Growth-mind-set interventions convey that intelligence
can grow when students work hard on challenging
tasks—and thus that struggle is an opportunity for
growth, not a sign that a student is incapable of learning.
Past studies featuring activities led by researchers or
researcher-trained tutors show that this message can raise
students’ achievement. In a seminal study, J. Aronson and
his colleagues (2002) taught a growth mind-set to college
students in three 1-hr laboratory sessions and then
encouraged students to internalize this message by teaching
it to struggling middle school students. This experience
raised the college students’ semester grade point
averages (GPAs). In another study, an eight-session
growth-mind-set workshop led by researchers raised the
math grades of low-achieving seventh-grade students
(Blackwell et al., 2007; see also Good et al., 2003).
Because growth-mind-set interventions help students
understand challenges in school in a way that promotes
learning and resilience, they may be most benefic