Towards Growth-Mindset Mathematics Teaching in the Netherlands

Abstract

Mathematics is the foundation of sciences and it is important in a learner’s career success. Growth mindset in mathematics teaching is essential to reach a broader student population effectively. Shifting the focus from performance and time pressure to deep understanding and personal growth, unnecessary competition vanishes among learners. As a result, they develop a better relation with their own thinking and they gain insights into the thinking of others. At the same time, collaboration and communication emerge naturally. The fear of mathematics and making mistakes disappear, while students learn by connecting ideas and applying the already learned study material.In the academic years of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, two Dutch research projects dealt with the application of a growth mindset in mathematics teaching. One was in secondary schools, the other one at universities. In this article, we briefly report about and reflect on the exciting results of these studies and suggest further directions for research and the development of best practices.The ideas and experiences described in this paper are urgent as currently we are at the threshold of a new era in which education and learning are (and should be) really open for everyone; with low floor and without ceilings.

Fuzzy Conjoint Need Assessment Method for Model Development Justification

“…Each is related to the level of proficiency of students in solving mathematics problems, the level of student motivation towards solving mathematics problems, the level of student's ability to coordinate their way of thinking when solving problems and, the level of student interest in solving mathematics problems. This finding is consistent with previous research [34][35][36][39][40][41], which shows that motivational factors, ways of thinking (cognitive and metacognitive), and interest in the problem-solving process influence students' competence. This gap and factor can be used indirectly to calibrate mathematics problem-solving abilities.…”

“…According to Phonapichat et al [32] and Mohd, Mahmood and Ismail [33], many factors need to be measured that affect the strengths or contribute to the weaknesses of students based on behavioural and cognitive perspectives when solving mathematics problems. Among them are related to external factors such as emotion [34], readiness [35], and motivation [36]. While internal factors are such as memory [37,38], mathematical problem-solving mechanisms [39,40] and metacognitive coordination [41].…”

Growth Mindset, School Context, and Mathematics Achievement in Indonesia: A Multilevel Model

“…Related to the mathematics ability, students in all levels may explore mathematics if they know that mathematics can be learned (Alpar & Van Hoeve, 2019). However, the belief that ability is a fixed trait (instead a growth trait) is particularly common and may be a key reason for students' underperformance and disinterest in mathematics (Sun, 2018).…”