This essay focuses on personal trait or psychosocial skill. The persistent tortoise won the race with the hare, and the “little engine that could,” did.

personal trait or psychosocial skill

5. Persistence We learned in childhood that persistence undergirds all achievement. The persistent tortoise won the race with the hare, and the “little engine that could,” did. Persistence may be referred to as task commitment, perseverance, hard work, effort, or “grit.” It’s a personal trait or psychosocial skill that can be taught and developed. Learners persist when they focus effort and energy on a task, trying one more way to accomplish it when the previous way fails. Persistence empowers us to test and verify, improve and refine.

It is fuel by a “growth mindset,”

or belief that achievement outcomes are not “fix” and that effort produces results.20 Many now believe that persistence is more crucial to success than talent.21 Innovators Are Persistent Attaining expertise requires persistence, but innovators persist uniquely. Their persistence morphs into an intrinsically motivated passion that sustains them through the ups and downs of the creative problem-solving process. In his interviews with young innovators, their parents, and teachers, Tony Wagner found that passion was the most frequently mentioned word.22 When young innovators discover an interest that kindles to passion,

their zeal may cause them to resist closure and pursue that interest to the exclusion of others. Our well-meaning attempts to develop a “well-rounded” child with a variety of balanced interests may be stubbornly resisted. What we may not realize is that they are on their path to the 10,000 hours of deliberate practice that, theoretically, they need to become innovators.23 How to Create a Persistence Talent Goal Some learners will have a natural inclination to demonstrate persistence with greater frequency, depth, and complexity. Explicitly creating goals to target this aptitude provides these students with opportunities to accelerate their talent.

At the same time, talent-targeted

goals encourage all learners’ aptitudes for persistence to emerge and progress. Using the Talent Goal Frame You can use the Talent Goal Frames. This  to develop a talent-targeted goal for persistence (see Figure 4.8). Generally, you’ll begin in the center cell of the frame. This  is filling in the Learners persist when they focus effort and energy on a task.

This is trying one more way to accomplish it when the previous way fails. four • Teach the Seven Aptitudes of Innovators 75 required content standards and specific learning objective. Next, select the talent aptitude, keeping in mind that the seven cross-domain aptitudes can be develop in any content area. If this lesson module is part of a problem-base study.

This such as Stop Sports Injuries,

you already have an authentic context. This is for the talent goal and performance of understanding. If not, the next step is to consider authentic applications of this content. Keep in mind that the Talent Goal Frame process, in practice, is not always this linear. Depending on your existing curriculum parameters, you might begin with any cell in the frame.

Sample Persistence Talent-Targeted Goal The persistence Talent Goal Frame develops a goal from the STEM study Stop Sports Injuries. The corresponding student-directed goal explicitly defines persistent behaviors and supports self-efficacy.