2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Having a growth mindset is crucial for successfully designing and implementing a process as a chemical engineer. Innovative design is iterative, requiring continuous learning and improvement as well as consistent effort after setbacks without succumbing to self-doubt, which are the hallmarks of a growth mindset. Interestingly, the chemical engineering curriculum, in general, does not have any initiative to develop a growth mindset in undergraduate students. It would significantly benefit the students in their future professional careers if they get trained from the beginning of their education. Additionally, it could be helpful to motivate those students who underperform or drop out of the chemical engineering major by incorrectly believing they are not “smart enough”. Students who come from less privileged backgrounds tend to have a fixed mindset, which could be accountable to structural inequality. Thus, facilitating the development of growth mindset in chemical engineering education would also aid in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the major. We are currently conducting a growth mindset intervention study in the introductory mass and energy balance course, which is taught in both Fall and Spring. The study has been developed based on the mindset theory proposed by Dr. Carol Dweck. We have chosen the Fall 2022 semester to be the control group (without any intervention) and the Spring 2023 semester to be the intervention group. The control group is participating in a survey this Fall semester, where responses are being collected using a 6-point Likert scale. In Spring 2023, the interventions would be included in the course structure as part of the weekly group session, homework problems, and exams. The intervention group will participate in the same survey as the control group. Our final goal is to statistically compare the mindset scores between the control and the intervention groups and assess the effectiveness of the applied interventions. We are particularly curious to analyze the effect of the students’ demographic background on their mindset. We would like to present our work in a regular session.