Broaden Participation in the Geosciences:
Change Mindsets and Close the
Achievement Gap
Saundra Yancy McGuire, Ph.D.
Retired Asst. Vice Chancellor & Professor of Chemistry
Director Emerita, Center for Academic Success
Louisiana State University
SAGE 2YC: Faculty as Change Agents
Aims to build a national network
of self-sustaining local communities of
geoscience faculty and administrators in two-year
colleges who use evidence-based strategies to improve
all students' academic success, broaden participation,
and facilitate professional pathways into geoscience.
Email from Joshua in Spring 2011
“…Personally, I am not so good at chemistry and unfortunately,
at this point my grade for that class is reflecting exactly that. I
am emailing you inquiring about a possibility of you tutoring me.
I can even pay you for tutoring. I need any and all help I can
get at this point. I apologize for the inconvenience. ”
April 6, 2011
“I made a 68, 50, 50, 87, 87, and a 97 on my final. I ended up
earning a 90 in the course, but I started with a 60. I think what I
did different was make sidenotes in each chapter and as I
progressed onto the next chapter I was able to refer to these
notes. I would say that in chemistry everything builds from the
previous topic”
May 13, 2011
Semester GPA: 3.8
We Can Help Students
Develop the Right Mindset
Dweck, Carol, 2006.
Mindset: The New Psychology
of Success. New York:
Random House Publishing
Shenk, David, 2010. The Genius in All of
Us: Why Everything You've Been Told
About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is
Wrong. New York: Doubleday
Mindset* is Important!
 Fixed Intelligence Mindset
Intelligence is static
You have a certain amount of it
 Growth Intelligence Mindset
Intelligence can be developed
You can grow it with actions
Dweck, Carol (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
New York: Random House Publishing
Neuroplasticity*
 The brain can reorganize itself, growing new
neural pathways
 Individuals can raise their IQ, improve their
memory, and sharpen intelligence
 New brain cells are generated by the
process of neurogenesis
*term coined by Polish Neuroscientist Jerzy Konorski in 1948
Responses to Many Situations
are Based on Mindset
Fixed Intelligence
Mindset Response
Growth Intelligence
Mindset Response
Challenges
Avoid
Embrace
Obstacles
Give up easily
Persist
Tasks requiring effort
Fruitless to Try
Path to mastery
Ignore it
Learn from it
Threatening
Inspirational
Criticism
Success of Others
Reflection Questions
Which Mindset About Intelligence
Do You Think Most Students Have?
Why Do You Think They Have This Mindset?
Which Mindset About Student Intelligence
Do You Think Most Faculty Have?
Why Do You Think They Have This Mindset?
Which Mindset About Student Intelligence
Do You Think Most STEM Faculty Have?
http://will-harper.com/growth-part-i-mindset/
Why Do You Think They Have This Mindset?
A Fixed Mindset Leads to
Learned Helplessness*
Based on prior experience, the feeling that
no amount of effort will bring success
Destroys motivation to attempt a task
*Martin Seligman and Steven F. Maier
Solving Anagrams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTqBP-x3yR0
Remediation of Learned Helplessness
Requires That We:
 Understand the causes
 Help students understand the distorted
beliefs and misperceptions that are
causing their current deficits
 Provide students the tools to change their
behavior and refute their distorted beliefs
The Cure for Learned Helplessness

Understanding your “explanatory style”
To what do you attribute failure or success?

Changing the negative, self-destructive things you
say to yourself when you fail
(e.g. I don’t understand this and I never will!)

Making the new statements a permanent part of
your explanatory style
(e.g. I don’t understand this yet)

Recognizing that perception of ability has the most
influence on the amount of effort you will expend on
a task!
Change your mindset from fixed to growth

Four Strategies for Changing Student Mindset
1. Show students a miracle portfolio - a collection
of “before” and “after” scores showing
dramatic, rapid improvement, either your
students’ scores or those of someone else.
(E.g. Joshua who wanted chem tutoring)
2. Ask students to describe an area in which
they were once terrible but learned to
excel.
3. Discuss with students the biological evidence
for the growth mindset—namely, brain
plasticity.
4. Do not give assignments designed to weed
out weak students. Instead, begin with
assignments that challenge students
appropriately and then gradually ramp up
the difficulty.
The Impact of
Changing Mindsets:
Mr. Foster’s Miracle Class
Mr. Lorenzo
Foster’s
Physics
I AP
Lorenzo
Foster’s Physics
I AP Class
TestClass
Scores Test Scores
Changing Mindsets, Strategies, and Effort PAID OFF!
Physics I AP Students
After Learning Their Test 2 Scores
Physics I AP Students
After Learning Their Test 3 Scores
Changing Mindset Can Change Performance at Any Time
Chemistry 2001
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Final
Class
Average Student 1 Student 2 Student 3 Student 4
76
65
67
70
83
52
67
65
46
55
72
61
68
68
65
78
107
88
88
90
Date of Final Exam:
December 14, 2005
Meeting with Student No. 1:
December 12, 2005
Meeting with Student Nos. 2 & 4:
December 2, 2005
Meeting with Student No. 3:
December 8, 2005
The final was worth 100 points with a 10 bonus question.
Faculty CAN Change Student Mindsets
and Close the Achievement Gap
If and only if we change our mindsets
about student intelligence and ability, and
teach students specific learning strategies