Building a Growth Mindset Toolkit as a Means Toward Developing a Growth Mindset for Faculty Interactions with Students In and Out of the Classroom: Building a Growth Mindset Toolkit for Faculty

Abstract

During the spring semester of the 2021 academic year, a group of faculty gathered as part of a Growth Mindset Faculty Community of Practice (GM-FCoP) to understand how to use a growth mindset to positively impact students in their courses, through mentoring and in daily conversations. Grounded in Carol Dweck's seminal works on theories of intelligence, a growth mindset asserts that skills can be developed over time and views challenges as opportunities for growth and future success. This contrasts with a fixed mindset which views skills as set at birth with little hope for development. This notion of a fixed mindset also contrasts with the essence of our work as faculty and educators where we strive daily to positively influence our students’ successes, learning and skill development. Yet, embracing a growth mindset over a fixed mindset can prove challenging. Learning about a growth mindset serves as an effective starting point for faculty, with next steps revolving around actively generating their own knowledge toward an overarching goal of applying the growth mindset concepts in their coursework as well as while mentoring students. This experience paper outlines the GM-FCoP's creation of a Growth Mindset Toolkit to serve as a resource for faculty as they foster and promote a growth mindset with students in formal settings such as in the classroom and in mentoring sessions, as well as informal settings such as office hours and general conversations and interactions. Faculty developed approaches for a growth mindset are highlighted along with leadership reflections and next steps.