Persistence is Stamina

  As I looked up ways to increase student persistence, it came up as increasing student stamina.  I like that idea.  Helping students develop persistence is not just a goal in mathematics, it is needed for all subjects.

The English teacher comments on how students believe that one draft is enough to produce a wonderful award winning epic while the social studies teacher noted that once students get slightly behind, they feel as if they cannot catch up and give up.

There are ways to help students build  persistence or stamina.  Students need  persistence or stamina so they can work through challenges, deal with failures, and meet all goals they set for themselves. Unfortunately, most refuse to believe that learning math is like learning a sport. 

 One of the first things is to help students change their mindset from can't to can.  Too often, they have a little voice in their head which convinces them they cannot do it. That little voice tends to override the teacher saying they can learn.   One way is to praise them when they are focused on meeting specific goals.

Next, give a gentle push when they run into a bump by using encouraging words.  Its ok to let students know they can take a bit of a break before resuming work. Many students just give up rather than going back and many math teachers want students to finish it all in one sitting rather than acknowledging the brain needs breaks to function at peak efficiency.

Furthermore, it helps if the teacher models persistence by sharing an incident where the teacher overcame something.  It could be something as simple as replacing the toilet that broke but explaining the problems they faced.  It might be when they were in college and struggled through a class.

In addition, it is good to give students optional ways to talk to themselves so rather than saying "Its too hard." the could say, "I could ask the teacher for help."  or "It'll get easier with a bit more practice."  Most students tell themselves they can't do it rather than encouraging themselves.

The teacher also needs to hold students to high expectations while letting them know they can meet those expectations and providing them with the tools they need to do that.  Its also important to incorporate technology because it can provide immediate feedback.

One thing teachers tend to avoid is taking the time to explain how the brain learns and how it changes as it is used. Finally, incorporate repetition of these strategies so students become comfortable with them and increase their stamina.

Let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear.