Using Assessments to Promote Growth Mindset in College Algebra

Abstract

Scientific evidence highlights the positive impact of a growth mindset on student achievement. Students with a growth mindset view errors and obstacles as opportunities for growth and welcome challenges and the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Much has been written about promoting growth mindset through lectures and attitudes, however, assessments can also be an important avenue for encouraging a growth mindset in students. In this paper, we describe how we used assessments to promote growth mindset in a college algebra class. In the sections that follow, we discuss the need for these assessments and the principles that underly their development. We then describe the three-part structure of the assessments we created, how they were implemented, how feedback and scoring was addressed, and student response to them. This is a novel approach to assessment that promotes growth mindset and lowered anxiety levels as was shown in the student survey responses. This reframed how we looked at summative assessments and allowed us to introduce formative assessment elements, like reworks and group feedback, into many aspects of the summative assessments. Later research will be used to show more definitive results for the change in mindset of students.