The following is a part of my Post Graduate Diploma of Psychology research proposal and ethics application regarding developing and implementing a Growth Mindset program for first year University Undergraduate students that identified as dyslexic.
Research suggests that dyslexia affects 4-12% of the entire population, but dyslexic students are greatly under-represented at University often due to unequitable educational access, generating lower results and retention levels in comparison to those students with no reported disabilities (MacCullagh et.al., 2016). Dyslexia is a learning difficulty characterised by low levels of reading fluency and problems developing effective word-decoding strategies (Warmington et.al., 2013). Studies have shown that dyslexia extends into adulthood and despite their reading difficulties, people with dyslexia display average or above average intellectual aptitude (Wisehart and Altmann, 2017). Previous studies have demonstrated that growth mindset interventions assist in improving dyslexic school-age student’s mindset through various interventions (de Carvalho and Skipper, 2019). However, no known studies have investigated the effect of a growth mindset intervention for dyslexics at University level, where the learning environment is vastly different. Dweck’s (1999) Growth Mindset theory describes how intelligence and other attributes are malleable and able to be changed with applicable learning strategies, combined with effort (Goegan et.al., 2021). In contrast, a fixed mindset is when the person believes that intelligence and other attributes are innate and unchanging, often reflective of students with learning disabilities (Yeager and Dweck, 2012). This study proposes that a growth mindset intervention for dyslexic University students in their first year of study will potentially enhance effort, generating effective strategies and equitable educational access in a new learning environment, resulting in future higher rates of University retention and a greater number of dyslexic students completing their Higher Education degrees.
The research aims to explore whether an online growth mindset intervention called Brainology (Snipes et al., 2012) will encourage a growth mindset for dyslexic students in a new and challenging University learning environment. This experimental design research will explore the impact of the intervention on randomly selected First Year dyslexic university students over a two-week period with their growth mindset scores as collated from the validated Dweck Mindset Instrument (DMI) (Dweck, 1999), compared to those First Year dyslexic University students that did not participate in the intervention.
It is hypothesized that the First Year dyslexic University students (experimental group) that participate in the growth mindset intervention will score higher on the Dweck Mindset Instrument (DMI) (Dweck, 1999) as administered after the intervention period, in comparison to the First Year dyslexic students (control group) that did not participate in the intervention.
Participants who are interested in participating in the study will be directed to the study website where they will find further information and be able to register their email address to express interest. The prospective participants will be emailed an Explanatory and Consent form, which are required to be read and signed before embarking on the study requirements. After this process, the participants will be emailed information regarding the requirements depending upon which group they have been randomly allocated to. All participants will access the materials from their Moodle dashboards. They must all fill in their short five-minute Demographic survey with information on their birth date, gender, and the university course that they are enrolled in. There are no targeted gender ratios for this study. This experimental study is a between-subjects independent measures design, with the independent variable having two levels – control and experimental (who complete a growth mindset intervention). The dependent variable is the growth mindset measurement (Dweck Mindset Instrument (DMI), 1999). The study hypothesises that the First Year University dyslexic students (experimental group) that participate in the growth mindset intervention will score higher on the DMI as administered after the intervention period, in comparison to the First Year University dyslexic students (control group) that did not participate in the intervention.
Participants in the experimental group will have two weeks to complete the online growth mindset intervention, Brainology (Snipes et al., 2012), completing tasks and activities in their own time, equating to around 50 minutes. These will be easily accessed from their Moodle dashboard. The program will involve a series of five, short 10-minute activities that incorporate self-reflection; emotions, stress and learning understanding; goal setting; growth mindset; and effective effort. Any participant that is not in the experimental group will be offered access to the Brainology program after completing the DMI questionnaire. The Brainology responses will not be recorded, the only data that is officially recorded is the de-identified demographic and DMI questionnaire responses.
After the growth mindset intervention has been completed, all participants from both the experimental and control groups will complete the DMI online and submit their results (approximate time 5-10 minutes). The DMI is a validated 6-point Likert mindset scale (ordinal) with the summed data set measured and analysed as interval data. Each question is scored on a response scale from 1 (Strongly Agree) to 6 (Strongly Disagree), with every even question reverse scored (6-1). The range of scores reflects your mindset, with a high score indicating a high growth mindset. The DMI is composed of questions such as “You have a certain amount of intelligence, and you really can’t do much to change it” and “You can change even your basic level of talent considerably”. Based on a power analysis using G*Power 3.1, for a two group independent samples t-test design, medium effect size (0.5), and power = .80, a minimum of 128 participants (with 64 in each group) will be required for this study. The sampling method is convenience.
Data output from the study will be sent automatically to the University computer and stored in a de-identified and coded database. There is low risk limited disclosure involved in this study to minimise response bias and all participants will be fully debriefed via email when the study is completed. Participants are able to contact the Chief Investigator at any time and may also request a summary of the study and an email link to any published articles. Participants are able to withdraw at any time and the explanatory statement offers information for services that may be required for assistance or mental health.
Students that have registered as dyslexic with the university Disability Service and have opted-in to be contacted for any research studies will be contacted to see if they would like to register their interest. Facebook advertisements on the various University Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, flyers posted to notice boards around the University campuses, and information to register published in all of the Faculty newsletters. A website will be set up as a point of contact for registration to participate. Once participants have registered their interest and their email addresses and mobile phone numbers, they will be contacted with an explanatory statement and consent forms. After registering their interest to participate in the study and retuning their signed explanation and consent forms, half of the participants will be randomly allocated into the Experimental (growth mindset intervention) group. After registering their interest to participate in the study and retuning their signed explanation and consent forms, half of the participants will be randomly allocated into the Control group.
There are no anticipated risks in taking part in the study and questionnaire submissions will be completely de-identified. Participants may feel slightly uncomfortable in personal reflection activities, but this is not seen as a long-term risk. They may also feel inconvenienced at having to spend personal time on the activities, however tasks are short and can be completed in their own time. If not initially chosen in the growth mindset program group, disappointment may be averted through the explanatory statement expressing that those participants will be offered the program after the DMI questionnaire has been submitted. There is limited disclosure in the initial information and explanatory statement in regards to the study. This is deemed low risk. To minimise bias and maintain internal validity in the study so responses are not influenced by the knowledge that the program is a growth mindset intervention and that the questionnaire is measuring mindset, it is stated that the study is about First Year dyslexic University students wellbeing.
Limited disclosure of the true nature of the study will influence participants’ responses, therefore, “growth mindset” has been replaced by “wellbeing” in the explanatory statement. This is low risk. Participants will be debriefed through their contact email at the end of the study, so they are made fully aware of the study’s aims and also to outline the growth mindset program they had been administered. All participants will be made aware that the questionnaire was measuring mindset and not wellbeing. The debrief will also explain that it was necessary to disguise that the study was a growth mindset intervention to minimise response bias and maintain internal validity.
Participants can complete the program and also the questionnaire in their own time. A progress bar will be displayed on the Moodle to show how many activities they have completed, as to alleviate boredom. Participants will not receive their scores for the DMI, so therefore they cannot interpret them. They are also volunteering self-information, so it is not anything that they do not already understand about themselves. A thorough debrief, giving a comprehensive overview of growth mindset and the DMI measurement scale and the aims and study will be provided to each participant via email at the end of the study.
Growth Mindset Intervention – Brainology (Snipes et.al., 2012). Brainology is a growth mindset program that will require participants to complete short activities that incorporate self-reflection tasks, activity tasks on emotions, stress and learning understanding; goal setting; growth mindset; and effective effort. These activities encourage a growth mindset and are completed through the participants Moodle site. Please see the Procedures section for more information on this intervention.
The basic Demographic questionnaire, the growth mindset intervention (Brainology), and the validated DMI questionnaire will all be accessed through the participants Moodle. All participants will fill in the basic Demographic questionnaire, which requires the student’s age, gender, and university course that they are enrolled in. (Please see the Procedures section). The experimental group will access the growth mindset intervention activities from the Moodle (please see the Procedures section for the details of the growth mindset intervention). The short 10-minute Growth Mindset questionnaire (DMI) will be administered on both the Experimental and Control groups after the Experimental group has participated in the Brainology intervention over a two-week period. The questionnaire is the validated DMI comprising of 16 growth mindset questions on a 6-point Likert scale (please see the Procedures section). Once the participants have pressed “Submit”, their de-identified and coded demographic and DMI responses will be sent straight to the database, collated and recorded by the Chief Investigator.
Participants will be provided with a debriefing statement sent to their contact email at the end of the study. This will outline the aims of the study, and give information about the growth mindset program and the DMI questionnaire that they had completed. The debrief will explain that limited disclosure was necessary in order to minimise response bias and maintain internal validity. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask the Chief Investigator questions regarding the study after they have been debriefed.
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