TC faculty member Xiaodong Lin has received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to probe what motivates students to pursue an interest in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math). Working in 13 New York City–area schools, Lin and Stanford University social psychologist Carol Dweck will test the impact of two classroom-based motivational instruction programs on students’ performance in STEM courses: a neurocognitive approach that teaches students that their minds and brains can literally change and grow through hard work; and a social-historical approach using stories of how famous scientists such as Albert Einstein and Marie Curie struggled to achieve their breakthrough discoveries.

Published Friday, Dec. 7, 2012