Research Methods

I began with identifying the mindsets of my students. From there, the data I gathered
helped me understand how the strategies I implemented were affecting students mindsets and
the classroom culture. The data also guided my next steps. The final data showed how attitudes
had changed and which activities were most influential for the students.

Student Surveys

Goal: To learn about student mindsets throughout the year.
The year began with an initial survey focused on students mindsets (see Resources in
Appendix C). The survey has a series of fixed and growth mindset statements that the students
can agree or disagree to. From the students responses to the statements, I calculated a
mindset score for each student. Those with a higher score leaned toward the growth mindset
and those with a lower score leaned towards a fixed mindset. There are also two open ended
questions about students feelings about mistakes and intelligence.
The survey was modified from a mindset survey on the Brainology website created by
Carol Dweck and Eduardo Briceo. Brainology is a resource for students and teachers to learn
more about how the brain works and mindsets. I modified the survey slightly to have some
statements focus more specifically on math because the research was sparked from students
attitudes around math. Also, I thought that by making some statements more specific to certain
subject areas, students might have more aggregated responses. The other modification from
the original survey was the addition of the open-ended questions.
The survey was given to all students at the beginning of the year to help determine the
focus students for the research. It was given again at the end of the research to look for
changes. In the final survey, there was also the additional question, How have the activities
we've done around mindset and your brain changed the way you think? The goal in that
question was to receive feedback about the activities.

Focus Groups

Goal: To learn more about students mindsets.
Based on results from the initial mindset survey, I chose to four students. I chose a
group that would represent different mindsets, genders, socio-economic backgrounds and
academic abilities. Through the interviews gained deeper understanding of students feelings
about making mistakes and how their peers affect their mindsets. In the short answer questions
on the survey, students had said interesting comments about mistakes and how their peers
influence their beliefs, so those were the two areas I wanted to focus on in the group.
Later in the year, I had another focus group. In the second group, I had three of the
same students, and two students who had not been a part of the original focus group (this was
because one was absent and two additional students were interested in what we were talking
about and wanted to join). The goal of the second focus group was to talk about if and how their
mindsets had changed over the year. We also talked about the activities and which ones they
found helpful in thinking about their learning.

Observations

Goal: To look for moments of growth and fixed mindsets, especially when students are
presented with a challenge.
I observed students constantly, and observed more closely when students were
engaged in challenges and problem solving activities. When students were working
independently, I looked for moments when they would seek help, how they responded if they
were frustrated, and how long they would grapple with a challenge. In group work, I listened to
the words they used with each other and, again, how they handled challenges.

Journaling and Sharing

Goal: To have a record of students thoughts, feelings and changes in attitudes.
Students wrote in their Einstein journals following activities around mindset to reflect on
their own mindsets and how they thought they could grow. They wrote journal entries five or six
times, which was less than I planned. If I were to do this again my goal would be to journal once
a week to create a more detailed log of their journey.
In our morning meeting, we choose a question and each take a turn to respond to it with
the whole class. Three students a day responded to the prompt, Share about a growth mindset
moment. Following the students response, other students could raise their hands to ask a
follow up question or to make a comment on the share.

Timeline

August
Write and share letter with students and parents describing the research
September
Students complete online mindset survey through Survey Monkey
Select focus groups
Introduce mindset with parents at Back to School Night
October
Conduct initial interview with focus students
Teach students about how their brains, specifically the malleability of their brains
November
Teach students about the mindsets through videos, stories, and articles
Begin to develop growth mindset language with the students
January
Students share growth mindset moments with the class
February
Have students complete second online mindset survey through Google Forms
Conduct final focus group
Ongoing
Students responding to journal prompts
Informal observations