How Mindsets Shape Response and Learning Transfer: A Case of Two Graduate Writers

Abstract

This article expands upon composition research on response, and psychological research on mindsets, to examine how Dweck’s theory of mindsets impact graduate writer’s ability to process teacher response, apply teacher response in revision, and ultimately, develop as learners and transfer knowledge from these experiences. We conduct this examination through in-depth case studies of two writers over a six-year period spanning undergraduate and graduate school, and include interviews, teacher response, and graduate student writing to develop thick descriptions of graduate writers’ experiences. We demonstrate how students’ mindsets intersect with processing/applying response offered in early graduate courses, which ultimately hinders or helps opportunities for learning transfer and writing development. The implications of this work apply to both how teachers respond to writing, and how they teach graduate students about processing and applying response.