Andrew Slatter
Senior Lecturer, Contextual and Theoretical Studies
Coordinator Year 1

Graphic Design Communication Programme, LCC

The first Changing Mindsets staff workshops have been run across the three colleges – CSM, Camberwell and LCC. Academics have had the opportunity to interrogate Growth Mindset Theory – the belief that ability can be developed through effort and by embracing challenge – and apply this to their own pedagogic practice.

At LCC’s recent event, the Graphic Media Design Team discussed Carol Dweck’s research, that growth mindsets can have a profound impact on motivation, resilience and a sense of belonging. They applied the theory to challenge, learning, effort and failure and related this to the Creative Attributes Framework to design a learning and teaching activity for their course.

Ted Talk: The power of believing that you can improve | Carol Dweck

The team were asked to identify areas of their own practice that they had improved at over time and to consider their own personal learning styles. They designed growth mindset tool kits that innovatively utilised digital approaches to learning and proposed spaces for reading, discussion and curriculum design.

We were delighted to welcome Tracey Waller, Course Leader, BA Graphic Design at Camberwell, who delivered a fascinating presentation on the assessment methodology she is piloting. She demonstrated how, with a growth mindset, moments of risk and failure can become a space for learning, opportunity and collaboration for students and staff whilst improving attainment.

We’re looking forward to the next workshops and will be adding dates to the events pages for you to check. Keep reading the Changing Mindsets blog for more information.

References:

Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78, 246 –263.

Dweck, C. (2017). Mindset: changing the way you think to fulfil your potential. Hachette UK.

Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (2000). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality.

Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015). Mind-set interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement. Psychological science, 26(6), 784-793.

Tabernero, C., & Wood, R. E. (1999). Implicit theories versus the social construal of ability in self-regulation and performance on a complex task. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

Yeager, D. S., Walton, G. M., Brady, S. T., Akcinar, E. N., Paunesku, D., Keane, L., & Gomez, E. M. (2016). Teaching a lay theory before college narrows achievement gaps at scale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(24), E3341-E3348.

Yeager, D. S., Romero, C., Paunesku, D., Hulleman, C. S., Schneider, B., Hinojosa, C., … & Trott, J. (2016). Using design thinking to improve psychological interventions: The case of the growth mindset during the transition to high school. Journal of educational psychology, 108(3), 374.