Does my professor think my ability can change? Students’ perceptions of their STEM professors’ mindset beliefs predict their psychological vulnerability, engagement, and performance in class.

Abstract

Two experiments and 2 field studies examine how college students’ perceptions of their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professors’ mindset beliefs about the fixedness or malleability of intelligence predict students’ anticipated and actual psychological experiences and performance in their STEM classes, as well as their engagement and interest in STEM more broadly. In Studies 1 (N = 252) and 2 (N = 224), faculty mindset beliefs were experimentally manipulated and students were exposed to STEM professors who endorsed either fixed or growth mindset beliefs. In Studies 3 (N = 291) and 4 (N = 902), we examined students’ perceptions of their actual STEM professors’ mindset beliefs and used experience sampling methodology (ESM) to capture their in-the-moment psychological experiences in those professors’ classes. Across all studies, we find that students who perceive that their professor endorses more fixed mindset beliefs anticipate (Studies 1 and 2) and actually experience (Studies 3 and 4) more psychological vulnerability in those professors’ classes—specifically, they report less belonging in class, greater evaluative concerns, greater imposter feelings, and greater negative affect. We also find that in-the-moment experiences of psychological vulnerability have downstream consequences. Students who perceive that their STEM professors endorse more fixed mindset beliefs experience greater psychological vulnerability in those professors’ classes, which in turn predict greater dropout intentions, lower class attendance, less class engagement, less end-of-semester interest in STEM, and lower grades. These findings contribute to our understanding of how students’ perceptions of professors’ mindsets can serve as a situational cue that affects students’ motivation, engagement, and performance in STEM.

Promoting a Growth Mindset in CS1: Does One Size Fit All? A Pilot Study

“…While it was founded on research, it is still in it's developmental phase. The lecturer who delivered the intervention, exhibited traits of a growth Mindset, where research has reported that this may effect the intervention itself [29], where similar effects can be seen with parents [18].…”

“…It must be noted the both institutions were delivering the exact same course for both years, with no additional interventions or teaching methodologies applied. Also the same lecturer, lectured in both institutions to both groups of students (both years), thus considerably reducing differences associated with different lecturer delivery methods or the lecturer themselves as a contributor to any difference in performance or Mindset changes [29]. A Welch's unequal variances t-test [45] was used to examine if any statistically significant differences existed between both student cohorts using the 12 factors collected.…”

“Does My Teacher Believe I Can Improve?”: The Role of Meta-Lay Theories in ESL Learners’ Mindsets and Need Satisfaction

“…However, the impact of different aspects of autonomy-supportive strategies on mindsets has not been examined. Similarly, research suggested that a performance-oriented environment (e.g., competition for grades) versus a learning-oriented environment ( Leith et al, 2014 ), generic statements (e.g., “boys are always good at math”) versus specific statements (e.g., “That student is good at math”; Cimpian, 2010 ), and ability praise (“You are so smart”) versus process praise (e.g., “Good Job, you worked so hard”; Pomerantz and Kempner, 2013 ) can strengthen fixed mindsets (see Haimovitz and Dweck, 2017 ; Muenks et al, 2020 ). Although these antecedents of mindsets may share overlap with autonomy-support strategies, they have not been systematically studied in reference to the SDT literature.…”

Students’ Motivational Trajectories and Academic Success in Math-Intensive Study Programs: Why Short-Term Motivational Assessments Matter

“…More work is needed to better understand which factors contribute to students' recovery from the initial motivational shock and to support students who are most at risk of negative motivational trajectories after the transition to higher education. Such factors might include students' mindset beliefs about the fixedness or malleability of their abilities or students' perceptions of their instructors' mindset beliefs (Dweck & Yeager, 2019;Muenks et al, 2020).…”