The moderating effect of mindset on the relationship between university students’ critical feedback-seeking and learning

Mindset is believed to influence students' learning outcomes, but there is a paucity of research examining its relationship to students' learning choices (e.g., critical feedback-seeking and revision choices) as a pathway to improving learning and performance. This study examines the relationships between mindset, critical feedback-seeking, and learning. Undergraduate students (n = 155) at a University in Western Canada completed a mindset pre-test, played an online assessment game in which they designed three posters, and completed a post-test measuring their learning of graphic design principles. For each poster, the game tracked students’ choices to seek confirmatory or critical feedback and to revise their posters, as well as their poster performance. Findings show that the more the students seek critical feedback, the more they revise their posters and the better they perform across the game. Theoretical implications resulting from mediation analyses indicate that revision fully explains the link between critical feedback-seeking and performance. Moreover, moderation analyses of mindset revealed differential results on the relationship between critical feedback-seeking and learning, depending on the conceptualization of the mindset construct. Implications of these results with regards to the conceptualization of mindset are discussed. •This study examines the relationships between mindset, critical feedback-seeking, and learning.•Undergraduates (n = 155) completed a mindset pre-test, played a game, and completed a post-test measuring their learning.•Critical feedback-seeking was positively associated with learning only for students who endorsed a strong growth mindset.•Theoretical implications indicate that revision fully explains the link between critical feedback-seeking and performance.•Practical implications include interventions that focus on revising and cultivating a growth mindset to improve learning.