Lecture Notes on Grit in Education

Introduction

• Speaker: Joseph Geni
• Transitioned from management consulting to teaching at the age of 27.
• Taught seventh-grade math in NYC public schools.

Observations in Teaching

• Noticed that IQ was not the only differentiator between students.
• Some high IQ students struggled, while some lower IQ students excelled.
• Belief: All students could learn the material with effort.

Shift to Psychology

• Transitioned from teaching to studying psychology to better understand motivation and learning.
• Investigated success factors beyond IQ in various challenging environments:
  • West Point Military Academy (cadets' retention)
  • National Spelling Bee (children's advancement)
  • Rookie teachers in tough neighborhoods (staying power and effectiveness)
  • Private companies (salespeople's job retention and earnings)

Key Finding: Grit

• Definition of Grit:
  • Passion and perseverance for long-term goals.
  • Stamina to stick with future goals over years.
  • Living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.
• Grit emerged as a significant predictor of success in all studies, not determined by social intelligence, appearance, health, or IQ.

Grit in Schools

• Conducted a study in Chicago public schools with high school juniors:
  • Administered grit questionnaires and tracked graduation rates.
  • Grittier students had higher graduation rates, even when controlling for factors like family income and test scores.

Current Understanding and Challenges

• Surprising lack of scientific knowledge on how to instill grit in children.
• Common questions from educators and parents about building grit and work ethic remain largely unanswered.
• Talent alone does not equate to grit; many talented individuals lack follow-through.
  • Data suggest grit can be unrelated to or inversely related to measures of talent.

Building Grit: Growth Mindset

• Growth Mindset (developed by Carol Dweck at Stanford):
  • Belief that learning ability can change with effort.
  • Children exposed to growth mindset concepts are more likely to persevere through failure.

Conclusion and Call to Action

• Need for further exploration and testing of ideas to build grit in children.
• Emphasis on measurement of success and learning from failures.
• A call for educators and parents to be gritty in their efforts to foster grit in children.

Closing

• Thank you for attending. (Applause)