Abstract:  

Carol Dweck’s work on mindsets suggests that people view intelligence in different ways. Some view intelligence as malleable (a growth mindset) while others view it as a stable trait (termed a fixed mindset). Literature has suggested that more of a growth mindset can lead to positive educational outcomes such as holding learning rather than performance goals and persisting following failure.
In this presentation, I will discuss how we have used this framework in three ways. Firstly, we developed a mindset intervention for university students. The intervention group participated in a session which explored brain plasticity, which is a component of growth mindset belief, while the control group learned about memory. Results suggested that the intervention promoted more of a growth mindset and led to more positive learning behaviours. Secondly, we worked with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to co-create a growth mindset toolkit for Year 1 school pupils which aimed to enhance literacy. This light touch intervention was trialled with N=443 pupils from 5 intervention and 4 control schools. Results suggested that the intervention promoted more of a growth mindset and enhanced phonics and sentence reading but not comprehension. Finally, we developed ‘White Water Writers’, an intervention which gives groups of people the opportunity to collaboratively write and publish a full-length novel in a week (www.whitewaterwriters.com). This aims to promote self-belief and literacy. Data from interviews, school results and pre and post-test questionnaires suggests that the project enhances literacy and self-belief.
Taken together these findings suggest that while there is some debate around the theory of mindsets and how the framework fits together, our interventions have had a positive impact on learners. 

About the speaker:
Dr Yvonne Skipper recently moved to the University of Glasgow as a Senior Lecturer in Psychology. Her research focusses how we can motivate and engage learners of all ages. She researches topics such as teacher feedback, how peers learn together and why girls drop out of science subjects. She is passionate about moving theory into practice and ensuring that my work has a real-world impact.
She uses a co-creation approach, working closely with partner organisations to bring together psychology and ‘real world’ knowledge to solve educational problems. She has developed of a number of initiatives, such as a toolkit to promote a malleable view of intelligence and ‘White Water Writers’, which gives groups of people the opportunity to write and publish their own novel in a week.