Cognitive Activation and Cooperative Learning: Does Teaching Quality Make a Difference for At-Risk Students’ Growth Mindset?

This cross-level study addresses the question of (1) whether cognitive activation and cooperative learning predict students’ growth mindset and (2) whether these aspects of high-quality teaching buffer disadvantages associated with individual students’ at-risk status. As an outcome, we examine students’ growth mindset in mathematics, which can be understood as a coping strategy that reflects to what extent students believe they can improve their skills through effort, input and learning strategies (Hattie, 2023).