| dc.description.abstract | University enrollment rates have continued to decline and increasing retention efforts on campuses has become a central focus for university administration and faculty members. Growth mindset, a theory developed by Dr. Carol Dweck, is a belief that intellectual and academic ability are not “fixed” but instead can be developed by a student’s hard work and determination. The danger of a fixed mindset is that students who believe that their intellect is a fixed trait are much more likely to have lower academic performance, decreased motivation, and are at-risk for dropping out of school (Bickerstaff, Barragan & Rucks-Ahidiana, 2012; Cury, Elliot, Da Fonseca, & Moller, 2006; Kornilova, Kornilova, & Chumakova, 2009; Skipper & Douglas, 2012). Often, students with a fixed mindset cannot achieve academic success because they believe that they are incapable of meeting academic performance goals (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). When students develop a growth mindset it can increase motivation, the desire to learn, and greatly impact school achievement (Dweck, 2007; Kornilova et al., 2009; Spinath, Freudenthaler, & Neubauer, 2010; Steinmayr & Spinath, 2009).
The concept of improving academic ability, from the standpoint of retention purposes and overall student success, is very timely as university enrollment currently faces a downward trend. In addition, more students are beginning their university careers underprepared academically, and their success or failure in a gateway course can often be determined, not by their ability, but by their mindset. The purpose of this research is to examine how growth mindset strategies affect university students in a composition gateway (general education) course. This impact evaluation study was conducted over the course of a sixteen-week semester and targeted 150 Composition I students, in nine separate courses, at a regional university located in the Midwest. Central to the study is the use of ten growth mindset strategies that were introduced weekly in the course during the duration of the semester. A control group of 69 students, who were not exposed to growth mindset strategies, was established at the beginning of the study. All of the composition students in the study were given a survey measuring growth mindset, a writing survey, and a course content assessment that were administered at both the beginning and at the end of the course. After examining the data and the results of the surveys, this research would suggest that using growth mindset in a gateway course, particularly in writing courses, might help students enjoy the writing process more, might lead to better student academic success and higher retention rates, and might be beneficial for first generation students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in particular. | en_US |
