Exploring changes in computer science students' implicit theories of intelligence across the semester

Abraham E. Flanigan, Markeya S. Peteranetz, Duane F. Shell, Leen Kiat Soh

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

Our study was based on exploring CS1 students' implicit theories of intelligence. Referencing Dweck and Leggett's [5] framework for implicit theories of intelligence, we investigated (1) how students' implicit theories changed over the course of a semester, (2) how these changes differed as a function of course enrollment and students' self-regulation profiles, and (3) whether or not implicit theories predicted standardized course grades and performance on a computational thinking knowledge test. For all students, there were significant increases in entity theory (fixed mindset) and significant decreases in incremental theory (growth mindset) across the semester. However, results showed that students had higher scores for incremental than entity theory of intelligence at both the beginning and end of the semester. Furthermore, both incremental and entity theory, but not semester change in intelligence theory, differed based on students' self-regulation profiles. Also, semester change in entity theory differed across courses. Finally, students' achievement outcomes were weakly predicted by their implicit theories of intelligence. Implications for student motivation and retention in CS and other STEM courses are also discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationICER 2015 - Proceedings of the 2015 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages161-168
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9781450336284
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 9 2015
Event11th Annual ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research, ICER 2015 - Omaha, United States
Duration: Aug 9 2015Aug 13 2015

Publication series

NameICER 2015 - Proceedings of the 2015 ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research

Other

Other11th Annual ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research, ICER 2015
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOmaha
Period8/9/158/13/15

Keywords

  • CS1
  • Implicit learning theories
  • Profiling

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Computer Science
  • Education

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Exploring changes in computer science students' implicit theories of intelligence across the semester'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this