Apr 29, 2025

In their empirical review, Kroeper and colleagues (2025) advance the study of social belonging in higher education by shifting the conversation from student-level psychology to institutional responsibility. Their goal is to help higher education leaders not only ask who gets to belong on campus—but why, and what can be done about it. PDF

Mar 10, 2025

Teachers with growth mindset beliefs inspire student motivation, increase belonging, and encourage students to seek help—all of which can lead to better academic performance. But here’s the problem: students cannot read their teachers’ minds. They can only infer their teachers’ beliefs by observing their teachers’ behavior, and a recent paper by our team suggests that teacher beliefs are not always clearly communicated. PDF

Sep 20, 2022

In this AskPsychSessions feature, Marianne speaks with Dr. Katie Kroeper of Sacred Heart University about fixed versus growth faculty mindsets and how they impact students.

May 20, 2022

Teachers want to help their students thrive in school and in life—it’s one of the top-cited reasons for entering the teaching profession. But creating classroom environments that inspire and sustain student motivation can be challenging.

Dec 6, 2023

In Aug. 2023, Sacred Heart University (SHU) launched its first ever Inclusive Excellence Fellows Cohort, an initiative designed to bring together faculty and staff members to lead efforts that support the university’s goal of inclusive excellence. PDF

Sep 2023

Political psychology is an energizing topic to teach, but it can also be a challenging one. This is because it requires students to talk about sensitive issues that can elicit strong emotions and opinions. When controversial topics are front-and-center in the classroom, it’s important to proactively establish a positive and productive learning environment where students feel comfortable expressing their own ideas and perspectives, while also being brave enough to hear and learn from the perspectives of their classmates. PDF

Sep 26, 2018

There is mounting evidence that undergraduate students can benefit greatly from being mentored by graduate students, in terms of skill acquisition and academic performance. Often mentors can enrich and integrate the skills learned in undergraduate research programs and fill in the knowledge gaps left by coursework. PDF