Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets in College Mathematics Education

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between college mathematics professors and whether they have a growth or fixed mindset towards the students in their classrooms. This paper will share the results from a survey that was constructed with 38 participants - all of which are college mathematics professors in the state of Ohio. This survey focused on asking questions that would relate the professors to either having growth or fixed mindset traits. The survey also asked for the demographics of the participants, which helped classify similarities between those with growth or fixed mindset ideals. After analyzing the survey results and the demographics, the results show those with fixed mindset ideals are more likely to be 51 years old or older and those with growth mindset ideals are more likely to be 50 years old or younger. This draws a very generalized correlation between the age of college mathematics professors and their mindset towards the students in their classrooms