Dataset Information

Mindset, Motivation, and Teaching Practice: Psychology Applied to Understanding Teaching and Learning in STEM Disciplines.

ABSTRACT: Psychological theories of motivation and performance are relevant to teaching and learning in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The present study applies Dweck's mindset theory of motivation to an examination of the relationship among instructor mindset, instructor motivational attitudes, and the use of effective teaching practices. Faculty members who teach undergraduate courses in STEM disciplines completed a survey designed to assess fixed versus growth mindset, mastery orientation (measures of motivation and efficacy), and teaching practices. Results supported a model consistent with Dweck's theory of motivation, whereby mastery orientation mediates the relationship between instructor mindset and teaching behaviors. It appears that this psychological theory of motivation may be helpful in understanding teaching and learning in STEM disciplines. More research using a variety of measures and teaching contexts is necessary before full applicability can be realized.

SUBMITTER: Richardson DS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8711810 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Mindset, Motivation, and Teaching Practice: Psychology Applied to Understanding Teaching and Learning in STEM Disciplines.

Richardson Deborah South DS Bledsoe Robert S RS Cortez Zaraly Z

CBE life sciences education 20200901 3

Psychological theories of motivation and performance are relevant to teaching and learning in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The present study applies Dweck's mindset theory of motivation to an examination of the relationship among instructor mindset, instructor motivational attitudes, and the use of effective teaching practices. Faculty members who teach undergraduate courses in STEM disciplines completed a survey designed to assess fixed versus growth ...[more]

PMID: 32870090

Similar Datasets

Project description:This study aims to evaluate the practical application value of the teaching method under the guidance of educational psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) design, taking the deep learning theory as the basis of teaching design. The research objects of this study involve all the teachers, students, and students' parents of Ningbo Middle School. The questionnaires are developed to survey the changes in the performance of students before and after the implementation of the teaching design and the satisfaction of all teachers, students, and parents to different teaching methods by comparing the two results and the satisfaction ratings. All objects in this study volunteer to participate in the questionnaire survey. The results suggest the following: (1) the effective return rates of the questionnaires to teachers, students, and parents are 97, 99, and 95%, respectively, before implementation; whereas those after implementation are 98, 99, and 99%, respectively. Comparison of the two return results suggests that there was no significant difference statistically (P > 0.05). (2) Proportion of scoring results before and after implementation is given as follows: the proportions of levels A, B, C, and D are 35, 40, 15, and 10% before implementation, respectively; while those after implementation are 47, 36, 12, and 5%, respectively. After the implementation, the proportion of level A is obviously higher than that before the implementation, and the proportions of other levels decreased in contrast to those before the implementation, showing statistically obvious differences (P < 0.05). (3) The change in the performance of each subject after 1 year implementation is significantly higher than that before the implementation, and the change in the average performance of each subject shows an upward trend. In summary, (1) the comparison on the effective return rate of the satisfaction survey questionnaire proves the feasibility of its scoring results. (2) The comparison of the survey scoring results shows that people are more satisfied with the new educational design teaching method. (3) The comparison of the change in the performance of each subject before and after the implementation indirectly reflects the drawbacks of partial subject education, indicating that the school should pay the same equal attention to every subject. (4) Due to various objective and subjective factors, the results of this study may be different from the actual situation slightly, and its accuracy has to be further explored in the future.

Project description:In Australia, university clinical programs rely heavily on external healthcare professionals to provide a range of authentic clinical training and professional development opportunities for students. There is, however, a limited understanding of the factors that motivate these professionals to be educators and whether this varies across different healthcare disciplines within Australia. As the demand for clinical placements continues to increase, it is critical for the ongoing success of these programs that universities identify both the barriers associated with teaching and the benefits that enhance job satisfaction. A two-part questionnaire was emailed to 849 external healthcare educators teaching predominantly in Medicine, Medical Imaging, and Optometry programs at Deakin University. Part-one surveyed the socio-demographics, perceived benefits, and barriers to teaching, plus the utilisation of entitlements offered by the university. Part-two was modelled on Dybowski and Harendza's validated Physician Teaching Motivation Questionnaire (PTMQ) and adapted to an Australian audience. Overall, 776 out of the 849 questionnaires were considered in the final participant pool. The response rate for part-one was 19.7% (n = 153/776) and 18.3% (n = 142/776) for part-two. Across all professions, altruism was the primary source of motivation for teaching in Deakin University's healthcare programs. Medical Imaging educators placed a higher value on career-related teaching aspects compared to those in Medicine and Optometry (p < 0.003). The resources and benefits associated with teaching were generally perceived to be of minimal importance. External healthcare educators most commonly reported that there were no barriers to teaching (41.3%, n = 78) however, increased workloads and time constraints were the next most likely factors to affect teaching participation (31.8%, n = 60). Our validated adaptation of the PTMQ successfully targeted healthcare professions not focussed on by Dybowski and Harendza. Altruistic motivation was the overarching theme for why Australian external healthcare educators contribute to teaching with some differences in career-driven motivation additionally acknowledged. Despite there being no key benefits or barriers to teaching participation, universities must remain cognisant of the factors that influence the recruitment and retention of external healthcare educators and how to optimise these for the ongoing success and sustainability of their teaching programs.

Dataset Information

Mindset, Motivation, and Teaching Practice: Psychology Applied to Understanding Teaching and Learning in STEM Disciplines.

Publications

Mindset, Motivation, and Teaching Practice: Psychology Applied to Understanding Teaching and Learning in STEM Disciplines.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets