Building

GRIT & RESILIENCE

A Focus on Student Learning (FOSL) Presentation
Factors that place college students at high risk

1st generation
Low Income
Disability
Mindset
(Dweck, 2005; Schreiner, Louis, Nelson, 2012)
Remedial Courses - are they the answer?
Needed by an estimated 40% of college students (Attwell et al., 2006)
Little research about subsequent effect
- Short term benefits but not a predictor of degree completion
- Possibly even 7% negative impact (Schreiner, Louis, Nelson. 2012)
- May produce a stigma that perpetuates the problem
MORE EFFECTIVE WHEN GROWTH MINDSET AND GRIT ARE TAUGHT
Shift focus toward active participation, self-regulation, & investment of
effort
Transitioning to Success

Look at successful seniors who were considered high-risk

What behaviors, resources, & strategies did they employ to help them
succeed?
Declining Student Resiliency
We have raised a generation of young people who have not been given the
opportunity to learn how to solve their own problems, to get into trouble
and find their own way out, to experience failure and realize they can
survive it, to learn how to respond [to challenges] without adult
intervention.
So now, here’s what we have: Young people going to college still unable or
unwilling to take responsibility for themselves, still feeling that if a
problem arises they need an adult to solve it.”
- Peter Gray, “Declining Student Resilience: A Serious Problem for Colleges”. Psychology Today. 9/22/15
Declining Resiliency Continued
Faculty are expected to do more handholding, lower academic standards, and not
challenge students too much.
Students are afraid to fail; they don’t take risks; they need to be certain about things.
Failure is seen as catastrophic and unacceptable.

Students email about trivial things and expect prompt replies.

Failure and struggle need to be normalized. Students are uncomfortable not being right.

Growth is achieved by striking the right balance between support and challenge.
How can we help?
Support students as they experience setbacks. Goal Setting with Obstacle Planning.
Help them see that these are a normal part of a rigorous education.
Emphasize the importance of failure in the learning process. Share personal failures.
Encourage reflection.
Encourage risk taking. Take level of difficulty into consideration in grading projects.
Instill a sense of belonging and bravery in students.
Change the perception of failure from something that should be avoided at all costs to something
essential to a meaningful education.
Personal Resiliency Builders
• Relationships
• Service
• Humor
• Inner Direction
• Perceptiveness
• Independence
• Optimism for the future
• Flexibility
• Love of Learning
• Self Motivation
• Competence
• Self Worth
• Spirituality
• Perseverance
• Creativity
• Focus on Strengths, not Weaknesses
• Patience
Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset
• Believes intelligence and talent are fixed
• Believes effort is fruitless
• Believes failures define who you are
• Hides flaws
• Avoids challenges
• Ignores feedback
• Views feedback as personal criticism
• Feels threatened by others success
• Believes intelligence and talents can be developed
• Believes effort is the path to mastery
• Believes mistakes are part of learning
• Views failure as an opportunity
• Believes failures are temporary
• Embraces challenges
• Welcomes feedback
• Views other’s success as inspirational
Tools For Teaching a Growth Mindset
● Intentional Praise
“Smart vs. Hard-Working Students”

● Share Inspiring Stories

● Teach about brain development, psychology, and neurological processes

● Effort is required and encouraged

● Learn from mistakes
MINDSETS to INFLUENCE GRIT (Dept. of Ed.,
2013)

• I can succeed at this

• My ability and confidence grow with effort
• Challenge is inevitable for success
• This work is in line with my goals, interests, and values
• I belong in this academic setting
FAMOUS FAILURES

Things don’t always work out the way we want.

What matters is what you do when you
FAIL.
GUESS WHO?
• After being cut from his high school basketball team, this famous failure went
home, locked himself in his room and cried.
Michael Jordan
Another Guess Who?

• Before she wrote this book series, she was nearly penniless, divorced,
severely depressed, and trying to raise a child on her own while attending
school and writing a novel. The first nine publishers rejected her book
before a small business man accepted
JK Rowling
One More Guess Who?

• She was demoted from her job as a news anchor because she “wasn’t fit
for television”.
Oprah Winfrey
Martin Luther King Jr.
Additional Resources
2013 US Dept. of Ed Report Promoting GRIT, Tenacity, and Perseverance: Grit Report

The Duckworth Lab at Univ. of Pennsylvania: Duckworth Study

The Resilience Project @ Stanford: Resilience Project

Jia Jiang’s 100 Days of Rejection: 100 Days of Rejection

The Science of Resiliency: Science Of Resiliency

Resiliency quiz: Resiliency Quiz

TedTalks: Scott Gellar, Carrie Green, and Eduardo Briceno