I Can and I will: Fostering Growth Mindset in Reading Among Special Education Students
Location
Session 2 Presentations - Special Education
Proposal Track
Research Project
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
I Can and I will: Fostering Growth Mindset in Reading Among Special Education Students
Mindset matters. What we believe about our abilities and efforts is closely related to how we approach tasks and deal with challenges. Research on mindset by Carol Dweck (2007) shows that an individual’s success is not predicated on just talent and abilities but also on how we think about our aspirations/goals and whether we utilize a fixed or growth mindset. A fixed mindset maintains that all human qualities are innate, you’re born with them or not. Whereas a growth mindset maintains that human qualities are adaptable, things that can be developed or changed overtime. Nurturing a young person’s growth mindset helps them build resilience and internal motivation to persist even in the face of adversity. Teachers see a strong link between a growth mindset and a range of positive student outcomes and behaviors (Yettick, Llyod, Harwin, Riemer, & Swanson, 2016). It is especially important to foster a growth mindset in elementary special education students.
The purpose of this action research project is to investigate the relationship between mindset and reading performance among special education students in the elementary classroom. Using a pretest-posttest experimental design, the study randomly assigned participating special education students to a control group and an experimental group. During the study in a fall semester, students in both groups received the same reading instruction, but the mindset intervention was implemented with only the experimental group. Weekly participant surveys, anecdata on student participation, and reading performance scores were collected and analyzed for comparison between the two groups. Overall results indicate that participants in the experimental group that received the mindset intervention performed higher in reading, were more likely to participate in class and take risks. A growth mindset has positive effect on reading performance among special education students, and teachers must intentionally foster a growth mindset to boost student learning in elementary schools.
Keywords
Mindset, Reading Achievement, Special Education, Elementary School
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Wiegmann, Megan and Feng, Jay, "I Can and I will: Fostering Growth Mindset in Reading Among Special Education Students" (2021). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 29.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2021/2021/29
I Can and I will: Fostering Growth Mindset in Reading Among Special Education Students
Session 2 Presentations - Special Education
I Can and I will: Fostering Growth Mindset in Reading Among Special Education Students
Mindset matters. What we believe about our abilities and efforts is closely related to how we approach tasks and deal with challenges. Research on mindset by Carol Dweck (2007) shows that an individual’s success is not predicated on just talent and abilities but also on how we think about our aspirations/goals and whether we utilize a fixed or growth mindset. A fixed mindset maintains that all human qualities are innate, you’re born with them or not. Whereas a growth mindset maintains that human qualities are adaptable, things that can be developed or changed overtime. Nurturing a young person’s growth mindset helps them build resilience and internal motivation to persist even in the face of adversity. Teachers see a strong link between a growth mindset and a range of positive student outcomes and behaviors (Yettick, Llyod, Harwin, Riemer, & Swanson, 2016). It is especially important to foster a growth mindset in elementary special education students.
The purpose of this action research project is to investigate the relationship between mindset and reading performance among special education students in the elementary classroom. Using a pretest-posttest experimental design, the study randomly assigned participating special education students to a control group and an experimental group. During the study in a fall semester, students in both groups received the same reading instruction, but the mindset intervention was implemented with only the experimental group. Weekly participant surveys, anecdata on student participation, and reading performance scores were collected and analyzed for comparison between the two groups. Overall results indicate that participants in the experimental group that received the mindset intervention performed higher in reading, were more likely to participate in class and take risks. A growth mindset has positive effect on reading performance among special education students, and teachers must intentionally foster a growth mindset to boost student learning in elementary schools.
