Grit Reflection

I chose to teach my chemistry class about grit. As our new trimester has just started, I felt that it was an ideal time to begin direct character instruction, and specifically a good time to introduce grit and how it relates to success both in and out of the classroom. I had several goals for the lesson. First, I wanted to introduce the idea of grit to my students. Second, I wanted to give my students an opportunity to get to know each other a little better and gain some experience working in small groups. Third, I wanted students to understand why grit is important in science, and that grit is essential to scientific inquiry, learning, and discovery.

One thing that worked well in this lesson was the explanation of the rationale as to why grit is important and …show more content…
My students tend to be most accountable when they have created and written a specific and concrete plan for their success. Having a specific set of steps that they might follow to develop grit in challenging circumstances would make it more likely that they would follow through and actually work on developing grit. For example, instead of just continuing to try in math class when confused, my student could have made a plan that such as “First, I will re-read the question. Then, I will look at similar problems on the page. If that doesn’t work, I will review my notes, and if I am still stuck, then I will ask my teacher for help.” Another example of a more concrete plan might be that if a student does not pass an assignment, they might first read the feedback on the assignment, then consult their notes, and last, ask the teacher for additional support. In and of itself, making a plan is an additional opportunity for practicing and developing grit, because it requires embracing the possibility that failure can and will happen, but that it can be