Growth Mindset intervention with exposure and application components¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 7 claims (2 for, 4 mixed, 1 against) · 3 studies (2 causal, 1 quant-synthesis), q4 · 2 of 3 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description¶

A brief psychological intervention for postsecondary students aiming to improve academic achievement and persistence by helping students view intellectual ability as something that can grow with effort rather than as an innate, fixed quantity. It "typically include[s] an exposure component, in which students are exposed to messages that intelligence is malleable and can grow with effort, and an application component, in which students describe in their own words how to apply these growth mindset messages." Exposure materials may include research summaries on brain plasticity or student testimonials; application activities include writing advice letters to future students.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Delivery individually or in groups, through online modules or in classroom settings, typically in one or more sessions of about 30 minutes each

Constraints¶

• Typically administered once, at the start of the first year or around first or midterm course exams

Target Learners¶

• Postsecondary students entering or in their first semester of college, including first-generation and Pell grant-eligible students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Academic achievement, college persistence, and interpreting academic challenges as temporary setbacks that can be overcome

Claims¶

• Aronson et al. (2002) pen-pal growth mindset intervention produced a statistically significant positive effect on quarter GPA (effect size 0.85) [+W]
• Broda et al. (2018) found indeterminate effects on GPA, full-time enrollment, and credits completed in a large randomized trial [~W]
• Growth Mindset interventions have no discernible effects on college enrollment and progressing in college [-W]
• Growth Mindset interventions have potentially positive effects on postsecondary academic achievement (improvement index +13) [+W]
• Suh et al. (2019) found a positive but non-significant effect on course passing rate (effect size 0.80) and a negative non-significant effect on final exam score [~W]
• Yeager et al. (2016) and Fink et al. (2018) found indeterminate effects on enrollment, credit completion, and chemistry final exam scores [~W]
• Growth-mindset interventions have weak average effects on achievement, including a negligible GPA gain (d = 0.11) for lower-achieving US ninth-graders in one preregistered national trial [~M]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

• Growth Mindset Interventions
• Growth Mindset Framing
• Promote a Growth Mindset
• Growth Mindset Development
• Effort-Based Praise
• Promote a Growth Mindset in Math
• Set a High Bar for Each Student
• Deliver growth mindset messages once, near the start of college or around first exams, in roughly 30-minute sessions

Key Sources¶

• Growth Mindset Interventions. (2022). What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report, NCEE 2022-006. https://whatworks.ed.gov