Growing up in the country, I often heard, “When you fall off a horse, get right back on again!” Although my family did not have horses, only chickens and cows, I appreciated the message about refusing to give in to minor setbacks. Whether it is called grit, perseverance, or tenacity, the refusal to give up when faced with a challenge is a key component of success, both in the classroom and in the real world.
So what is grit? In a 2013 report called Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance: Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology defines grit as, “Perseverance to accomplish long-term or higher-order goals in the face of challenges and setbacks, engaging the student’s psychological resources, such as their academic mindsets, effortful control, and strategies and tactics.” Let’s unpack that definition to get a better idea of what grit looks like in the classroom.
So what is grit? In a 2013 report called Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance: Critical Factors for Success in the 21st Century, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology defines grit as, “Perseverance to accomplish long-term or higher-order goals in the face of challenges and setbacks, engaging the student’s psychological resources, such as their academic mindsets, effortful control, and strategies and tactics.” Let’s unpack that definition to get a better idea of what grit looks like in the classroom.
Perseverance to accomplish long-term or higher-order goals
One thing that stood out to me as I was reading this report is that the drive to persevere must come from within. External pressure from teachers, parents, or peers may guide students to persist in tasks or behaviors that are important to the people around them, but often, when those external pressures disappear, so will a student’s persistence. Many college freshmen struggle academically because they no longer have their parents standing over them to make sure they prioritize their school work. In sports, students may work out during practice, but lack the motivation to keep themselves in shape during the off-season.
Grit depends on students being intrinsically motivated to reach goals that are meaningful and important to them. Sometimes, students cannot immediately make the connection between those goals and the task or lesson at hand. That is why teachers need to know their students. Knowing a student’s future goals allows a teacher to make those connections in the classroom. Then, teachers can make sure their students understand why they need to learn the material at hand. By focusing on the Application Component of the STAR Protocol and helping students to make meaningful personal connections to the material they are studying, teachers can promote intrinsic motivation in the classroom.
Grit depends on students being intrinsically motivated to reach goals that are meaningful and important to them. Sometimes, students cannot immediately make the connection between those goals and the task or lesson at hand. That is why teachers need to know their students. Knowing a student’s future goals allows a teacher to make those connections in the classroom. Then, teachers can make sure their students understand why they need to learn the material at hand. By focusing on the Application Component of the STAR Protocol and helping students to make meaningful personal connections to the material they are studying, teachers can promote intrinsic motivation in the classroom.
In the face of challenges and setbacks
While I was teaching, I often encountered students whose first instinct was to give up when faced with academic setbacks. During focus groups, a number of teachers have expressed the same frustration. As the Office of Educational Technology’s report says, “It is well documented that students from high-poverty backgrounds are particularly likely to face great stress and limited social support for academic achievement — factors which can undermine perseverance toward a wide range of goals.” So how can teachers help students learn to master these challenges, to get back on the horse, so to speak? If we look back at that definition of grit, it is through engaging their psychological resources.
Engaging the student's psychological resources
The report highlights three psychological resources, in particular, that students can engage to help them persist in the face of challenges and setbacks:
1. Academic mindsets
How do students see themselves as learners? Do they see themselves as likely to succeed or likely to fail? Do they feel safe sharing their thoughts and ideas in their school environment? Do they see any value in the work their teacher is asking them to do? Do they value hard work and learning through mistakes, or do they see struggle as the sign of a personal failing?
Recently, two of my colleagues, Bryn Chighizola and Amy Cox, wrote about the importance of the growth mindset on this blog. That is one component of academic mindsets, which also encompass students’ values and goals, as well as their beliefs about their own competence, social connectedness, and belonging. Teachers can play a role in shaping students’ academic mindsets in a number of ways, such as praising effort rather than intelligence, asking students to explain the real-world applications of their learning, and creating safe and supportive learning environments that encourage students to take academic risks.
2. Effortful control
Will students complete an unpleasant task now if it will help them to achieve a long-term goal later on? Can they avoid the siren call of social media long enough to do their homework? When working in a group, can they focus their conversation on the project they are working on, rather than on their plans for the weekend? Will they defer short-term pleasure for long-term gain? Can they pass the marshmallow test?
Many people of all ages find effortful control the hardest aspect of perseverance to manage. It can be hard to say, “No,” to another television episode, another helping of dessert, or another twenty minutes on the internet, especially when saying, “Yes,” to our goals often means hard, unappealing work with no immediate pay-off. This is a hard element to address in the classroom because so much of it comes down to choices that students make outside of school. However, teachers can remind students what they are working towards, they can have students chart their progress towards academic goals, and they can inspire students to keep trying.
3. Strategies and tactics
When students encounter an obstacle, do they have a toolbox full of strategies that can help them to overcome it? Do they know how to manage their time? How to work through a challenging text or problem? How to break a larger project into its component parts? How to set manageable goals?
Many teachers already teach study skills, time management techniques, and goal setting. Sometimes, it can be difficult for students to remember to use these tools, however. One powerful technique I have seen teachers use is to ask students to explain their thinking strategies to the class. It can be especially beneficial to ask multiple students in a class to respond to the same question. In this way, students can remind each other of the strategies they are learning.
The report cautions that grit comes with potential risks and costs. In particular, it warns of the potential for stress, anxiety, and distraction that can result from “persevering to accomplish goals that are extrinsically motivated, unimportant to the student, or in some way inappropriate for the student.” In other words, some horses may not be suitable for all riders. I see this as another reminder of how important it is for teachers to know their students. When teachers engage students in conversations about their hopes and dreams, and give them the tools they need to persevere through the obstacles they will encounter along the way, they are helping to promote grit in the classroom.
1. Academic mindsets
How do students see themselves as learners? Do they see themselves as likely to succeed or likely to fail? Do they feel safe sharing their thoughts and ideas in their school environment? Do they see any value in the work their teacher is asking them to do? Do they value hard work and learning through mistakes, or do they see struggle as the sign of a personal failing?
Recently, two of my colleagues, Bryn Chighizola and Amy Cox, wrote about the importance of the growth mindset on this blog. That is one component of academic mindsets, which also encompass students’ values and goals, as well as their beliefs about their own competence, social connectedness, and belonging. Teachers can play a role in shaping students’ academic mindsets in a number of ways, such as praising effort rather than intelligence, asking students to explain the real-world applications of their learning, and creating safe and supportive learning environments that encourage students to take academic risks.
2. Effortful control
Will students complete an unpleasant task now if it will help them to achieve a long-term goal later on? Can they avoid the siren call of social media long enough to do their homework? When working in a group, can they focus their conversation on the project they are working on, rather than on their plans for the weekend? Will they defer short-term pleasure for long-term gain? Can they pass the marshmallow test?
Many people of all ages find effortful control the hardest aspect of perseverance to manage. It can be hard to say, “No,” to another television episode, another helping of dessert, or another twenty minutes on the internet, especially when saying, “Yes,” to our goals often means hard, unappealing work with no immediate pay-off. This is a hard element to address in the classroom because so much of it comes down to choices that students make outside of school. However, teachers can remind students what they are working towards, they can have students chart their progress towards academic goals, and they can inspire students to keep trying.
3. Strategies and tactics
When students encounter an obstacle, do they have a toolbox full of strategies that can help them to overcome it? Do they know how to manage their time? How to work through a challenging text or problem? How to break a larger project into its component parts? How to set manageable goals?
Many teachers already teach study skills, time management techniques, and goal setting. Sometimes, it can be difficult for students to remember to use these tools, however. One powerful technique I have seen teachers use is to ask students to explain their thinking strategies to the class. It can be especially beneficial to ask multiple students in a class to respond to the same question. In this way, students can remind each other of the strategies they are learning.
The report cautions that grit comes with potential risks and costs. In particular, it warns of the potential for stress, anxiety, and distraction that can result from “persevering to accomplish goals that are extrinsically motivated, unimportant to the student, or in some way inappropriate for the student.” In other words, some horses may not be suitable for all riders. I see this as another reminder of how important it is for teachers to know their students. When teachers engage students in conversations about their hopes and dreams, and give them the tools they need to persevere through the obstacles they will encounter along the way, they are helping to promote grit in the classroom.
Are you interested in learning more about relationships and real-world application?
Mindy Jones, B.A. Research Associate
Mindy Jones has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a Residency Teaching Certificate from Western Washington University, with extensive coursework in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. She taught English for four years at Wapato High School, where she first received training in the STAR Protocol. As a high-school teacher, Mindy experienced first-hand the benefits of Powerful Teaching and Learning (PTL) in the classroom. Student learning and engagement increased dramatically when she began incorporating elements of PTL into her classroom planning and instruction. She joined the BERC Group in 2012 and is excited to contribute to the research that can have such a beneficial impact on student learning.
