Growth Mindset Activity for STEM
Overview
Previous research has shown that socio-psychological interventions are effective at mitigating some of the negative factors, such as stereotype threat, that result in racial, gender, and first generation achievement gaps in STEM classrooms. This activity is an intervention to instill a growth mindset in students in a STEM classroom.
Growth Mindset is the belief that abilities and traits can be developed through strategic efforts and hard work, and are not simply innate or fixed. This is especially important for members of social groups that are negatively stereotyped by harmful and inaccurate messages about the innate intelligence or abilities needed to succeed in STEM disciplines. This activity has students write or discuss the science behind intelligence and its development.
Activity Goals:
- To instill a mindset in students that motivates them to challenge themselves to grow and develop their intellectual abilities through strategic hard work.
- To implicitly challenge negative gender-based or racial stereotypes about students’ intellectual abilities.
- To foster student reflection on their study strategies after exposure to growth mindset materials, in order for them to be strategic in their hard work at developing the abilities and traits they need to succeed in the class.
Application in a STEM Course:
As stated in the overview, previous research has shown that socio-psychological interventions are effective at mitigating some of the negative factors, such as stereotype threat, that result in racial, gender, and first generation achievement gaps in STEM classrooms. A study by CRLT states that “Students should be encouraged to view their performance as a measure of their effort, not their innate ability in STEM.” Thus, learning about and encouraging students to adopt a growth mindset helps to mitigate perceived shortcomings in one’s ability in a STEM classroom. If students adopt growth mindsets in STEM, there is a greater chance that students will persist in the field.
