Encouraging a Growth Mindset in Engineering Students

Megan Frary

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Conference: 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Publication Date: June 23, 2018
Start Date: June 23, 2018
End Date: July 27, 2018
Conference Session: Materials Division Technical Session 1
Tagged Division: Materials
Page Count: 15
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--30371
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/30371
Download Count: 1423

Paper Authors

biography

Megan Frary Boise State University

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Dr. Megan Frary is an Associate Professor in the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering at Boise State University. She is also a Faculty Associate for the Center for Teaching and Learning where she coordinates the Graduate Certificate in College Teaching. In the past four years, Dr. Frary has implemented a fully flipped classroom in two of her undergraduate Materials Science and Engineering courses, allowing students to be more actively engaged with course materials during her class sessions. Her recent research includes investigating the role teaching experience and interactions with pre-service elementary teachers has on how graduate students develop their professional identities. Dr. Frary is very involved in facilitating programs through the Center for Teaching and Learning at Boise State and works closely with graduate student instructors as a teaching mentor. In 2016, Dr. Frary received the ASEE Outstanding Teaching Award from the Pacific Northwest Section. In 2008, she received the Bradley Stoughton Award for Young Teachers from ASM International. Dr. Frary received her B.S. and M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University and her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Abstract

A person’s “mindset” guides a great deal of how one approaches life -- and especially how students approach education. While someone with a fixed mindset believes that their intelligence is fixed and unchangeable, someone with a growth mindset believes that their intelligence is changeable and can grow as they learn more. Most people’s mindset lies along a spectrum with these two extremes at either end. In addition to other outcomes, the mindset that a person has determines how they interpret mistakes they make; whereas someone with a fixed mindset thinks mistakes result from their innate lack of ability, someone with a growth mindset views mistakes as opportunities to learn more.

It is no secret that students think that some classes are easy and that others are hard. Thermodynamics of Materials (MSE 308) falls into the latter category. Students have heard that the class is difficult and that the time commitment is high; many have also heard that the professor is supportive and is interested in helping students learn. With a fixed mindset, students may be at a disadvantage coming into a class that they think is going to be especially difficult because they don’t believe their hard work will help them succeed. In contrast, students with a growth mindset might appreciate the learning opportunities that a well-structured but difficult class offers.

The research questions we addressed were: (1) Will students’ attitudes about their own abilities in what are perceived to be difficult classes change? and (2) Will those students with a more fixed mindset adopt more of a growth mindset? Students’ mindsets were determined using a questionnaire at the beginning and end of the semester. This also asked about their perception of difficult classes. Throughout the semester, we talked about brain-based learning and adopting a growth mindset; students also reflected on the learning process.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that students learned a lot about the growth mindset and were able to apply it more in MSE 308, although the numerical data suggests that a stronger intervention is needed to enable students to shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. One outcome of the work is that students’ mindsets were already either in the category of “strong growth mindset” or “growth mindset with some fixed ideas” at the beginning of the semester. While almost half of the students ended up with a stronger growth mindset, some moved more toward a fixed mindset; the explanation for this is a target for future study. Learning about the growth mindset did seem to reinforce the beliefs that many students held about their approaches to learning and difficult courses.

Citation
Format

Frary, M. (2018, June), Encouraging a Growth Mindset in Engineering Students Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30371

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - A person’s “mindset” guides a great deal of how one approaches life -- and especially how students approach education.  While someone with a fixed mindset believes that their intelligence is fixed and unchangeable, someone with a growth mindset believes that their intelligence is changeable and can grow as they learn more.  Most people’s mindset lies along a spectrum with these two extremes at either end.  In addition to other outcomes, the mindset that a person has determines how they interpret mistakes they make; whereas someone with a fixed mindset thinks mistakes result from their innate lack of ability, someone with a growth mindset views mistakes as opportunities to learn more.  

It is no secret that students think that some classes are easy and that others are hard.  Thermodynamics of Materials (MSE 308) falls into the latter category.  Students have heard that the class is difficult and that the time commitment is high; many have also heard that the professor is supportive and is interested in helping students learn.  With a fixed mindset, students may be at a disadvantage coming into a class that they think is going to be especially difficult because they don’t believe their hard work will help them succeed.  In contrast, students with a growth mindset might appreciate the learning opportunities that a well-structured but difficult class offers.  

The research questions we addressed were: (1) Will students’ attitudes about their own abilities in what are perceived to be difficult classes change? and (2) Will those students with a more fixed mindset adopt more of a growth mindset? Students’ mindsets were determined using a questionnaire at the beginning and end of the semester.  This also asked about their perception of difficult classes.  Throughout the semester, we talked about brain-based learning and adopting a growth mindset; students also reflected on the learning process.  

Anecdotal evidence suggests that students learned a lot about the growth mindset and were able to apply it more in MSE 308, although the numerical data suggests that a stronger intervention is needed to enable students to shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.  One outcome of the work is that students’ mindsets were already either in the category of “strong growth mindset” or “growth mindset with some fixed ideas” at the beginning of the semester.  While almost half of the students ended up with a stronger growth mindset, some moved more toward a fixed mindset; the explanation for this is a target for future study.  Learning about the growth mindset did seem to reinforce the beliefs that many students held about their approaches to learning and difficult courses. 

AU  - Megan Frary
CY  - Salt Lake City, Utah
DA  - 2018/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Encouraging a Growth Mindset in Engineering Students
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/30371
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--30371
ER  -