Prior research into student growth mindset has suggested it positively impacts motivation (Dweck, 2016; Kelly, 2011; O’Rourke, Peach, Dweck, & Popovic, 2016; Park, Gunderson, Tsukayama, Levine, & Beilock, 2016; Perry & Drummond, 2002; Pulfrey, Buchs, & Butera, 2011) and achievement (Claro, Paunesku, & Dweck, 2016; Dweck, 2006; Paunesku, Walton, Romero, Smith, Yeager, Dweck, 2015; Yeager, Romero, Paunesku, Hulleman, Schneider, Hinojosa, Dweck, 2016).

Dweck and Yeager (2019) explained that a beneficial new direction for research could be determining which cues from the environment students use to develop their mindset. They expressed continued curiosity regarding which instructional practices might foster a growth mindset in students. In fact, they specifically cited the need to examine "teacher practices in terms of types of work given, feedback for successes and struggles, and opportunities for improvement…" (Dweck & Yeager, 2019).

Researchers of writing have also suggested the need for continued research into the affective domain of writers, including motivation, self-efficacy, and self-regulation related to writing (Bazerman, 2016; Santangelo, Harris, & Graham, 2016).

This multiple case study was conducted at the upper elementary level and explored what teachers reported about their mindset and their professional practice, how teachers fostered a growth mindset in their students, what growth-minded instructional practices they used, and what insights about the writing process emerged from four growth minded writing classrooms.

The findings help fill the gap in the literature related to growth mindset instruction in writing in upper elementary classrooms.