University Orientation Seminar – Unit 1 Assignment 1 Learn ✓ Solved

University Orientation Seminar – Unit 1, Assignment 1: Learn

Pretend you are conducting research for a paper on “growth mindset.” You found a New York Times article (Rae-Dupree, 2008, "If You’re Open to Growth, You Tend to Grow") and a conference article in the CHI’14 proceedings (O’Rourke, Haimovitz, Ballwebber, Dweck & Popovic, 2014, "Brain Points: A Growth Mindset Incentive Structure Boosts Persistence in an Educational Game").

Write two paragraphs answering: What type of information is included in the conference article, and not in the newspaper article, that provides a deeper understanding of the topic? How is the scholarly article more helpful when supporting arguments? Use APA style to cite each article at least once in your response. Create an APA reference citation for the New York Times article.

Paper For Above Instructions

The CHI conference article by O’Rourke et al. (2014) contains empirical methods, experimental data, statistical analyses, and technical detail that are not present in the New York Times article (Rae-Dupree, 2008). Specifically, O’Rourke et al. (2014) describe the study design, participant recruitment, operationalization of a “growth mindset” incentive, controlled conditions, quantitative outcomes on persistence, and evidence of effect sizes and significance testing. These methodological elements enable readers to evaluate internal validity, potential confounds, and the reliability of the findings. In contrast, the newspaper piece (Rae-Dupree, 2008) presents narrative summaries, expert quotations, and broad claims about growth mindset that communicate the idea to a general audience but do not provide the primary data or the procedures underlying empirical claims. The conference paper’s inclusion of raw or summarized numerical results, experimental controls, and discussion of limitations therefore gives a deeper, research-based understanding of how a growth-mindset intervention was operationalized and measured in a game-based educational setting (O’Rourke et al., 2014).

Because the CHI paper is peer-reviewed and published in conference proceedings, it is more helpful for supporting scholarly arguments than a newspaper article. O’Rourke et al. (2014) situate their work in the existing literature, describe their hypotheses, and present reproducible methods—information necessary for critical appraisal, replication, and meta-analysis. When making an evidence-based argument about the effectiveness of growth-mindset interventions, citing the CHI study allows an author to point to sample size, statistical significance, effect sizes, and discussion of boundary conditions; these features strengthen claims about causality and generalizability in ways that a journalistic account cannot (Dweck, 2006; Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007). The newspaper article is useful for framing the topic, illustrating its public relevance, and providing quotes or anecdotes, but it should be supplemented with scholarly sources like O’Rourke et al. (2014) when making academic or policy recommendations (Rae-Dupree, 2008; Claro, Paunesku, & Dweck, 2016).

Expanded discussion: The distinction between journalistic and scholarly coverage matters when you need to move from description to critical evaluation. Journalistic pieces, such as Rae-Dupree’s New York Times article (2008), excel at making research accessible: they synthesize findings, highlight prominent researchers’ viewpoints, and show real-world applications. These features help introduce readers to the concept of growth mindset and its appeal. However, journalists typically summarize secondary sources rather than present primary data, and they often omit detailed methodology, participant demographics, and the nuanced discussion of limitations that researchers use to qualify their claims (Rae-Dupree, 2008). For example, a newspaper account might report that “students persisted more” after a mindset intervention without reporting how persistence was measured, how large the improvement was, or whether results varied by prior achievement level—details that are essential to evaluating the implication and transferability of findings (Paunesku et al., 2015; Sisk et al., 2018).

By contrast, scholarly articles enable readers to assess the credibility and scope of findings. The CHI paper’s technical details show how the growth mindset was instantiated as an incentive structure in an educational game and how player persistence was operationalized and measured (O’Rourke et al., 2014). This helps scholars and practitioners understand mechanisms—why and under what conditions an intervention works—rather than only that it works. Mechanistic insights are crucial for adapting interventions to new populations or settings, scaling up programs, or integrating them with other pedagogical strategies (Dweck, 2006; Yeager & Dweck, 2012). Moreover, conference proceedings and peer-reviewed journals include references to previous empirical work, allowing readers to trace evidence across multiple studies and to place a single study in a broader evidence base (Claro et al., 2016; Paunesku et al., 2015).

Practical implications for research and writing: When composing a research paper on growth mindset, use the New York Times article (Rae-Dupree, 2008) for engaging introductions, public reactions, and to illustrate the societal relevance of the topic. For empirical claims, interventions, and policy recommendations, rely on peer-reviewed sources such as O’Rourke et al. (2014) and other primary studies (Blackwell et al., 2007; Claro et al., 2016). Always report critical details—sample, measures, design, outcomes, and limitations—so readers can judge the strength of the evidence. In-text APA citations make explicit the origin of claims and allow readers to find the original studies; for example, cite O’Rourke et al. (2014) when discussing the design of game-based incentives and Rae-Dupree (2008) when referencing media coverage or public framing of growth mindset.

Reference citation (APA) for the New York Times article requested in the assignment:

Rae-Dupree, J. (2008, July 6). If you’re open to growth, you tend to grow. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/business/06dweck.html

References

  • Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78(1), 246–263. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x
  • Claro, S., Paunesku, D., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(31), 8664–8668. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1608207113
  • Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.
  • Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95(2), 256–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.95.2.256
  • O’Rourke, E., Haimovitz, K., Ballweber, C., Dweck, C. S., & Popovic, Z. (2014). Brain points: A growth mindset incentive structure boosts persistence in an educational game. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2014). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557127
  • Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015). Mind-set interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement. Psychological Science, 26(6), 784–793. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615571017
  • Rae-Dupree, J. (2008, July 6). If you’re open to growth, you tend to grow. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/business/06dweck.html
  • Sisk, V. F., Burgoyne, A. P., Sun, J., Butler, J. L., & Macnamara, B. N. (2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets related to academic achievement? Psychological Science, 29(4), 549–571. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617739704
  • Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), 302–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2012.722805
  • Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

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