Before, when I would hear the word 'grit' I would think of Clint Eastwood. A strong, silent figure standing in solidarity with a cigarette and a 5 o'clock shadow; this embodiment of grit refuses to smile and takes no prisoners. Tough and strong, grit is essentially a cowboy. So how did my association of the word grit evolve from Clint Eastwood to the resilient five year old that still raises her hand after offering an incorrect answer? Let me explain...
Students with Grit
The hot topic in education as of late is teaching students to be more gritty. We are slowly backing away from adhering to each student's intelligence modality and guiding them to think outside their neurological comfort zone. Encouraging students to make mistakes and pick themselves up afterwards will build a more resilient and courageous child. Rather than driving towards a product of high achievement, we are now putting more thought into the process itself. To me, this enables students to learn from their mistakes and adapt to the post-education world with more ease. Angela Duckworth, the pioneer in 'grit research,' highlighted in her TED talk that grittiness is tied to endurance. Duckworth says:
"Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint."In her research, Duckworth also noted grit to be a stronger indicator of success than IQ score. Students that refuse to give up or shut down after a failure are more likely to follow through on their goals and dreams. Embracing a growth mindset will also help students achieve more grittiness; when they understand that intelligence is not fixed, but can be developed, students are more likely to invest in their learning (and thinking).
Gritty Balance
Why limit the concept of grit to just our students? As a teacher recently aware just how fixed my mindset has been, can I be grittier about helping my students achieve grit? Though building wide culture takes years to mold and cultivate, it's time we become more gritty. This can pose as a challenge for many schools in the era of accountability. With emphasis on test scores at an all time high, it's difficult to nurture the process when so much demand is on the final product. We find ourselves in a constant trade off of depth of understanding versus breadth of material. Teachers and school leaders will need to find that balance between appeasing test score expectations and planting the seeds of grit. The initial stages will be tough, as instructional time will need to be supplemented with 'Grit 101.' However, after the first blossom, we will see students applying what they've learned and persevering. We could enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Collaboration
How does your building facilitate grit?
Hi Brianna,
ReplyDeleteGreat thought you bring up! I agree that "grit" is something that students need to be taught if we want them to be successful in life. When education becomes so focused on the "result" versus the process and the learning process is lost I feel that it is a injustice to those kids. I think this is why I see so much anxiety in my students increase year by year as students today lack the skills to push through an obstacle. They just want the answer and to be done. Do you feel that in an age of social media and inter-connectivity that produces instant information gratification via the web that our students are losing the will to persevere? How do you think we balance teaching our students to have "grit" within an age of standardized testing and the internet? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Sincerely,
Ben Feight
4th Grade Teacher
Technology Educator of the Year for the State of Iowa (2014)
http://techinasecforclassrooms.blogspot.com/
Hi Ben,
DeleteThank you for the taking the time to read my take on grittiness! I agree that without the skills to push through an obstacle, we are seeing more anxious students; it is unfortunate that under the strain of standardized testing we are rushed to focus on the result rather than take advantage of those teachable moments.
Even in my kindergarten classroom I question if instant information gratification is a factor inhibiting grit. I wonder if explicit lessons on perseverance and opportunities to apply these newfound skills in the 21st century would be a start to achieving that balance. Perhaps a project based assessment that requires critical thinking and technology would suffice; admittedly technology integration is a professional weakness of mine so I would have to think about this more. I know that when teaching students coding for the first time, many wanted to give up easily and it opened up a window for teaching. Coding is a great 21st century skill that also requires grit (at least for me it does!). I'd love to hear your thoughts as well!
Bri
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHi Brianna,
DeleteTrying to teach grit I've found that I've had to get creative at times when implementing it. It is hard because I always want to make sure that I'm not giving the students instant information gratification myself. When I first started teaching like so many other new teachers, wait-time was not a strength of mine. As a caring teacher you don't want to see your students struggle, but I've learned since that giving my students longer wait-time is rewarding for my students in the long run. I always start out my math classes with a math problem on the board that I want them to figure out on their own first. After they have worked for about 5-10 minutes (depending on the length of the problem) we then talk about it. My students initial response to the process of not having any help to begin with was frustrating for them, but now then tell me not to help them because they want to solve the problem without my help.
I think a project-based assessment that uses critical thinking and technology would be a great idea, but I always make sure that I'm not just adding technology to say, "I'm adding technology!" Adding the technology piece I always try to make sure that it is meaningful as with the rest of what I teach. One project my students recently began was collaboratively working on publishing an iBook for download on iTunes. Using Google Docs to work together collaboratively allowed the students to work simultaneously and allowed me to give them feedback at the same time. The younger grades are one area that I will admit that I have been trying to develop more understanding of as to better integrate technology with. I almost wonder if basic keyboarding would be the first hill to climb with Kindergarten. I have tried Google Draw with a class of first graders with some success.
Coding has been a great new skill to show my students that has required my own personal grit too. I think moments like that though are great for students to see. Too many teachers feel like they need to be perfect for students all the time, but when teaching grit I think it would help create a more personal model for the students to see if it's coming from the teacher experiencing it. Students love to help the teacher out. I started teaching social studies with the use of Minecraft, which I had never played before. So, I had a group of my own students become my personal "Minecraft Crew" helping to teach me the basics of Minecraft. It was a great first hand experience for my students to see how I handled a tough situation. Do you think more students would benefit from seeing the teacher struggle first hand? Would this help teach grit in a more personal way? Keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
Ben