Physics, Failure, and Identity: What STEM Students Teach Us About Mindset and Belief

In high-stakes academic environments, especially within STEM fields, failure often feels personal—not just a reflection of academic performance but a reflection of self-worth, identity, and future potential. For many first-generation students, underrepresented minorities, and students in urban or HBCU environments, that weight is magnified by systemic inequities, internalized narratives, and lack of representation in classrooms and labs.

The 2018 study “Exploring Mindset’s Applicability to Students’ Experiences with Challenge in Transformed College Physics Courses,” published via arXiv, presents powerful qualitative data on what students experience—internally and emotionally—when confronted with difficulty in advanced physics courses. These insights go beyond content mastery. They offer a mirror into the psychological and identity-based war many students fight behind their notebooks and lab reports.

What the Research Revealed

Conducted through interviews and observational data, the study analyzed how students responded to academic challenge in “transformed” (i.e., collaborative and inquiry-based) physics classrooms. The researchers found:

• Students’ experiences of failure were deeply emotional. Responses ranged from self-doubt to panic to full-on disengagement. Many students viewed difficulty not as a normal part of learning—but as a sign that they didn’t belong.

• Mindset beliefs were tightly entangled with identity. For many students—particularly women and students of color—academic struggle reinforced painful narratives: “Maybe I’m not cut out for this,” or “People like me don’t do well in physics.”

• Peer comparison amplified fixed mindsets. When surrounded by confident or competitive peers, students who struggled often withdrew, reinforcing their own belief in being “behind” or “not smart enough.”

• Students who made positive mindset shifts were supported by instructors who normalized struggle, emphasized effort, and encouraged reflection.

This study shows us that mindset in STEM isn’t just about thinking differently—it’s about fighting for your identity in a system that often doesn’t reflect you.

The Thought Seeking Model (TSM): From Internal Collapse to Inner Clarity

The Thought Seeking Model was created to help students close the gap between the beliefs they’ve inherited and the thoughts they want to embody. In STEM classrooms, where high cognitive demands collide with low emotional support, this model becomes essential.

Here’s how TSM maps onto what these students experienced:

1. Beliefs – “If I fail, I’m not smart.” “Physics is only for geniuses.” “People like me don’t belong in science.”

2. Reinforcement – For students without a counter-narrative (mentors, inclusive teaching practices, or peer support), these beliefs go unchallenged and are reinforced by silence or microaggressions.

3. Action – Students either withdraw (mentally or physically) or mask their struggle. Without the tools to reframe, effort declines.

4. Emotions – Shame, isolation, and anxiety cloud the ability to learn. The emotional cost of failure becomes greater than the academic one.

5. Thoughts – “I don’t belong here” becomes a recurring thought pattern—unless interrupted by intentional mindset coaching or belief work.

TSM isn’t a motivational tool—it’s a transformational process. It doesn’t just cheer students on; it reconstructs the internal blueprint of identity and performance.

Applying MV-SOAR in STEM Classrooms

The MV-SOAR Model (Mindset, Values, Strengths, Obstacles, Accountability, Responsibility) expands this process into a holistic framework. It helps students take ownership of their learning journey without disconnecting from who they are.

With MV-SOAR, students don’t just “bounce back”—they rise with strategy.

Implications for Colleges, Faculty, and Academic Support

The message is clear: in STEM spaces, mindset must be activated through identity work. And that activation must be:

• Culturally responsive

• Emotionally honest

• Strategically timed

Faculty must become growth mindset facilitators, not just content experts. This includes:

• Normalizing struggle in STEM as part of the journey, not a sign of failure

• Providing reflective prompts after challenging labs or exams

• Facilitating growth-based check-ins where students assess more than grades—they assess mindset, effort, and emotional response

Institutions should also embed TSM-aligned prompts into learning modules, STEM boot camps, tutoring sessions, and peer mentorship programs.

For the Student: Your Struggle Is Not a Signal to Stop—It’s an Invitation to Grow

To every student who’s ever stared at a formula, failed a test, or cried after leaving the lab—you are not alone. What you feel isn’t a sign that you’re incapable. It’s a sign that you’re in the arena. And this is where mindsets are forged.

You don’t need to be a genius. You need to be a growth-thinker. A Thought Seeker. A SOARer.

Remember: the storm doesn’t break you. It reveals your strength.

Final Word: Resilience Has a Formula Too

In physics, we study forces that break things down or hold them together. What we don’t always study is the inner force—the belief system—that holds a student together when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

Mindset isn’t abstract. It’s the unseen variable in every equation of success. At Elevated Thoughts Academy, we make that variable visible, trainable, and sustainable through our TSM and MV-SOAR frameworks—designed not only to help students survive STEM, but to reshape it from the inside out.

Reference:

Little, A., & Ho, A. D. (2018). Exploring Mindset’s Applicability to Students’ Experiences with Challenge in Transformed College Physics Courses. arXiv:1804.07657. https://arxiv.org/abs/1804.07657