The idea that success in mathematics is only available to those born as “mathematics people” has been challenged in recent years by neuroscience, showing that mathematics pathways develop in the brain through learning and practice. This paper reports on a blended professional learning model of online and in-person meetings during which 40 teachers in 8 school districts in the US learned about the new brain science, challenging the “math person” myth, as well as effective mathematics teaching methods. We refer to the combination as a Mathematical Mindset Approach. Using mixed methods, we conducted a one-year study to investigate teacher and student learning in a Mathematical Mindset network. We collected data on teacher and student beliefs, teacher instructional practice, and student learning gains on state achievement tests. The results from our quantitative analyses found statistically significant positive improvements in student beliefs, teacher’s instructional practice, and on students’ math test scores. The mindset approach particularly raised the achievement of girls, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students. Based on our qualitative analysis, we propose that the success of the intervention rests upon two central factors: (1) The different forms of PD served to eradicate the learning myths that had held up teachers and learners; and that (2) Teachers had space for identity work as mathematical learners.

This study reports on the impact of a “massive, open, online course” (MOOC) designed to change students' ideas about mathematics and their own potential and improve their mathematics achievement. Many students hold damaging fixed mindsets, believing that their intelligence is unchangeable. When students shift to a growth mindset (believing that their intelligence is malleable), their achievement increases. This study of a MOOC intervention differs from previous mindset research in three ways (1) the intervention was delivered through a free online course with the advantage of being scalable nationwide (2) the intervention infused mindset messages into mathematics, specifically targeting students' beliefs about mathematics (3) the research was conducted with a teacher randomized controlled design to estimate its effects. Results show that the treatment group who took the MOOC reported more positive beliefs about math, engaged more deeply in math in class, and achieved at significantly higher levels on standardized mathematics assessments.

A wide range of evidence points to the need for students to have a growth mindset as they approach their learning, but recent critiques of mindset have highlighted the need to change teaching approaches, to transfuse mindset ideas throughout teaching. This shifts the responsibility from students themselves to teachers and schools. This paper shares a mixed methods study conducted across the US, that measured the impact of a “mathematical mindset teaching approach” shown to be effective when taught by the authors, scaled to teachers in 10 US districts. The effectiveness of this novel mathematics approach was measured using pre and post assessments during a summer intervention followed by measures of GPA change when students returned to schools. Both measures showed that a mathematical mindset approach to teaching significantly improves students’ mathematical achievement, and changes students’ beliefs about themselves and their approach to learning. Accompanying analyses of teaching and of teacher interviews give insights into the ways students change, highlighting the need to bring about shifts in students’ mindsets through a changed approach to mathematics teaching and learning.

Este artigo investiga os impactos na aprendizagem matemática de 68 estudantes de duas escolas municipais de Cotia – SP que participaram do curso de férias Mentalidades Matemáticas (Curso de Férias Mentalidades Matemáticas – CFMM). O estudo foi orientado pelas seguintes questões: Os estudantes melhoraram suas habilidades matemáticas? Os estudantes melhoraram suas atitudes e crenças sobre suas próprias habilidades matemáticas? Os resultados se referem à análise de dados da avaliação MARS e da pesquisa de atitude, realizadas pelos estudantes antes e depois da implementação do curso. Após 10 dias de aulas e atividades com instrutores formados na abordagem MM, o tamanho de efeito foi de 0,35. Não foram constatadas diferenças significativas de desempenho em relação à renda, idade e escolaridade das famílias. Outra consequência foi a mudança na atitude dos alunos em relação ao processo de aprendizagem da matemática: maior disposição para lidar com os erros, maior domínio das habilidades argumentativas e percepção da matemática como uma disciplina mais aberta, visual e criativa.

Many education systems aim to support teachers in moving toward conceptually oriented mathematics instruction. The 2023 California Mathematics Framework provides one example of this effort by organizing standards around big ideas and emphasizing mathematical connections. In this study, we report on an early investigation of teachers’ learning about, and efforts to enact, the framework’s big ideas approach. We followed a cohort of elementary teachers who participated in a year-long professional learning fellowship. Drawing on multiple qualitative data sources, we examine the affordances and constraints teachers experienced as they learned to teach mathematics conceptually through big ideas, as well as the ways that the framework's conceptual structure supported their instructional decision-making. Teachers reported meaningful shifts in their teaching, which they attributed to increased student engagement, a sense of instructional freedom, and growing confidence in themselves as mathematical thinkers. Classroom observations corroborated these reported shifts by documenting teachers' enactment of key features of conceptual mathematics instruction. At the same time, teachers identified important constraints, particularly tensions between conceptual teaching and procedural district assessment systems. Across teachers, the big ideas approach provided a shared conceptual structure for organizing instruction around connected mathematical ideas while supporting teachers’ professional judgment in how those ideas were enacted in classrooms. To illustrate variation in teachers’ experiences, we present four cases representing different trajectories of learning and enactment. We conclude with implications for the design of professional learning and the use of coherent conceptual frameworks to support teachers' learning and instructional decision-making.

Since the introduction of Carol Dweck’s landmark work in mindset, many scholars have studied the impact of a change in mindset on learning, behavior, and health. National and international large-scale studies have validated the consistent correlation between learners developing a growth mindset (knowing that they can learn and improve) and performance on learning outcomes and longer-term learning behaviors. Whilst mindset interventions can have a positive impact on student learning, recent years have shown the need for more than a change in messaging. For widescale and lasting improvements in mathematics learning, messages need to be specific to mathematics, and delivered through a change in teaching approach, with mindset ideas infused through teaching practices and through assessment. This paper shares the evidence on the need for a “mathematical mindset” approach and the wide scale benefits that the approach promises to bring about.