Buckholz at the University of New Mexico developed a survey activity for her course Teaching Assistants that prompts TAs to reflect on times they had experienced academic challenges, and how they responded to those challenges. With permission from the teaching assistants, Dr. Buckholz then shares forward that learning with students in the course, to help them understand that struggling with material at times is a common experience – even among student leaders. Learn more about Dr. Buckholz’s teaching assistant mindset activity, and view the survey that she created, here.

Recognizing and Avoiding Pitfalls and “Fixed Mindset” Messaging:

Change ideas need to be designed with attention to ways that they could be ineffective or backfire. Below are some tips to help ensure that your growth mindset messages work as intended.

A growth mindset does not mean that the instructor believes that every student is equally prepared for a given course, or that every student can grow their ability enough in a single term to succeed in a given course. A growth mindset means that the instructor believes that struggling with the material is not necessarily a sign that the student is not capable, but instead is a sign that students are learning and require more time, attention, and different learning strategies from their professor. Students may not yet have the foundation necessary to succeed in a course, but growth mindset faculty connect students with resources to help them build that foundation so that they can enroll in the course and be successful in the future.
A growth mindset does not mean the instructor believes that success is merely a matter of effort. This misunderstanding of the concept is referred to as a “false growth mindset.” Encouraging students to “try harder” will not necessarily promote growth unless they have good strategies and resources for the effort to be effective. Such “try harder” messages can backfire, exacerbating some of the very issues that growth mindset is intended to address. It is the faculty’s role to help students identify if they are applying effective effort, and if not, to provide strategies that help them get there.
Growth mindset is also not just about being nice or having low standards. Classes that take a growth mindset approach are often perceived as challenging because growth mindset professors are constantly challenging students to grow and develop.

Examples of “Fixed Mindset” and “False Growth Mindset” Messaging:

“This is a difficult course. Succeeding on tests and assignments will require a thorough understanding of the course material. Students who are not quick learners should consider dropping the course now.”

This passage is missing both key ingredients for a successful growth mindset message: communicating that ability is something students develop, and assurance that ability can be improved over time with effort, feedback, and using effective strategies for learning.
This is also an example of a Fixed Mindset message. Fixed mindset messages convey that some students have ability and some do not, and there is not much that can be done to change that--thus, students who don’t “get it” should drop the class. Fixed mindset messages can decrease student engagement and performance, and disproportionately affect students from groups that have been historically excluded or underserved in higher education.

“This is a difficult course, but it is possible to learn this material. If you find yourself struggling, I suggest you put in more effort.”

This passage is missing the second key ingredient for a successful growth mindset message: assurance that ability can be improved over time with feedback, and using effective strategies for learning. This is also an example of a False Growth Mindset message.