David Yeager, a Carnegie Foundation fellow and educator, presented “Mindsets that Promote Academic Tenacity” to the faculty and student body to help increase student motivation and success.

The event was sponsored by the NIU Collaborative on Early Adolescence . It was held Tuesday in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center. Yaeger discussed how various factors can impact a student’s performance in school.

“When I asked parents what was the worst part of their school career, the most replied answer was middle school,” Yeager said.

When a student believes his or her peers are better, he or she is more likely to become discouraged and his or her coursework will suffer, according to Yeager.

Stereotypes are the more notable factors that can distract students in class, according to Yeager, and criticism from teachers could also lead to student discouragement. This topic sparked discussion between the instructors and professors in the room. Yeager explained that when students receive papers back from his or her teacher with a bunch of small errors, it will cause some students to believe the teacher does not like them.

Sophomore psychology major Rachel Murphy was surprised by how much criticism may affect students academically.

“Dr. Yeager’s presentation was very interesting and eye-opening,” Murphy said. “The criticism from teachers amazes me [with] how much it impacts students in class.”

These beliefs normally start occurring in middle school, and this will cause students moral to decrease. This will also affect students as they progress through school, according to Yeager.

Yeager will give another presentation from 9 to 10 a.m. today in the Holmes Student Center. He will present “Implicit Theories of Personality Affect Resilience During the Transition to High School: Effects on Aggression, Stress and Achievement.”