Unpacking Grit and Growth as Expectations for Equity With New Mathematics Teachers

• In Event: 25.083 - MTCC Roundtable Session Eight
  In Roundtable Session: 25.083-2 - Identity, Equity, and Mathematics Education

Abstract

In an exploration of how new teachers planned to utilize popular motivational constructs in bolstering the performance of underserved children in mathematics, this qualitative study examined the understandings of grit and growth mindset of newly graduated elementary teachers. The teachers held wholly positive, non-critical views of these constructs, fully expecting them to be useful frameworks for establishing high expectations and closing the mathematics achievement gap in their equity-focused classrooms. However, evidence from their written and verbal responses suggests they were unable to distinguish grit from growth mindset. Instead, they demonstrated a simplified understanding of both constructs as perseverance, with the primary strategy for utilizing both theories focusing on encouraging students to feel comfortable with making mistakes.

Authors

• Amy Michelle Olson, Duquesne University

• Kathleen Jablon Stoehr, Santa Clara University