Teacher Beliefs about Growth Mindset in Pre-Service Mathematics Teaching
Abstract
This study explores how classroom discourse reflects the implementation of growth mindset principles in mathematics learning by pre-service teachers during their teaching practicum at SMAN 4 Malang. The research focuses on how feedback practices, questioning strategies, and task design support students’ engagement, reasoning, and responses to challenges. A qualitative approach was employed through classroom observations and analysis of instructional interactions conducted by pre-service teachers. The findings reveal that the learning environment demonstrated several key characteristics of a growth mindset-oriented classroom. Pre-service teachers were able to create a supportive atmosphere that encouraged student participation, idea expression, and reasoning. Practices such as promoting student thinking and normalizing mistakes were particularly evident, helping students focus on conceptual understanding rather than merely obtaining correct answers. However, the feedback implementation tended to emphasize correctness rather than students’ effort and strategies, and opportunities for productive struggle were limited due to relatively quick intervention and uneven scaffolding. As a result, students had fewer opportunities to engage in sustained independent problem-solving, which is essential for developing persistence and resilience. Overall, the study highlights the need for more explicit emphasis on effort-based feedback and greater opportunities for students to engage with challenging tasks. These improvements are expected to strengthen students’ growth mindset, persistence, and deeper understanding in mathematics learning. The contribution of this study lies in providing empirical insights into the implementation of growth mindset principles in mathematics teaching practices by pre-service teachers, particularly in terms of classroom discourse. The findings may serve as a basis for reflection and the development of teacher education programs aimed at designing instructional interactions that better support students’ growth mindset development.
References
Andilah, S., Andriani, N., Inayah, S., Partini, D., Hartiwi, J., Pradana, S., & Jubaeli, A. (2025). Strategi Pembelajaran. Penerbit Widina.
Baharun, H. (2016). Pengembangan media pembelajaran PAI berbasis lingkungan melalui model ASSURE. Cendekia: Jurnal Kependidikan dan Kemasyarakatan, 14(2), 231–246. https://doi.org/10.21154/cendekia.v14i2.610
Boaler, J. (2016). Mathematical mindsets: Unleashing students’ potential through creative math, inspiring messages and innovative teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Borji, V., Radmehr, F., & Font, V. (2021). The impact of procedural and conceptual teaching on students’ mathematical performance over time. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 52(3), 404–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739X.2019.1688404
Creswell, J. W. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
Darling-hammond, L., Flook, L., Cook-harvey, C., Barron, B., Flook, L., Cook-harvey, C., Darling-hammond, L., Flook, L., Cook-harvey, C., & Barron, B. (2020). Implications for educational practice of the science of learning and development. Applied Developmental Science, 24(2), 97–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791
DiNapoli, J. (2023). Distinguishing between grit, persistence, and perseverance for learning mathematics with understanding. Education Sciences, 13(4), Article 402. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040402
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York, NY: Random House
Faradiba, S. S., Sari, F. K., Alifiani, & Nursit, I. (2025). Can the domino theory revolutionize the approach to algebraic misconceptions in university students? AIP Conference Proceedings, 3333(1), 20008. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0291150
Faradiba, S. S., Alifiani, A., & Nasir, N. A. M. (2024). The resolution of quadratic inequality problems in mathematics: Discrepancies between thought and action. Infinity, 13(1), 61-82. https://doi.org/10.22460/infinity.v13i1.p61-82
Galdames-Calderón, M., Pedersen, A. S., & Rodríguez-Gómez, D. (2024). Systematic review: Revisiting challenge-based learning teaching practices in higher education. Education Sciences, 14(9), Article 1008. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14091008
Isminingsih, Faradiba, S. S., Setiawan, Y. E., Walida, S. El, & Damayanti, N. W. (2025). Analysis of mathematical reasoning ability through social emotional learning on cylinder. AIP Conference Proceedings, 3316(1), 110015. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0290432
Jacobs, A. M., Büthe, T., Arjona, A., Arriola, L. R., Bellin, E., Bennett, A., … Yashar, D. J. (2021). The Qualitative Transparency Deliberations: Insights and Implications. Perspectives on Politics, 19(1), 171–208. doi:10.1017/S1537592720001164
Maghfiroh, K. S., Sholekah, I., Lathifah, H., Istiqomah, F. N., Parnata, I., Sunaifah, I., & Badriyah, L. (2026). Connecting beliefs, identity, and attitudes to practice: a systematic review of pre-service mathematics teachers. Journal of Philosophy and Research in Islamic Mathematics Education (J-PRIMa), 2(1), 50–62. https://doi.org/10.33474/j-prima.v2i1.25367
Maliana, R., Faradiba, S. S., Alifiani, & Dearamae, R. (2025). Expectations versus reality: A case study of metacognitive blindness in mathematics problems. AIP Conference Proceedings, 3316(1), 110004. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0290041
Muthukrishnan, P., Lan, L. F., & Anandhan, H. (2024). The role of growth mindset on the relationships between students’ perceptions of English language teachers’ feedback and their ESL learning performance. Education Sciences, 14(10), Article 1073. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14101073
Pamungkas, A. A. N. S., Muslim, S., & Djatmiko, W. (2024). Personal teaching philosophy calon guru sekolah dasar: Antara teori dan praktik. Primary: Jurnal Keilmuan dan Kependidikan Dasar, 16(2), 105–118. https://doi.org/10.32678/primary.v16i2.10768
Zubaidah, S. (2017). Keterampilan abad ke-21: Keterampilan yang diajarkan melalui pembelajaran. Seminar Nasional Pendidikan, 1–17
Raharja, B. J., & Ghozali, I. (2021). Discourse analysis on teacher-students interaction pattern of English teaching learning process. Journal of Applied Linguistics, Translation, and Literature, 1(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.33292/jalintrali.v1i1.53
Reeve, J., & Hyeon, S. (2024). Learning how to become an autonomy-supportive teacher begins with perspective taking: A randomized control trial and model test. Teaching and Teacher Education, 148(July), 104702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2024.104702
Sugiyono. (2019). Metode Penelitian Kualitatif, Kuantitatif, dan R&D. Bandung: Alfabeta.
Sun, K. L. (2019). The mindset disconnect in mathematics teaching: A qualitative analysis of classroom instruction. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 55, 100706. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2019.04.005
Tulis, M., Steuer, G., & Dresel, M. (2016). Learning from errors: A model of individual processes. Frontline Learning Research, 4(2), 12–26. https://doi.org/10.14786/flr.v4i2.168
Wahidah, F. R. N., Anjarani, S., & Pranita, N. (2022). Growth mindset guru: Studi efektivitas pelatihan menumbuhkan growth mindset pada guru. Indonesian Psychological Research, 4(2), 78–84. https://doi.org/10.29080/ipr.v4i2.755
Wulandari, D., Suharyati, H., Novita, L., Apriyani, K., & Kunci, K. (2024). Peningkatan kualitas layanan berbasis growth mindset pada guru PAUD. Journal of Dedicators Community, 8(3), 243–262. https://doi.org/10.34001/jdc.v8i3.6302
Yeager, D. S., Hanselman, P., Walton, G. M., Murray, J. S., Crosnoe, R., Muller, C., ... Dweck, C. S. (2019). A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement. Nature, 573(7774), 364–369. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1466-y
Young, J.R., Sanders, M., Bevan, D., & Amin, S. (2025). What exactly is the productive struggle? Lessons learned from a content analysis of the mathematics education literature. International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology (IJEMST), 13(5), 1040-1063. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijemst.5696
Yulianti, M. D. ., Astawan, I. G. ., & Riastini, P. N. . (2024). The Relationship of the Teachers’ Growth Mindset to the Students’Mutual Cooperation Character in Primary School. Indonesian Values and Character Education Journal, 7(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.23887/ivcej.v7i1.76209
Zhang, K. (2024). Does teachers’ self-reported growth mindset ensure growth mindset-oriented feedback practices in the classroom? Frontiers in Education, 9, 1471518. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1471518
Copyright (c) 2026 Hannif Lathifah, Indhiadma Parnata, Fadhilah Nur Istiqomah, Iis Sholekah, Khikmatus Shahrin Maghfiroh, Ivatus Sunaifah, Lailatul Badriyah, Surya Sari Faradiba
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Penulis yang menerbitkan karya ilmiahnya di Likhitaprajna setuju dengan ketentuan berikut: manuskrip yang diajukan dan dipublikasikan tetap menjadi hak publikasi penulis dengan karya yang dilisensikan secara bersamaan di bawah Lisensi Internasional Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
