I read an interesting article this week that has my wheels spinning. I found it on MPR: Struggle For Smarts? How Eastern and Western Cultures Tackle Learning. Some of the research was old (as in 1979), but the points still seem relevant. It starts with a study by Stigler. He was observing a 4th grade math class where the teacher called a struggling student to the board to work. The student worked over and over on a difficult math problem. His eventual success was celebrated by the class and he felt proud of his accomplishment.
Stigler is a current UCLA professor of psychology. He writes, “I think that from very early ages we [in America] see struggle as an
indicator that you’re just not very smart… It’s a sign
of low ability — people who are smart don’t struggle, they just
naturally get it, that’s our folk theory. Whereas in Asian cultures they
tend to see struggle more as an opportunity.”
Hmm… how often do we put struggling students on the spot and encourage them to continue working in front of the class until their successful, even an hour later? Or do we more often choose a successful student to demonstrate how a task is done?
One more study by Stigler… he gave an impossible math task to a group of first graders and gave them an hour to solve it. American students worked an average of 30 seconds before giving up. Japanese students worked for the entire hour. They had to be debriefed and told the task was impossible. What does that say about our students’ ability to push through difficult tasks?
I can totally relate to that little experiment. I see it in my class every day; so many students want an immediate answer and grow easily frustrated when sustained mental effort is required. I gave my students a simple word search last week to practice plural nouns, but many of them resorted to copying off a neighbor or raising their hands for my help within minutes. That wasn’t a difficult task, merely one that required persistence and effort. I did it on purpose to help teach them some stamina. My students are third graders!
I’m not saying our students should struggle all the time, and certainly not for hours on end, but I wonder if we could do more to encourage more sustained effort? Stigler says Japanese teachers, “consciously design tasks that are slightly beyond the
capabilities of the students they teach, so the students can actually
experience struggling with something just outside their reach. Then,
once the task is mastered, the teachers actively point out that the
student was able to accomplish it through hard work and struggle.” Don’t many of us do that? I hope so….
There is a positive though. Compared to Asian countries our students are more creative and have more individuality. Those are traits I would never want to give up, but couldn’t we do both?
I know this isn’t my typical post, but it’s something I do feel passionately about. I feel like we aren’t necessarily growing thinkers in our classrooms as well as we could be. Does our society still value a little struggle?
My grade level just discussed this at lunch the other day. It is something we need to think about.
This is the "grit" that so many of us see is lacking today and that somehow parents and educators must teach the value of.
I agree! And the kids perceived as "smart" are some of the worst. They want to be spoon fed so they won't be "wrong".
I couldn't agree more!
Wonderful post! You have given me a lot to think about.
Kelly @ I'm Not Your Grandpa, I'm Your Teacher
This makes a lot of sense! It may have something to do with how rushed and pressured our culture has become. As adults we feel we don't have time to stand around while a child tries to figure out something we could just as easily show him, or do for him. So kids learn to just look to adults for help, rather than attempt to solve their own problems!
I completely agree and worry about this. It is a form of learned helplessness. So many strugglers know that if they wait long enough someone will rescue them or give them the answer or do the hard stuff for them. As parents and educators we need to expect more from our kids if we want them to be successful in life.
I second what Laurie said. If we want our students to be able to become better math students they have to learn some grit along the way. I teach through problem solving which forces the kids to struggle some. However, the look of empowerment when they finally figure it out is rewarding. However, this is something their parents have to come to understand as well. We can't expect kids to be perfect right out of the gate and give in when they don't get something at first. Instead let's guide them, prompt them, and give them the tools so they can solve it themselves.
Love it, thanks for commenting! Sometimes it makes us the "bad guy" but I honestly believe our students are better off in the end. They are so proud when they finally figure it out.
Christi–thank you for this. I'm guilty of sheltering my strugglers at times, and at the same time, I've seen my strongest students give up easily. There's something to be said for the cultural aspects of why this might be. I'm wondering what impact sharing this info re: Japanese students might have on my students–making them aware, etc. I might try it!
I told my kids about it on Friday and then reminded them about it today before we did my newest math task cards (tricky stuff!). I was proud of their effort. They took it on as a personal challenge.
I heard that on NPR the other morning while driving to work. It really made me think throughout the day while teaching.
I've had a couple of people upset with me in the past because they claim I wouldn't help. What I've explained to parents is that students are told to ask for help if they don't understand something. However, they REALLY need to try it themselves first. More often than not, they're able to solve the problem when I send them back to continue working on it.
When a student is truly stuck, I tend to ask questions rather than tell exact steps. The students feel more pride when they are able to accomplish the task on their own rather than me telling them what to do. I also discuss with students the importance of trying to do the work themselves…they usually get it.
I'm glad I'm not the only NPR listener. Educational topics always catch my ear. 🙂
I'm very guilty of sheltering and spoon feeding my students. Our district has started to tell us that we need to let the kids struggle and try to figure things out on their own. It has been very difficult for me and many other teachers to do this. However, if you can ask them questions instead of telling them what to do, it makes them think and persevere. I have found that the gifted students are the worse when it comes to figuring something out that they don't get right away. I believe we need to head in this direction.
I loved this article. For me, I always thought I was bad at math in elementary school because I couldn't just automatically do it. In middle school, I joined MathCounts at the push of a teacher, and he let us struggle through incredibly tough problems with no set course- and when you got one of those questions right, it felt amazing. It was through that teacher that I learned I wasn't so bad at math- but just that I really had to work at making sense of it before I could do it.
I know I could push this a lot more (especially in math!), but I do try to give very challenging math problems and then show different strategies- that got the right answer, or not quite- on the board. I agree, though, that we need to push students constantly to be challenged so they learn to enjoy a challenge and not back away.
Thanks for sharing such a thought-provoking article!
Jenny
Luckeyfrog's Lilypad