Academic Mindsets
Academic Mindsets
Academic mindsets can be defined as the personal principles and opinions that learners develop about their capabilities, intellect, and potential for flourishing in an academic environment. The significance of these mindsets lies in fact that they are the major motivational factors, which are also responsible for the student's persistence and academic performance.
What are the different types of academic mindsets?
All in all, we can classify academic mindsets into two categories: growth mindset and fixed mindset. A growth mindset is a belief that through hard work and commitment you can increase your abilities and this type of mindset nurtures resilience and passion for learning. Unlike this, a fixed mindset is a belief that your intelligence and talents are already decided, which can drive you to avoid difficulties and make you afraid of failing. For instance, students who have a growth mindset tend to be more willing to tackle hard subjects, while students with a fixed mindset may avoid difficult subjects.
How do academic mindsets affect student performance?
Being in an academic environment where a mindset can have a big change on a student not only his approach learning but also facing conflicts is a good opportunity for a student. For instance, by setting high goals, searching for feedback, and continuing to work through hard times, the students with a growth mindset are the ones who are usually the best to gain all the advantages of this technique such as better evaluation. However, the students with a fixed mindset are usually the ones who have low self-esteem that makes them quit quickly because they think that it is proving their spirit which is against their intellectual standards and this can result in jeopardizing their academic performance. Evidence from the performance data suggest that in a normal learning environment, the students with a growth mindset who set their metrics and exert time on proving their abilities at the end perform better than the students who have a fixed mindset.
What strategies can educators use to promote positive academic mindsets?
By constructing a supportive atmosphere of learning that accentuates hard work, endurance, and the notion of mistakes as learning opportunities, teachers can effectively hedge positive academic mindsets among the students. These strategies are the recognition of the students getting on well with the work instead of being just gifted, the acceptance of activities with growth mindset messages, and the introduction of a culture of collaboration where the students learn from each other. As an illustration, the teachers may use procedures that stress the learning process, for example, reflection journals, to facilitate the identification of their progress over time by the students.
Can academic mindsets be changed, and if so, how?
Of course, the academic mindsets can be changed with the help of specific interventions and practices that make the students reflect and develop. Special Programs full of information about how brains can change and adapt are the only way to make students rethink their own conceptions. For instance, classes that show that intelligence is not necessary constant and with the time may change can allow learners to switch from a fixed to a growth mindset. Researches indicate that just a few minor changes applied to the mindset can lead to considerable long-term development in students' achievements.