Faculty Mindset, Goal Orientation, and Likelihood of Seeking Feedback About Teaching

Growth mindset and learning goal orientation are related to positive outcomes and experiences for both students and instructors in the higher education context. The present study examined growth mindset and learning goal orientation toward teaching as predictors of instructors’ likelihood of seeking feedback about their teaching. Considering that all feedback may not be perceived as equally valuable, we also examined the sources from which instructors were likely to seek feedback. Full-time faculty members (n = 103) responded to measures of general mindset, teaching mindset, teaching goal orientation, and likelihood of seeking feedback about teaching from multiple sources. They reported being more likely to seek feedback from students and department colleagues than from more distant colleagues. Learning goal orientation mediated the relationship between teaching mindset and likelihood of seeking feedback from students; instructors with more of a learning goal orientation reported a more growth-oriented mindset for teaching and greater likelihood of seeking feedback from students. We conclude that instructors who are learning goal-oriented are more likely to perceive teaching as a skill to be developed and thus are more likely to seek feedback, especially from students and close colleagues. Professional development programs (and reward systems in universities) may do well to focus on encouraging learning goal orientation in order to improve instructor performance.