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To help us explore these topics further, I have invited Dr. Bob Midden to talk with us today. Dr. Midden is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and the Associate Vice Provost for Experiential and Innovative Learning here at BGSU. He came to BGSU in 1987 to join a team of scientists to build a new Ph.D. program in photochemical sciences and established BGSU as a national leader in photochemical sciences research. Since then his research interests have shifted from bioorganic photochemistry to finding ways to reform education at all levels. The recipient of more than $18 million in grants from federal and state agencies and private foundations, he has led multiple intercollegiate teams in efforts to improve K-12 as well as undergraduate and graduate instruction in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (or STEM) fields.
Dr. Midden was the director of the Chapman Learning Community, which was the first comprehensive residential learning community at BGSU. He developed alternative learning experiences and actively engaged students with projects serving the surrounding communities. He also spearheaded an initiative to integrate service-learning into the undergraduate curriculum and to document the many ways in which faculty create such opportunities for their students.
Dr. Midden was also the Director of the Northwest Ohio Center for Excellence in STEM Education (or NWO) with the mission of advancing STEM education for people of all ages. NWO serves the 29 counties of the northwest quadrant of Ohio and involves partnerships with most of the higher education institutions, many K-12 school districts, as well as numerous businesses and non-profit organizations throughout the region. NWO provides a variety of services to the region including K-12 and college faculty professional development, hosting annual symposia and student STEM competitions, administering multiple STEM college student scholarship programs, fostering the development of a new Learning Sciences doctoral program, and sponsoring other events aimed at promoting interest and success in STEM disciplines.
In addition to his work as NWO Director, Dr. Midden lead a scientific research project investigating major issues threatening the environmental integrity and economic vitality of Lake Erie and other Ohio lakes, rivers, and streams. This project has involved more than 40 undergraduate and graduate students over the last five years and involves collaboration with several government agencies and scientists from throughout the region in addressing one of the most pressing environmental issues in Ohio.
Bob is a colleague and good friend of mine. He helped me facilitate several learning communities and lead many teaching and learning workshops. He is someone who teaches me something new or presents a complicated concept with a fresh perspective every single time I talk to him. Please welcome Dr. Bob Midden.
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Table of Contents:
00:00 – Introduction – Locus of Control, Growth Mindset, and Control of Learning Beliefs
07:15 – Interview with Dr. Bob Midden
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Today’s theme centers around 3 closely related concepts: 1) Locus of Control, 2) Growth Mindset, and 3) Control of Learning Beliefs. This episode will address several questions about these topics including What are they? What is the difference between them? Why are they important? and How do these concepts affect teaching and learning?
The First Concept– Locus of Control was developed in 1954 by Julian B. Rotter who was a psychology professor at The Ohio State University and later the University of Connecticut. Locus of Control refers to a person’s belief in how much control they have over the outcomes in their life. Locus of control can be internal or external. Someone with a strong internal locus of control tends to believe that incidents in their life stem predominantly from their own actions. For example, the results of a high scoring exam, stem from their own effort or ability… In other words, they did well on an exam because they studied a lot or they are just highly intelligent. On the other hand, the student may believe they did poorly on an exam because they didn’t study enough.
Someone with a strong external locus of control may be inclined to praise or blame external factors for their exam grade, such as the teacher was terrible or the exam itself was too hard or too confusing.
The Second Concept– Growth Mindset was described in a 2006 book by Carol Dweck called “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”. She was a psychology professor at Columbia University, Harvard University, the University of Illinois, and most recently Stanford University.
Deweck explains that mindsets can be described as a continuum between fixed mindsets and growth mindsets. Students with a fixed mindset believe that physical or mental abilities are predominantly constant (or fixed) and view the cause of their failures as the lack of essential proficiencies. They may give up on a difficult task quickly, because they believe they don’t have the required skills for success. They believe that they have a certain amount of intelligence and it cannot change. Their goal may become to “appear smart at all costs and to not look dumb”. They tend to avoid difficult problems and view a “wrong answer” as a failure.
Students with a growth mindset believe that they can acquire about any new skill or ability if they invest enough time or effort into learning how to do it. They tend to choose more difficult problems to work on if given the choice and see “wrong answers” as an opportunity to learn. They tend to persist much longer at a difficult task than students with a fixed mindset and tend to be more successful.
The Third Concept– Control of Learning Beliefs comes from a theory called Self-Regulated Learning (SLR). This theory states that learning is guided by 3 things 1) metacognition (thinking about one’s thinking), 2) strategic action (planning, monitoring, and assessing advancement in skill level), and 3) motivation (intrinsic, extrinsic, self-efficacy). It is believed that self-regulated learners are aware of their academic strengths and weaknesses. They have a selection of strategies they use to overcome typical academic tasks. They most likely believe intelligence can be gained and it is not fixed. They also tend to attribute their success or failures to things within their control.
To make a long story short, self-regulated learners believe that academic achievement will result from opportunities to take on difficult assignments, practicing new skills, acquiring a profound understanding of a topic, and putting effort into learning. They are successful because they control their learning environment. They apply this control by aligning their actions toward their learning goals and regulating their progress.
To help us explore these topics further, I have invited Dr. Bob Midden to talk with us today. Dr. Midden is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and the Associate Vice Provost for Experiential and Innovative Learning here at BGSU. He came to BGSU in 1987 to join a team of scientists to build a new Ph.D. program in photochemical sciences and established BGSU as a national leader in photochemical sciences research. Since then his research interests have shifted from bioorganic photochemistry to finding ways to reform education at all levels. The recipient of more than $18 million in grants from federal and state agencies and private foundations, he has led multiple intercollegiate teams in efforts to improve K-12 as well as undergraduate and graduate instruction in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (or STEM) fields.
Dr. Midden was the director of the Chapman Learning Community, which was the first comprehensive residential learning community at BGSU. He developed alternative learning experiences and actively engaged students with projects serving the surrounding communities. He also spearheaded an initiative to integrate service-learning into the undergraduate curriculum and to document the many ways in which faculty create such opportunities for their students.
Dr. Midden was also the Director of the Northwest Ohio Center for Excellence in STEM Education (or NWO) with the mission of advancing STEM education for people of all ages. NWO serves the 29 counties of the northwest quadrant of Ohio and involves partnerships with most of the higher education institutions, many K-12 school districts, as well as numerous businesses and non-profit organizations throughout the region. NWO provides a variety of services to the region including K-12 and college faculty professional development, hosting annual symposia and student STEM competitions, administering multiple STEM college student scholarship programs, fostering the development of a new Learning Sciences doctoral program, and sponsoring other events aimed at promoting interest and success in STEM disciplines.
In addition to his work as NWO Director, Dr. Midden lead a scientific research project investigating major issues threatening the environmental integrity and economic vitality of Lake Erie and other Ohio lakes, rivers, and streams. This project has involved more than 40 undergraduate and graduate students over the last five years and involves collaboration with several government agencies and scientists from throughout the region in addressing one of the most pressing environmental issues in Ohio.
Bob is a colleague and good friend of mine. He helped me facilitate several learning communities and lead many teaching and learning workshops. He is someone who teaches me something new or presents a complicated concept with a fresh perspective every single time I talk to him. Please welcome Dr. Bob Midden.
REFERENCES
Alotaibi, K. (2017). The Relationship Between Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement for a Sample of Community College Students at King Saud University. Education Journal, 6(1), 28. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20170601.14
Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Key Takeaways From Dweck’s Book. (2019, July 4). Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset/.
James Clear. (2018, October 24). Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset: How Your Beliefs Change Your Behavior. Retrieved from https://jamesclear.com/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mindset.
Joelson, R. B. (2017, August 2). Locus of Control. Retrieved November 6, 2019, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/moments-matter/201708/locus-control.
Lee, Y.-H., Heeter, C., Magerko, B., & Medler, B. (2012). Gaming Mindsets: Implicit Theories in Serious Game Learning. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(4), 190–194. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2011.0328
Perry, N.E., Phillips, L., & Hutchinson, L.R. (2006). Preparing student teachers to support for self-regulated learning. Elementary School Journal, 106, 237-254.
Self-regulated learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/1280924.
Wow! Great presentation! Thanks Dr. Partin!
thanks for this.
Thank you!! I hope you enjoyed it and found it informative 🙂
Thank you!! There will be more videos each week.
how to control it?
A growth mindset needs to be built over time. However, just teaching students that it exixts and that they can get smarter will help. Teach them about “neuroplasticity”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroplasticity