A Look Back: New Growth Mindset Study Points Out – Again – Why Researchers Really Ought To Check With Teachers First

(I’m republishing my best posts from the second half of 2024. You can see the entire list of them here)

cripi / Pixabay

Sigh…

Yet another education study has been released where researchers don’t “see the forest through the trees” because they likely didn’t check in with teachers before they designed their research.

As I shared in this tweet, they missed what may be the most important role of a growth mindset in education:

These results may or may not b confirmed or refuted by other studies. However, I can say one thing 4 sure not covered in this research – having a growth mindset has a huge positive impact on my mental health, & I suspect a fair number of other teachers may feel the same https://t.co/yMhOnAZD2L

— Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo) August 9, 2024

This is the not the first, nor will it be the the last, time researchers miss something that is obvious to many teachers, but they likely didn’t even consider.

I think there’s a lot of great research out there, despite other criticisms (see Feds Find In New Report That Most Of Their Funded “Innovations” Didn’t Work – Perhaps Its Time To Fund Teacher Initiatives? and New Study Raises Important Point – How Helpful Is Ed Research?

But there are also several examples from the past few years  of researchers making this same mistake:

I’m Not Sure This Big Meta-Analysis On Direct Instruction Says What Its Authors Think It Says

NEW STUDY SHOWS THAT RESEARCHERS DON’T ALWAYS THINK THROUGH HOW THEIR STUDIES CAN BE MISUSED

SELF-CONTROL IS CRITICAL QUALITY FOR SUCCESS, SAYS A NEW STUDY – BUT IT HAS A HUGE UNHELPFUL HOLE IN ITS METHODS

NEW STUDY FINDS THAT THE PRESENCE OF IMMIGRANT STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS HELPS EVERYBODY, BUT TOTALLY MISSES OBVIOUS REASON

TODAY’S EXAMPLE OF THE BLINDERS THAT SOMETIMES HAMPER THE USEFULNESS OF EDUCATION RESEARCH

INTERESTING NEW STUDY COMPARES AI & HUMAN FEEDBACK TO STUDENT WRITING, BUT MISSES TWO CRITICAL POINTS

IF “INQUIRY” OR “DIRECT INSTRUCTION” IS THE QUESTION, THEN I THINK “INDUCTIVE LEARNING” IS THE ANSWER

Just About Every Ed Researcher Seems To Miss A Key Understanding About Reading Strategies That Just About Every Teacher Knows

 (I’m republishing my best posts from the second half of 2024. You can see the entire list of them here)     Sigh… Yet another education study has been released where researchers don’t “see the forest through the trees” because they likely didn’t check in with teachers before they designed their research. As I shared a look back Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…