Teacher Perception of Implicit Mindset and its Influence on Math Instruction in Elementary Classrooms

Math achievement is frequently measured by various assessments. These assessments are then used to determine student and school success, often leading to high stakes decision making. Therefore, it is important to understand ways in which educators can improve student math achievement. Students with a growth mindset, as defined by Dweck (2006), exhibit higher math achievement than students with fixed mindsets. Additionally, teaching practices predict and influence the development of student mindsets. Therefore, one way to improve student math achievement may be through understanding the impact, as well as proper and consistent implementation of growth mindset instructional practices. This qualitative phenomenological study investigates teacher perception of the impact of growth mindset on math instruction, as well as any possible connections between perception and observable practice across five core elementary education teachers in western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. Through document analysis of survey results, semi-structured interviews, and observations, research findings aligned to Sun’s (2018) Math Teaching for Mindset Framework (MTMF) suggest that educators believe growth mindset has a positive impact on their math instruction. While educators have a strong understanding of fixed and growth mindset, they report having little to no formal training. Although background understanding is evident, understanding of mindset informed practices seems to be incomplete. Additionally, a connection between perceived practices and observable practices lacks consistency. These themes suggest the need for further professional development specific to mindset informed instructional practices in the elementary math content area

Inspiring and Aspiring Educators: An Intersection of Historic and Current Education Landscapes

The book Inspiring and Aspiring Educators: An Intersection of Historic and Current Education Landscapes is a collection of graduate student writings from the 2021 summer Education Doctorate Residency at Winona State University.https://openriver.winona.edu/educationeddbooks/1002/thumbnail.jp

Doctor of Education Newsletter 2020

WSU Doctor of Education Cohort 2020 This newsletter was created by the second Education Doctorate graduate student cohort 2020.https://openriver.winona.edu/educationeddnewsletters/1001/thumbnail.jp