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Sean Nash

The Significance of Grit: A Conversation with Angela Lee Duckworth - 0 views

www.ascd.org/...with-Angela-Lee-Duckworth.aspx

grit Duckworth resilience learning

shared by Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13 - No Cached
  • one specific definition of resilience, which is optimism—appraising situations without distorting them, thinking about changes that are possible to make in your life.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      Of course there is another side to this element of linking optimism to resilience. I can see the commonality in many situations, but I'm wondering if this is a cause/effect relationship... or perhaps merely a correlation. Another important element of "appraising situations without distorting them" is what many people refer to as being "realistic." In other words, not letting optimism cloud one's objective judgement. I think there is a lot at play here.
  • only half of the questions are about responding resiliently to situations of failure and adversity or being a hard worker.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      I wonder about many of the questions that relate to sticking with the same thing over and over for an extended period. In other words, you get "grit" points for doing this regardless of whether or not it is a good thing. Seth Godin also taught me that smart people also know when and what to quit. 
  • And you stick with those interests and goals over the long term.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      Sometimes... for some people... sticking to, and remaining true to... innovation...  is a form of resilience. let's not get lulled into thinking that hard headedness equates to brilliant behavior 100% of the time.
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • a rigorous admissions process, about 1 in 20 cadets drops out during the summer of training before their first academic year.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      There is one way to be in the US Army:  the official way. Follow the program. This is rarely what succeeds in business or entrepreneurship. I think grit in the face of all else is a noble thing. I also think grit on a daily basis... in any walk of life... is valuable. However, it is a better measure of success when the end goal is established and crystal clear.
  • It's a similar thing with grit and talent. In terms of academics, if you're just trying to get an A or an A−, just trying to make it to some threshold, and you're a really talented kid, you may do your homework in a few minutes, whereas other kids might take much longer. You get to a certain level of proficiency, and then you stop. So you actually work less hard.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      Again... this assumes everyone being measured on the same scale. One predictor for success. Few variables. The real world (especially as it is shaping up) is brimming with little understood variables.  It is no wonder that really talented individuals balk at grades. Grades have so often measured the least common denominators for success. Really talented people rarely aim for this target. 
  • The people who are, for lack of a better word, "ambitious"—the kids who are not satisfied with an A or even an A+, who have no limit to how much they want to understand, learn, or succeed—those are the people who are both talented and gritty.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      I agree with this on the surface. However, this also assumes that we all hold grades to the same value. It is hard for us in school to not imagine a successful person caring much about grades... but history is absolutely chock full of them.  I think "grit" is a more complex thing than having the resilience to stick with a challenging thing that has an agreed-upon measurable finish line.
  • there are a lot of fragile gifted and talented kids who don't know how to fail. They don't know how to struggle, and they don't have a lot of practice with it. Being gifted is no guarantee of being hardworking or passionate about something.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      Of course this is true. This is not new. We've know this for decades. Anyone working in gifted education has dealt with this for some time. And I'm not talking fringe articles. I'm talking about accepted, mainstream course curricula at the university & graduate level. 
  • I thought, "I'm very ambitious. I want to be world-class at something. And this is not a recipe for it."
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      Well, ironically... this IS sometimes the recipe for figuring out how to support others at one stage of their quest to become "world class." That , to me, is one of the essential elements of education.
  • A lot of young people never get to experience that—being into something for enough years with enough depth so that they really know it. Master teachers know what I'm talking about. So do people who are seriously committed to whatever vocation they have, even people who have a really serious hobby that they've worked at for years. They reach a level of appreciation and experience that novices can never understand.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      I also know that there are as many definitions of "happiness" as there are humans. I'd had to discount what makes every individual truly happy in life for a close-up focus on deep success in one field.  What about the genius in those who are marginally successful in several fields, and yet... they can see connections between those... true synthesis of ideas... that none have seen before? I'd hate to thing that in pursuit of grit, we lose the ability to detect genius around us.
  • But you know, you also have to be good at something.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      Agreed. But, who are the experts at connections? What if it is not longer "good enough" to be good at "something?" What if it takes multiple areas now? And again... what is the measure of success, or happiness we are shooting for?
  • deliberate practice
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      As a wrestling coach of 20 years... I am the poster child for advocating "deliberate practice." And yet...  there is far more to success than just working really HARD. You have to be working the right things depending on what you're looking for. Grit focused in the right direction is epic. Grit just... focused... may not get you anywhere notable, or even memorable.
  • I would probably say "as important," just to be a little conservative.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      Agreed.
  • a swing back toward a recognition that these standardized tests, although they serve an important function, are limited in their ability to pick up things like grit and self-control—as well as many other traits that I don't study—gratitude, honesty, generosity, empathy for the suffering of others, social intelligence, tact, charisma.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      Good to recognize the plethora of variables that go into making a successful and happy individual.
  • They recognize that gym is important, that music is important, that empathy is important. These are qualities that policymakers are less concerned about. But this message really resonates with most people who are in close contact with children.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 10 Dec 13
       
      I am 100% in alignment here. This is a significant pendulum shift... one that I would like to see moderated.
Sean Nash

Avoiding "Unmitigated Disasters" - nashworld - 0 views

nashworld.edublogs.org/...avoiding-unmitigated-disasters

1:1 edtech education failure mission one-to-one PD planning professional development schools strategy technology vision

shared by Sean Nash on 29 Nov 13 - No Cached
  • Sean Nash on 29 Nov 13
     
    "After stumbling upon the article, "Switch to e-books was 'an unmitigated disaster,' says school principal," in my feed this past week, it occurred to me that there are increasingly predictable patterns surrounding stories of failed "innovation" in digital learning initiatives. Schools have been assigning computers to each child for some time now. And still, we continue to see stories like this in the media. In short: we can do better than this."
Sean Nash

Exploring the Intersection of Science Education and 21st Century Skills: A Workshop Sum... - 0 views

www.nap.edu/catalog.php

PD professionaldevelopment science 21stcenturyskills NRC NAP

shared by Sean Nash on 24 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • Sean Nash on 24 Sep 13
     
    FULL TEXT download of this book!
Sean Nash

Ready, Set, SCIENCE!: Putting Research to Work in K-8 Science Classrooms - 0 views

www.nap.edu/catalog.php

book text NAP science bestpractice research NRC elementary middleschool

shared by Sean Nash on 24 Sep 13 - Cached
  • Sean Nash on 24 Sep 13
     
    This is a FULL TEXT download of the book!
Sean Nash

Mural.ly - Demo Page - 0 views

mural.ly/#/nashworld/1378842791814

mural.ly whiteboard online free chalktalk

shared by Sean Nash on 11 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • Sean Nash on 11 Sep 13
     
    An interesting on-the-fly, digital "whiteboard."
Sean Nash

EdCampKC - 0 views

edcampkc.wikispaces.com

EdCampKC wiki unconference

shared by Sean Nash on 10 Sep 13 - Cached
  • Sean Nash on 10 Sep 13
     
    EdCampKC wiki...
  • Sean Nash on 10 Sep 13
     
    EdCampKC wiki...
Sean Nash

Six Ways To Motivate Students To Learn | MindShift - 0 views

blogs.kqed.org/...ays-motivate-students-to-learn

shared by Sean Nash on 04 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • Start with the question, not the answer.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 04 Sep 13
       
      Questions... the initial key to student inquiry.
  • Some learning tasks, like memorizing the multiplication table or a list of names or facts, are simply not interesting in themselves.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 04 Sep 13
       
      True. This is why gamification of such tasks is beneficial whenever possible.
  • Connect abstract learning to concrete situations.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 04 Sep 13
       
      I think this is important. However, this is also an element teachers have difficulty with. I wish this one was fleshed out more. This is a worthy topic of study.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Make it social. Put together a learning group, or have students find learning partners with whom they can share their moments of discovery and points of confusion. Divide the learning task into parts, and take turns being teacher and pupil. The simple act of explaining what they’re learning out loud will help them understand and remember it better.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 04 Sep 13
       
      YES. Learning is interaction. And when this interaction is done with wise adults shepherding the way...  good things happen.
  • Go deep. Almost any subject is interesting once you get inside it. Assign the task of becoming the world’s expert on one small aspect of the material they have to learn—then extend their new expertise outward by exploring how the piece they know so well connects to all the other pieces they need to know about.
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 04 Sep 13
       
      Collaboration for "collaboration's sake" doesn't usually go far... and does a lot for poo-pooing the importance of collaborative modes of learning. These are a solid handful of strategies to begin work with.
Sean Nash

Biology EOC Reviews - 0 views

school.judsonisd.org/...index.cfm

assessment testbank biology EOC

shared by Sean Nash on 23 Aug 13 - No Cached
  • Biology Test Bank 1 (50 questions)
    • Sean Nash
      Sean Nash on 23 Aug 13
       
      This is the first test bank I examined....  pretty good resource.
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