Persist in the face of setbacks

• Show students strategies they can use when they become stuck e.g. use the 5Bs:

So, when students get stuck instead of asking the teacher straight away, they are encouraged to think about it first (Brain), look in their exercise book/ text book, look on the board (or a display) and finally if they are still stuck, as a friend (Buddy).  If after all of this they are still stuck, ask the teacher (Boss).  Thanks to Jim Smith (@thelazyteacher) for this – his book has many more excellent strategies to develop independence.

• Think carefully about your questioning.  When students are stuck, don’t just give them the answer.  Carefully scaffold your questions to support them with getting ‘unstuck’.
• Use exams and assessments formatively.  Show them how they can learn and make progress from a disappointing response to an exam or assessment.  See previous post.
• Most importantly, don’t let them give up!

See effort as the path to mastery

• Praise students specifically for the efforts they are making with their learning.
• Honesty is required here….the path to mastery is not always fun and exciting and will be hard, requiring grit and determination.  But it will always be worth it.  See David Didau’s (@thelearningspy) post on ‘The Grand Unified Theory of Mastery’.  Puts me in mind of this!
• Provide them with the opportunities within lessons, or a series of lessons, to practice, consolidate  and embed skills and knowledge.  All too often we glance over things, without actually giving students the opportunity to master what they are doing.
• This also gives them the opportunity to see when they have mastered things – make this explicit to them and celebrate it.