The final purpose of this study was to ascertain whether
there were teacher effects in the extent to which the
intervention impacted the increase in growth mindset
among the gifted student participants. A previous analysis
of data collected for the broader study (Shumow &
Schmidt, 2013) found that, although students in the general
population increased in growth mindset in both teachers
classes, students in one teacher’s classes improved more
than students in the other teachers’ classes in the extent
to which their growth mindsets increased. The teachers’
discourse during science instruction and their beliefs about
motivational strategies were consistent with those changes.
The teacher whose students increased more expressed
beliefs and used practices that promoted growth mindset
more and fixed mindset less than the other teacher. This
study indicates that the benefits of the intervention were
not moderated by teacher for the gifted students as they
were for regular education students. This finding suggests
that the gifted students were able to override the teachers’
beliefs and practices given exposure to knowledge about
neurophysiological changes in the brain associated with
learning, mindsets, and methods that students can use to
control their learning.