Persisting

I set out to teach my students the habit of persisting, or the ability to “persist because they can draw on multiple ways to solve problems” (Costa and Kallick, 2009, p. 39), because it is a cornerstone of what makes a student a life-long learner and, someday, a citizen of the world who can effect change under less-than-ideal circumstances. My students are extremely ambitious and incredibly bright, but they often allow themselves to get stuck on a problem or become defeated when things do not come easily to them. For these reasons, I chose to explicitly teach my students what it means to be persistent. I wanted them to internalize that “persistence does not just mean working to get it right. Persistence means knowing that getting stuck is a cue to ‘try something else’” (Costa and Kallick, 2009, p. 39). I have worked all year to build a culture of failure and growth in my classroom, and teaching students that persistence means trying things in a different way in order to succeed or improve fit perfectly within that environment.

Reference

Costa, A.L., Kallick, B. Habits of Mind Across the Curriculum. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2009.

 
 
 
 

Explicit Teaching

My students were familiar with the word “persistence” long before I explicitly taught the habit of mind in the classroom. However, they believed that persistence was simply not giving up. I used the PowerPoint presentation to the right to re-introduce this familiar term, pushing my students to internalize the idea of strategy when it comes to various obstacles. Slides 2-3 in the presentation define persisting, and slide 4 introduces the video linked below to the right. In this video, a student discusses his physical handicap and encourages listeners to see their “disabilities” as possibilities. After watching this video, students discussed how the habit of persisting was evidence in the speech and brainstormed how they could persist through their own personal "handicaps” each day.

To extend this explicit instruction, I included the word “persistent” in our vocabulary list, see the images below to the left. Because this word was on our vocabulary list, students wrote with it each day, further internalizing the language of the habit.

 
 

Above: Students watched this video and then discussed how resilience is related to persistence. Students identified struggles that are specific to them and brainstormed solutions to overcome their challenges.

 
 

Reinforcement:
Analyzing Characters’ persistence

To first reinforce the habit of persistence, I decided to incorporate the skill into our reading analysis of A Long Walk to Water, see the student work samples to the left. Students were required to identify and analyze the persistence of two different characters and explain how that persistence influenced the characters and their outcomes.

In this activity, students were required to find three pieces of evidence that illustrated persistence over the course of the text. Students were then tasked with evaluating how the character’s persistence evolved from being externally motivated to an internal driving force.

This activity showed students that persistence is sometimes prompted, but it is most powerful when it comes from within. See below for a few student takeaways from this activity:

  • “Salva’s strength and persistence has changed over the course of the text by becoming independent and encouraging/motivating himself to stay strong and have a better life than in his past in America” (left, page 2).

  • “Salva’s strength and persistence has evolved over the course of the text because as a youth he needed motivation from elders but now he motivates himself as he grows up” (left, page 5).

This activity made it clear to me that the students, in addition to using the vocabulary and language of the habit, were beginning to internalize what it means to be persistent and the impact persistence has on a person’s future.

 
 
 
 

Reinforcement: Problem Solving

While the first reinforcement activity illustrated the importance and impact of never giving up and persisting through challenges, this reinforcement activity turned my students more toward problem solving. I wanted my students to associate strategy with persistence, as being able to find multiple solutions to a single problem is a huge piece of this habit.

In the activity to the right, students were presented with three real-world problems that they could face in their own communities:

  1. Young students struggle to organize and manage their stuff at school.

  2. Teenagers in the neighborhood lack a safe place to gather and socialize with friends.

  3. Students want one non-uniform week each month at school.

For each problem, the students had to identify three different possible, realistic, actionable solutions. The students were quickly able to think of one solution for each problem, and sometimes even two, but when trying to think of a third, equally plausible, solution, they struggled. I liked this activity because it pushed my students to persist through an activity that challenged their thinking while also thinking outside of the box in an effort to identify multiple solutions to a single problem.

It was clear from this activity that the students now had a solid understanding of each aspect of persistence and were on their way to internalizing the habit and developing their own personal growth.

 
 
 
 

Reinforcement:
How can you be persistent?

To solidify the reinforcement and internalization of this habit, I had students evaluate Salva Dut, the main character from A Long Walk to Water, but in his real-life, human form. The students had grown to truly admire Salva throughout our novel study and were elated to find out he actually existed (see their fundraiser for Salva’s organization in my Advocacy section).

Students watched Salva’s TEDTalk, where he encourages listeners to “keep moving” no matter the circumstances or the challenges ahead. While watching the video, students identified how Salva was persistent for his family and friends, for himself, and for his community (see number 10 on the student work samples to the left). After watching the video and discussing Salva’s persistence, I then asked students to take some time to be reflective and identify how they can be persistent in the face of their own challenges. Students brainstormed ways they could be persistent for the people of South Sudan, for their family and friends, for themselves, and for their community.

The responses students came up with, such as “striving to be a leader,” “having the motivation to keep walking, be strong, and independent,” and “helping around and offering support,” showed me that the students were internalizing the habit of persistence and the skills that go along with it.

 
 
 
 

Conclusion

In order of my students to reach their goals, they must be able to persist against all odds – both in refusing to give up and in trying to solve different problems in different ways. I believe that thought the introduction and reinforcement of this habit of mind that my students have begun to internalize this skill and are growing as individuals. My students have shown great resilience in their ability to bounce back from a difficult question, a bad grade, or an unfamiliar problem. I believe they not only successfully mastered the vocabulary and language of the habit, but they also have a strong foundation built within themselves to grow in this skill.