Mindset and the Middle School Math Student

Abstract

Mathematics classrooms in Montessori schools use Controls of Error to allow students to receive immediate feedback. However, not all students use them effectively. Why do some students use them and others choose to ignore them? A factor could be mindset. Students tend to have a growth mind-set (the incremental theory of intelligence) or a fixed mind-set (the entity theory of intelligence). A middle school teacher compared student mindset with control of error use, homework percentage and time spent on independent practice on a math app. Data was collected from 50 Pre-Algebra students in an urban Montessori middle school during the spring semester of 2014-15 using a student questionnaire, student data and teacher observations. Analysis of the data indicates that students with a growth mindset are moderately correlated with higher control of error use, more time spent on a math app, and higher homework turn-in rates.