#akedchat Archive
#akedchat is a great way for Alaska-based educators to share teaching strategies, educational resources, and more.
Monday September 19, 2016
11:00 PM EDT
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Welcome to : State your name, location, and something awesome you saw/did last week!
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I'm in! (at least until dinner is ready!)
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Let’s chat about “Student Grit" tonight.
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Laura Hilger, Anchorage, part of a powerful discussion with educators discussing equity at the team retreat
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Damon Hargraves, Kodiak, I started a new tech committee for our school district. I’m excited to get that going!
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Q1 Define “Student Grit”, what does it mean to you?
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A1 ability to get into something and dig - through the good times and bad
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A1: Grit is sticking to your goals are for the long haul using checking/adjusting while maintaining your character and moral fiber
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A1: It's also taking on risky or rigorous goals so there is challenge in what you're trying to accomplish
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Grit is perseverence: Being able to keep going when things get tough or go wrong. Not giving up!
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apologies my kid is doing a COD download - slowing me down - I'll be with you in a minute
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Q2 Is grit something that is important to be successful? Why?
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Sue, 3rd Grade Teacher in Fort Yukon. Had a great time exposing my students to the lower 48 via mysteryskype last week!
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Grit is so important! The more inspirational people I meet, I realize the thing they have in common is that they kept going!
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Q2: I feel like self-awareness of grit level comes first because you have to know where you are first before you can get better
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awesome, I bet it was beautiful
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Q2: Practicing grit leads to success, but starts in small ways for some while others w/ high levels of grit can take huge risks!
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You can't display grit if you dont encounter hardship or failure. You can think you have grit, but what really happens?
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what about those people who seem to just naturally have grit?
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agree about the risk-taking!
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Yes, those are the ones who take the big leaps right away, almost all of their lives.
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I thought I had Grit, but last year was so challenging for me. Was really pushed past my extremes, so now I know what my Grit is!
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I agree that failure is part of the process.
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not sure about actual hardship or failure, but real/meaningful challenges for sure
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I feel like even the high fliers of grit have to experience failure at some point in order to know their compass for the future.
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Good job, I hope this year is better.
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Is the a specific subject for tonight?
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Those people usaully have a goal, they can tolerate things because they are working towards something!
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That’s a good way to say it.
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Q3 How do students demonstrate grit in school? Do they/can they have an opportunity?
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More supportive admin & mentors makes a big difference to have that kind of support. Support to get independence!
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A3 I think they do not get as much opportunity as they should - it could be more and more realistic
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we have some “inquiry” classes that students can take. These are excellent opportunities for students to test themselves
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I think students demonstrate grit in school -- sometimes just by showing up against odds
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A3: Ss need to have opportunities to feel/see grit, develop self-awareness of their own grit. Comes w/ consistent goal monitoring
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projects about things kids are truly interested can allow them to demonstrate grit
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A3 I agree, we need to provide our kids with more REAL/Authentic opportunities. Not just realistic, but REAL.
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I think much of it is learned behavior. If you are told you can't do something you either believe it or chose to prove them wrong
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doesn't necessarily have to be a project they chose - but one that somehow challenges them
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when they run into a roadblock and you hear "I am GOING to make this WORK"that's grit
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I love my GeniusHour. Students can experiment to make things, doesn't turn out, so they try again next day.
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even thought they may not know HOW they will do that when they say it
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Agreed, we have to be really careful when we say CAN’T. That’s a potentially devastating word for many kids.
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A3: How do we cultivate an internal vision of high expectations?
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Show grit when doing work with new concepts: multiplication, reading, writing, code, PE games...
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Our teachers need the freedom to try new things too. Sometimes that means allowing for measured failure.
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do they usually find things that are challenging enough for that? is that the norm or the exception?
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Cultivate an internal dialogue that encourages kids to intellectually explore without fearing failure
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Even simple things like making a mask has been an interesting process. First ones were too small/Figuring out eye holes.
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Q4 How can we teach grit? How do you teach grit in your school?
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We do something similar at . Often we have to encourage kids to scale down projects
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That's a good point - grit looks very different with every kid - for some it's the little things!
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A4: fine line between grit and quit - finding the balance
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A4: Ask this a lot: What are you going to do about that?, personalizing goals, putting Ss in the driver's seat of problem-solving
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A4 Project based learning is a great way to develop Grit. Allow for failure. Allow students to regroup and try again and again.
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I do lot of story-telling/modeling for students: Draw on my own experiences or my 2 boys. They really connect to it & refer to it
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A4: Incorporate time into the day for Ss to analzye where they are on their goals, and next steps, learn from reflection.
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agree - coding programs like scratch or microworlds, also minecraft - great opportunities
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A4: Having some grit=having a life. Ss need to feel and see struggle w/ life in general, and see adults having it as well
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helps them to know what grit "looks like" - it's not just a skill, it's like a virtue!
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Q4.1 (side question) How can we make school flexible enough to allow grit to develop?
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A4:1 - that's not a side question that's THE question! end scheduled 45 minute periods and courses designated by discrete content
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A4.1: Make Ss part of the teaching and learning design process that includes them incorporating personalized goals
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Q5 How can be better make failure an expected part of the learning process? Should we?
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A4:1 and that's just for starters! It's the missing piece
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Bingo!!! Ok, now how do we actually do that…
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A5: I don't like to think of it as failure so much as I like to think of it as instant feedback - try again a different way
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I have 30 min flex time after our ELA & Math lessons so students who struggle can continue to work at their pace.
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well I would tell you but then you'd use it to make millions
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What about the students to aren’t struggling?
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Failure should be normailzed because not everyone will "learn" something the first time they are exposed to it and that is ok
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Failing is still learning…right? Let’s get that one straight.
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as long as we try to instill grit about abstract skills/concepts out of context it's difficult!
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A5: Flexible scheduling is step. Other is sharing our stories, build C of transparency where learning=vulnerability is celebrated
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They get that flex time to explore their own interests: reading, ipad, makerspace...
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Yes, it has to be part of the culture
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not all schools do that - I applaud the ones who do!
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Q6 How do students know that grit is a skill worth developing? Can they demonstrate proficiency?
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A5: As saying goes, a goal without a plan is just wish and it's easy to hide from grit when not given time to examine progress.
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I taught preschool for years before moving up to Elementary, so for me, its a non-negotiable!
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perfect preparation for that type of thinking!!
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A6: Mastery of grit is in the journey, see their progress on their goals, be able to discuss the highs and lows, see success
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why do we ditch the preschool model after preschool?? it's all about exploration and challenges
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develop a GRIT-o-METER that students can check in with: It's hard, what do I do next? Seek help, try a new way...etc
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I like this element of reflection, so important.
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One more questions coming up.
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Q7 What other ideas do you have about opportunities for students to develop grit?
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YES! Giving them a process to follow within their journey to help them navigate. SO important!
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Yes! After last year, I wanted to go back to get my PHD & develop a K-12 model that follows the PK model.
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a7: internships, workstudy, self-designed study, senior projects, science fairs, lego league... on and on
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A7: I'd like to see S panels where they share their stories on grit, what they see as impactful w/ growing grit, suggestions
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I have always wondered why we give those models to young children then promptly scrap it when they hit 6yo!
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Give them a chance to mentor someone. Had my 3rd graders help KG with writing. So powerful to be on the other side of it!
