Integrating Mindset Interventions With Language Arts Instruction: An Exploratory Study

• In Event: 18.072 - Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: 18.072-15 - Pedagogical Approaches to Support Young Adolescents

Abstract

When a seventh grade language arts teacher decided to integrate lessons on how the mind works with content instruction, she invited researchers to collaborate. Working together, they developed activities to enhance students’ awareness and understanding of mindsets. They generated a research design and asked students in one class to grant consent for interviews. From October through June, they observed lessons, gathered work samples, and regularly interviewed 12 students who granted consent. Work samples showed that most students articulated a general understanding of the concepts emphasized. Case studies documented patterns and differences in ways students articulated connections among concepts. Although limited by sample size, results suggested that seventh graders can understand the construct of mindsets, especially when offered guidance and support.

Authors

• David B. Strahan, Western Carolina University

• Jennifer Doherty, Asheville City Schools

• Annie Meyer, Western Carolina University

• Kloo Hansen, Western Carolina University

• Jerry Ryan Buchanan