At a large community college system in central Florida, 40% of the more than 20,000 students who take developmental math each year don't pass. Similar patterns are found in community colleges across the U.S.

While teaching students about study skills and time management is important, it’s also important to foster students’ beliefs that they’re able and want to succeed. How can we help students believe they can bounce back from academic challenges and persevere through these critical math courses?

We are partnering with math faculty to test whether brief, in-class activities combining growth mindset and utility value interventions can boost students’ motivation and math performance. Over 12,000 students have been part of the study since 2015.

Currently, we are adapting and improving our interventions based on insights gained through initial mixed methods analyses from this study. We also plan to explore students' longitudinal outcomes, such as GPA, major path, and career trajectories.