Grit Over Grades

Jack, Gordon

Smith, Tovia. (March 17, 2014). Can focus on ‘grit’ work in school cultures that reward grades? MindShift. KQED. Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/can-focus-on-grit-work-in-school-cultures-that-reward-grades/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29.

Summary

This is a print version of a piece that ran on NPR’s Morning Edition examining the role of “grit” plays in education.  Educators increasingly see “grit”, or persistence in difficult tasks, as a key indicator for school success.  The question this story explores is whether this character trait can be taught or not.  The article profiles schools that are shifting away from focusing on achievement and towards a system that rewards effort, persistence, and even failure.  These schools are eliminating words like “gifted” and “smart” from their interactions with students in favor of language that emphasizes a growth mindset.

Not all educators are on board with this trend, however.  Alfie Kohn argues that this is another education fad that is keeping us from making the reforms we really need to make. “The benefits of failure are vastly overstated,” Kohn argues, “and the assumption that kids will pick themselves up and try even harder next time, darn it — that’s wishful thinking.” When schools begin to evaluate kids on these kinds of character traits, we run the risk of sending the message that if you don’t have grit, you’re not a good kid.

Evaluation

I found this article interesting because it presents a balanced view of this topic that I haven’t seen before.  Evaluating a student’s work is easy compared with evaluating character traits like grit.  Still, I favor the shift away from emphasizing results and focusing instead on process.  By promoting growth mindsets, we help students see that being smart isn’t something one is born with, but rather something one works at.  I also like the comment by Angela Duckworth, the researcher who coined the term grit. “I don’t think people can become truly gritty and great at things they don’t love,” Duckworth says. “So when we try to develop grit in kids, we also need to find and help them cultivate their passions. That’s as much a part of the equation here as the hard work and the persistence.”  Helping students develop their passions is something teacher-librarians are well suited to do. By working with teachers, we can incorporate more choice into assignments to allow students the chance to pair an interest with the subject being learned.

7 Talks for Inspiring Transformed Education

Samimi-Moore, S. (2013, May 9). 7 talks for inspiring transformed education [Web log entry]. Retrieved from http://blog.ted.com/2013/05/09/7-talks-for-inspiring-transformed-curriculums/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TEDBlog+%28TEDBlog%29

Compiled for Education Week 2013, this blog showcases seven TEDTalks that discuss innovative ways in which schools and curriculum are being transformed around the world.

Dan Meyer: Math class needs a makeover; March 2010 (11:39) - Meyer discusses why students in the US do not retain math processes, why that is detrimental to society as a whole, and what can be done to combat it.

Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together; February 2002 (21:25) - Former US astronaut Jemison says that "The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity."

Liz Coleman's call to reinvent liberal arts education; February 2009 (18:41) - Coleman postulates that traditional educational systems be transformed into cross-disciplinary, hands-on learning environments.

Shimon Schocken: The self-organizing computer course; June 2012 (16:26) - In his talk, Schocken discusses the power of self-learning. He, along with Noam Nisan, developed curriculum that later moved online and became the first MOOC. Schocken states, "Self-study, self-exploration, self-empowerment -- these are the virtues of a great education."

Geoff Mulgan: A short intro to the Studio School; July 2011(6:16) - To combat student drop-out rates and dissatisfaction of employers on employability of people coming out of school, the UK developed a school where 80% of the curriculum is taught through practical projects. Mulgan says that, "You work by learning, and you learn by working."

Tyler DeWitt: Hey science teachers -- make it fun; November 2012 (14:11) - DeWitt noticed that students in his science classroom were not understanding the material presented in the textbook. He found a way to bring the material to life by means of demonstrations and stories. Through this method, students are more apt to understand an retain the information.

Kiran Bir Sethi teaches kids to take charge; November 2009 (9:32) - Sethi, founder of a school in India, declares [I'm paraphrasing her here] that when learning is embedded in real world context -- when the boundaries between school and life are blurred -- children go through a journey of aware (see a change), enable (be changed), and empower (lead the change).

For Better Or Worse? Technology and Student Writing

Michelle Windell

How Do Tech Tools Affect the Way Students Write? http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/how-do-tech-tools-affect-the-way-students-write/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

The recent PEW Research report presents data collected from almost 2500 teachers on how they see technology impacting students’ writing. On the positive side, technology fuels students’ creativity and enthusiasm. Students are writing much more now than their teachers did in middle and high school. They are more inclined to be thoughtful in their writing, because new technologies give them a wider audience. They are also more inclined to improve their writing, based on peer feedback in shared documents. A downside of technology on student writing is that it tends to be more informal than in the past...a carry over from facebook? Also, students have shorter attention spans, and they struggle with writing longer pieces. And of course there is the matter of citing one’s sources, which most students do not do well. This issue is difficult for teachers to address, as they are often unclear themselves on proper citation of digital resources. In spite of the negatives, most teachers view affects on student writing favorably, and are willing to address the negatives. This article didn’t hold any surprises, but we would expect to be the case is now supported by this research.

Great Teachers Don't Teach

Duncan, Laura

Johnson, B. (2013, June 28).  Great teachers don't teach.  [Web log comment.]  Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/great-teachers-do-not-teach-ben-johnson?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-greatteacherquote

This article drives home the point that, while there are many important qualities that make an excellent teacher, perhaps the most important quality is a willingness to put the student in the driver's seat.  The author's sites his own learning experiences, describing a class he took in college, in which the students participated in a number of psychological experiences.  Rather than merely being lectured to or simply discussing theories, the students directly participated in psychological theories, and the author argues that this form of learning had the greatest impact on his long-term knowledge.  Thus, he encourages project-based learning, in which students learn and apply skills in a real scenario, rather than simply thinking about them theoretically.

This is a valuable article - it emphasizes the value of participation, engagement and higher order thinking and encourages teachers to move away from a passive teaching approah.

Ideas for the Development of a School or Public Library Virtual Learning Commons

Fong, Kevin

Journal Article

 

Henry, K., Lagos, A., & Berndt, F. (2012). Bridging the literacy gap between boys and girls: An  opportunity for the National Year of Reading 2012. The Australian Library Journal. 61(2), 143-150.

Complete Proposal

 Berndt, F., Henry, K. & Lagos, A. (n.d.). Book Quest; a reading adventure for boys. Retrieved from http://bookquest2120.wordpress.com/contact/

 Video Trailer

Berndt, F., Henry, K. & Lagos, A. (n.d.). Book Quest; a reading adventure for boys trailer. Retrieved from http://bookquest2120.wordpress.com/book-trailers/

 

The article; Bridging the Literacy Gap between Boys and Girls presents not only an overview of  the issues of  literacy amongst boys but also a number of strategies to improve their literacy that culminates in the authors’ presentation of their suggested reading program for boys. Overall the article is too brief and does not fully express the complexities that encompass the low literacy levels of boys. With that being said; the article does accomplish its secondary purpose of providing an impetus for further thought on what needs to be done to improve the literacy levels amongst boys.

 

The authors' original program proposal; Book Quest: A Reading Adventure for Boys from which this article is based is a more appropriate expression of their research and thoughts on improving the literacy levels of boys which included  elements such as the use of technology to create book trailers, weekly gaming activities and participation in a reading advisory service for their peers that could be easily be implemented in the development of a school or public library VLC. In addition the authors produced a video trailer that both captures the imagination of the viewer and raises their curiosity about the program.

Lowering the voting age: Children’s choice awards are a great way to get kids excited about reading

Von Drasek, Lisa (2012). Lowering the voting age: Children’s choice awards are a great way to get kids excited about reading School Library Journal, 58(5), 38-40.
submitted by Kathryn Whitehouse
   
    Some years ago, I performed a volunteer project of creating and administering a California Young Reader Medal contest. I read the nominated picture books to each classroom over a 5 week period-- one book per visit. At the sixth week I passed out ballots. I created paper ballots with color thumbnails of the book covers and I verbally described each book to remind the kids of the story. I collected their votes, tallied them, and announced a winner. It was a fun project for me, and an engaging project for the kids.

    Von Drasek repeats this experiment every year for her New York City elementary students, and has never found the experience to be anything less than impactful. Students are thrilled to be consulted for their opinions, bring enlightened discernment to their deliberations, and take ownership of the process. They eagerly await the award announcement to see if their choices matched the award results. But Von Draske sees an even bigger payoff in how these events support the Common Core by encouraging critical thinking. Van Drasek also finds these events an obvious avenue of collaboration with teachers as they use the both the content of these nominee titles ( for language arts and social studies connections) and the voting process (for math and graphing connections) for deep curriculum support. She also finds teachers appreciate working with newer quality titles as a pleasant break from older titles, and are invigorated by their students’ intense engagement. Many states offer young readers’ choice awards (including California). But schools could easily customize an event to support their curriculum and examine nominees from Caldecott, Newbery, Geisel, Belpre, or Coretta Scott King.   

If I were to repeat my previous project and had only one day to accomplish this activity, I would consider something different. I would employ as many readers as classrooms. Each reader would visit each classroom to read his or her book. In an hour, a classroom would have had four visitors and have had four nominee books read aloud. The students would then vote using a Google forms survey instead of paper slips. This could be done on the teacher’s lap top one at a time, or with laptops in the classroom. The survey results would already be collected and ready for sharing. On a practical level, it would be done one grade at a time. 

But I much prefer Van Drasek’s less hurried approach for its ability to impart varied and significant curriculum connections over a longer time period, and for its ability to sustain young readers’ interest.

Demonstrating Our Care
entry by Kathryn Whitehouse

Nesi, O.M. (May/June 2012). The transformative power of care. Knowledge Quest: Journal of the Association of School Librarians 40, 5. p. 8-15.

Is your current position merely a vehicle for paying the bills, or are you called to your current profession? If you feel genuinely called to school librarianship, then you understand what it means to care about school libraries. You will also deeply understand this article and perhaps be tempted, as I am, to tear it from the magazine, copy it, share it, save it in my journal, incorporate its major points in my SLIS e-portfolio, and use it to communicate passionately to school stakeholders why the school library is deserving of investment.

Some readers may feel this article shares significant conceptual overlaps with self help and business management guides. That is OK in my book. While librarianship has much to offer the world at large in terms of inquiry, the better run retail/service businesses have much to offer librarianship in the way of customer service and maintaining positive internal and external customer relationships. Nesi suggests communication and service based strategies librarians can use to increase the quality of their interactions with children, school colleagues, and administrators. She then relates how caring can be felt as librarians deliver instruction and coach children and colleagues to become more efficient learners. The suggestions for “reading guidance the caring way-with children” is especially impactful as it takes a respectful approach to students’ sometimes bumpy road to literacy. This article even touches upon collection development and care of the physical environment.

Nesi’s takeaway point is that care has the power to transform. School librarians can create significant impacts for students, colleagues, and school libraries by being “genuinely and consistently attentive, heedful, concerned, engaged, and interested” in their lifelong journey to reading and learning. I hope this inspiring article finds its way to your reading in-box.   

entry by Kathryn Whitehouse

Powering Down for School

Crompton, Marc

Prensky, M. (2008). Turning On the Lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.Retrieved from ERIC via EBSCOHost.

Prensky presents a straightforward argument where school used to be a place where students were enlightened with new knowledge of the world outside of their immediate experience and students today actually "power down" for their in-school time.  The school used to be the fountain of knowledge and the teacher was the one who introduced new ideas to students and explained how the world worked.  As the students are exposed to an ever increasing amount of information through TV and digital sources, the teacher is less needed to introduce those new ideas.  Unfortunately, the education system has remained stuck in the content delivery mode, giving students information that they already have or have no interest in.  The role of the education system needs to become more one of helping students build context and meaning around the information that they already have.

This article was published 4 years ago and while the basic idea that education needs to be process not content focused is no longer new to anyone who is paying attention, the idea of students actually "powering down" as Prensky calls it is a concept that is new to me.  I love the way he uses the light bulb analogy to bring a sense of urgency to the issue while explaining a component that is not necessarily evident to all.  The concept that the majority of students are shutting off for the school day simply because of a lack of relevance is scary.  His claim is that 50-70% of middle and high school students are bored.  It means that not only are schools not doing their job, they are actually harming students.  This is unforgivable. 

K-12 schools, especially those like the university-prep school that I teach in, hide behind the need for quantifiable measures to get our students into the competitive universities that they are applying to.  If student X needs to get into Ivy League University Y, they need to have a GPA of Z and have received a 5 on at least 4 AP exams.  Then we say that if they want to succeed at said university, they'd better be experienced at writing intense standardized tests.  My feeling is that this attitude is less and less true.  The universities aren't stupid.  They're dealing with the same issues that we are.  Students need to know how to build knowledge not regurgitate facts.  Their assessment and evaluation methods will have to shift just as ours do.  I'm sure in many instances, they are way ahead of us.  So let's encourage inquiring and help students to build their own knowledge.  Worry less about content and let's get the students powered back up!