Stephanie Ptak is an assistant professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, South Korea. She has taught English in South Korea and Spain, from elementary school to the university level. She is interested in teaching goal-setting in the classroom. Email: stephanie.ptak@gmail.com

 

Introduction

The term grit has been around for over two centuries to signify a “spirit, firmness of mind” (Online Etymology Dictionary, 2018). In the past decade, this term has gained popularity in the field of education due to a 2013 TED Talk by Dr. Angela Duckworth (TED, 2013). Dr. Duckworth spoke about her experience in the field of education and psychology, and she gave a few examples of the research she conducted in order to predict success in a variety of contexts. She stated that “one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success… it was grit” (TED, 2013).

Dr. Duckworth defined grit as “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals (TED, 2013). She then went on to describe how little was known at the time about how to foster grit in students (TED, 2013). In the decade since that original TED Talk, Dr. Duckworth has published a book where she goes into much more detail on the topic of grit and the research she has done. Additionally, many other researchers and educators have also worked to contribute to the fostering of grit in students.

With years of experience as an English instructor in South Korea, I have witnessed firsthand very similar experiences with students that Dr. Duckworth described in the original TED Talk. Some of the best English speakers do not succeed academically, and some of the strongest performers who show great progress do not begin the course that way (TED, 2013).  Like Dr. Duckworth, I strongly believe that all my students have the ability to succeed, and I hope to foster their growth not just through the course of a semester, but long into their futures. In order to promote grit in the university classroom, I have outlined six strategies below.             

 

Introduce SMART Goals

“Setting long term goals is a key part of learning to be gritty” (George Lucas Educational Foundation, 2014). However, setting goals is actually not a simple task. Teaching students how to make and evaluate their goals will help them to be more successful in their personal and professional lives (National Society of Leadership and Success, n.d.). One way to set goals is to use the SMART framework. “Each goal you set should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely” (National Society of Leadership and Success, n.d.).

Using the SMART goals strategy is beneficial to students in a number of ways. When students make their own goals following this framework, the goals are more relevant to students and can help them feel control over their destiny (George Lucas Educational Foundation, 2014). By setting attainable goals, students can reflect on their own “capabilities and constraints, such as time, finances, resources, and capacity” (National Society of Leadership and Success, n.d.). If an unattainable goal is set, it will only result in lower self-confidence and a possible reluctance to try again. Thus, using the SMART acronym to help students set goals will give them a framework for future achievement.

At the university level of English as a Foreign Language classes, I have used SMART goals for a number of semesters. In this conversation focused class, I introduce SMART goals after the first fifteen-minute conversation assessment. This is a practice assessment that is done about one-third of the way through the semester, thus students are familiar with the class structure and are well-aware of how the rest of the semester will proceed. From this fifteen-minute recorded conversation, students are prompted to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, and I am clear to highlight that knowing one’s weaknesses is important to help us grow and progress. Then, I introduce the SMART goals framework, and we discuss the five components before looking at examples to discuss whether they are SMART goals or not SMART goals. Next, students are prompted to consider their reflection on their strengths and weaknesses in order to set a few SMART goals for our class or their semester in general. Students share these with groupmates, and they all discuss together if they are SMART goals and how to edit them if need be. As part of the midterm conversation assessment and the final conversation assessment, students are prompted to reflect on their goals and the progress they have made. I stress to students that this framework can be used in any aspect of their life, and I hope they continue to use it well into their futures.          

 

Promote the idea of Growth Mindset

One’s mindset towards accomplishing a task or a goal is a crucial component in their chances of success. Dr. Carol Dweck studies mindset psychology, and there are two theories of intelligence related to mindset (Armstrong, 2019).  A fixed mindset is the idea that one’ abilities are set, or fixed, and a growth mindset is the idea that abilities can grow and develop (Armstrong, 2019).

Students’ mindsets can influence how they view effort, challenges, and making mistakes (Armstrong, 2019). Dr. Dweck’s research shows that when children learn about the brain’s growth as a response to challenge, they “tend to be more persistent in the face of failure” (TED, 2013). Discussing growth mindset with students, helping them to navigate their failures, and encouraging them to see their growth through it all can help to foster a growth mindset (Holly, n.d.).

There are a number of ways to promote a growth mindset in the classroom. For example, teachers can share stories of famously successful people who failed a number of times before their successes (Holly, n.d.). Students can choose someone they know, learn more about them independently, and share this information in groups or as a class. Thus, they can hear real life examples of people who forged ahead even in the face of failure. There are also a number of videos available online to explain to students of all ages the importance of a growth mindset. For example, the Growth Mindset Animation uses a well known children’s story to explain the theories of mindsets in a way that is easy to understand even for young learners (Cameron Lisney, 2014).

 

Continual revision and reflection

It is important for educators to schedule dedicated time for revision and reflection (Miller, 2014). Revision is not a one-time activity, and in fact revision can have various stages, such as examining one’s current work or progress, reflecting on how to improve or change, revising the work, and continuing the process again. “Reflection entails a looking forward to goals we might attain, as well as a casting backward to see where we have been” (College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University, n.d.). Reflection allows students to think about their learning progress and consider what they may or may not want to change for the future. Revision and reflection go hand in hand and are an integral part of the learning process.      

It is not uncommon for educators to have to cut certain material or activities due to time constraints, but revision and reflection are crucial in building grit in students and should not be left out. “If we want students to value grit, they need to see learning as a journey, and we need to give them time to reflect about the challenges they’ve faced, and the mistakes and revisions they’ve made (Miller, 2014). This will also help students to practice giving and receiving good critique and feedback that will help them well into the future (Miller, 2014).

In order to integrate revision and reflection into the university English classroom, I have incorporated these strategies into the three big assignments that my students will complete throughout the semester. Three times a semester, students will record a fifteen-minute conversation with two partners where they discuss the course topics and use conversation strategies practiced in class. Students then transcribe everything they have said. With this transcript, there are a series of reflection and revision questions, such as prompting students to analyze their language, correct errors, reflect on their progress, and make goals for the next part of the course. In this way, students have a dedicated space and time to regularly revise and reflect throughout the semester. 

 

Failure as an opportunity for growth

The next strategy to nurture grit in the classroom is to help students see failure as a chance to grow (Warren, 2021). A failure or a shortcoming presents an opportunity to pause, reflect, and choose how to move forward in order to grow and progress.

The failure does not mean the end of the road but instead can be seen as a bump in the road. This is beneficial to students because there will be many failures in the future, both large and small. Teachers can help prepare students for these failures and how to overcome them, which will help in their professional and personal lives. Students who do not have the grit to move past failures will possibly miss out on future success, as they hesitate to move forward. “Anxieties around failure impact attitudes to academic performance, outcomes, and motivation” (Davey-Potts, 2023).   

Teachers can help students see that failure is an opportunity to grow by modeling this attitude in class, as well as presenting activities that reframe failures in a way that leaves room for growth (Davey-Potts, 2023). First, it is helpful and motivating to know one’s strengths, as this will help students to not become overwhelmed and unable to move forward (Davey-Potts, 2023). I am careful to not use the word failure or shortcoming in class. Instead, with the university students, I use the term weak points, as this is a relatively common term in Korea. After talking about strengths, we discuss how knowing our weak points is a powerful tool because it helps us to know where to focus in order to improve. For example, in the above mentioned transcript that students complete three times a semester, there is a space for error correction. Students are prompted to find their own errors and correct them. Some students choose grammar errors, while many others choose different types of errors, such as not asking follow-up questions or not responding how they hoped to in response to a partner. This can also lead into a SMART goals activity with the responses students have written. Students often reflect in their second and third assignment that the errors or shortcomings that they pointed out were points they worked on and then improved upon in the next assignment.     

 

Build community in the classroom

Building a community of learners is the next strategy for nurturing grit in students, and this includes “providing opportunities for students to help one another (Warren, 2021). Learning is not just teacher to student, but can include student to teacher and student to student, which creates a learning-centered environment where knowledge is constructed together actively and intentionally (Charles A Dana Center, n.d.). 

By helping one another, the helpers gain confidence and skills, while the one being helped can learn not just what is being taught but can see firsthand that classmates have strengths to share with one another. Thus, they can begin to see they have their own strengths to share with others. This creates an environment where learners feel safe, learners feel comfortable making mistakes, and learners are willing to ask questions (Charles A Dana Center, n.d.). 

To build community in the university classroom where I have students with a variety of majors who meet for the first time in the first class, there are a few methods I employ every time we meet. First, students are always working in groups, and groups are assigned randomly or in a rotating order depending on the lesson focus that day. I stress that this is their team or partner, and they belong in that team for the activity or that class. Through doing this, I am trying to promote a sense of belonging in our classroom, as I never want a student to worry about finding a partner on their own (Charles A Dana Center, n.d.). I also stress the power of the team, that working together as a team will help them accomplish the task successfully by using everyone’s strengths together. This helps students to push through the activities, as they have a partner or a team to help them if need be (Charles A Dana Center, n.d.). Students often comment on the class evaluation that they learned a great deal from others in the class, as throughout the semester they had a chance to work closely with each and every classmate.  

 

Not grading formative assessments

In order to build grit, it’s important that learners do not get punished for making mistakes (Miller, 2014). The learning process associated with grit is like a journey with speed bumps, obstacles, and road blocks, and the journey itself has value (Miller, 2014). Formative assessments can thus be used as opportunities for reflection, revision, and goal making.

The biggest benefit of not grading formal assessments is that the goals of a perfect score or a correct answer are irrelevant. Instead, students can focus on the learning process and present what they know without the fear of what they are lacking. This also demonstrates to students that teachers value their growth and development over a perfect score.

In order to implement this in the university classroom, I provide feedback and comments on formative assessments, and they are graded for completion and effort, not for correct answers. I stress to students that they are not graded because the focus is not on the letter or point score, but instead on the work students have done and their completion of the reflection, revision, and goal making activities. 

 

Conclusion

While putting together this list of strategies for teachers to use in the classroom, I can see that each strategy does not work alone, but in fact, they are deeply entwined. They overlap and work together in a number of ways. I realized that I already use many of these strategies in my classroom, but it is important to explicitly talk about many of these with students. Working with young adults, some of whom themselves are preparing to become teachers, I have learned that there is quite an appreciation for knowing why the class is run the way it is. Thus, in the future I hope to explain more about the strategies in the moment during class time. As I move forward with my own teaching journey, I hope to continually reflect and revise on my teaching methods in order to better promote grit in the classroom.                              
 

Bibliography

Armstrong, K. (2019, October 29). Carol Dweck on How Growth Mindsets Can Bear Fruit in the Classroom. Association for Psychological Science - APS. https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/dweck-growth-mindsets  

Cameron Lisney. (2014, September 29). Growth Mindset Animation [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_oqghnxBmY&t=12s 

Charles A. Dana Center. (n.d.). Culture of Learning. Learning and the Adolescent Mind. http://learningandtheadolescentmind.org/ideas_community.html

Davey-Potts, Claire. (2023, April 26). The F-word: how to use failure as a learning tool. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/fword-how-use-failure-learning-tool 

Davis, Vicki. (2015, July 28). True Grit: The Best Measure of Success and How to Teach It. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/true-grit-measure-teach-success-vicki-davis 

George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2014, April 29). Grit Curriculum Lesson: Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/video/grit-curriculum-lesson-setting-smart-goals/ 

Grit (n.). (2018, January 31). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/grit

Holly. (n.d.). 15 Books and Activities to Foster Grit in the Classroom. Teach Starter. Retrieved June 29, 2024, from https://www.teachstarter.com/us/blog/15-books-and-activities-to-foster-grit-in-the-classroom-us/  

Miller, Andrew. (2014, January 7). 5 Steps to Foster Grit in the Classroom. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/foster-grit-in-classroom-andrew-miller

National Society of Leadership and Success. (n.d.). Goal Setting Techniques and Strategies You Can Use Now For Future Success. Goal Setting Techniques. Retrieved June 29, 2024, from https://www.nsls.org/goal-setting-techniques 

TED. (2013, May 10). Grit: the power of passion and perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8  

The Purpose of Reflection. (n.d.) College of Liberal Arts, Purdue University. Retrieved July 1, 2024 from https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/english/icap/assessment/purpose.html20content 

Warren, Erica. (2021, May 29). Nurturing Grit and Resilience: Classroom Strategies for Success. Good Sensory Learning. https://goodsensorylearning.com/blogs/news/grit-resilience  

 

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