Developing productive learning mindsets in a freshman calculus course : an exploratory study

The promotion of belonging, purpose, and growth mindset through subtle social psychological interventions has been shown to positively impact student outcomes (Lazowski & Hulleman, 2016; Walton & Cohen, 2007; Yeager & Walton, 2011; Yeager et al., 2016). This study explores how instructor messaging and intentional course design can promote productive learning mindsets and influence student attributions of struggle or failure over time. Open-ended interviews were conducted with 15 former calculus students more than one year after the calculus course ended. A cross-case analysis was used to generate themes representative of shared experiences across interviewed students. The method of constant comparison was used to refine codes and group codes into categories using axial coding (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Findings from this analysis suggested that students’ experiences in this introductory calculus course broadened their perspectives and taught them how to persist through challenging course work. Many students intimated that their experiences in calculus increased their confidence in their mathematical skill and their ability to be successful in difficult courses moving forward. Students described how they changed their behavior in response to the difficulty of the course and the supportive structures built into the class (e.g., homework help sessions, exam reviews, student study groups). The findings suggest that explicit instructor messaging targeting learning mindsets is most effective when the course design reinforces those messages.