Lecture Notes: The Importance of Grit in Education

Speaker Background

• Former management consultant turned teacher.
• Taught seventh grade math in NYC public schools.
• Noticed that IQ wasn't the only determinant of student success.

Key Observations

• Strong performers didn't always have high IQ scores; smart students sometimes underperformed.
• Belief that all students could learn challenging concepts with hard work and persistence.

Transition to Psychology

• Pursued graduate studies in psychology to understand motivation and success.
• Conducted research to identify traits predicting success in various demanding environments.

Research Findings

• Studied various groups:
  • West Point cadets.
  • National Spelling Bee participants.
  • Rookie teachers in challenging areas.
  • Salespeople in private companies.
• Found that grit was the single significant predictor of success across these diverse groups.

Defining Grit

• Grit is passion and perseverance for long-term goals.
• It involves sustained effort over time, like running a marathon rather than a sprint.

Grit in Schools

• Studied grit in the Chicago public schools.
• Found that grittier students were more likely to graduate, even when controlling for other factors like income and test scores.

Challenges in Building Grit

• Science knows little about how to cultivate grit.
• Talent does not equate to grit; many talented individuals lack follow-through.
• Grit is often unrelated or inversely related to talent.

Growth Mindset as a Solution

• Concept by Carol Dweck at Stanford University.
• Belief that learning ability is not fixed and can improve with effort.
• Growth mindset encourages perseverance by challenging the notion of failure as a permanent state.

Conclusion

• Growth mindset is a promising approach, but more solutions are needed.
• Need to test and measure the effectiveness of approaches to build grit.
• Must be willing to fail and learn in the process of fostering grit in students.

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• Speaker's Closing Remark: "We need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier."