At times, most of us have tried to learn something new that did not come easy for us. We remember the feeling of frustration experienced when a concept didn't make sense. When students begin to struggle in an academic subject, it is often easy for them to think that they "just aren't good at math, or reading, or science," etc. When this type of negative thought becomes a habit, it can become a block for actual learning, ultimately causing students to give up.
However, we can change our students' mindsets regarding learning material that does not come easy to them if we help them compare their brains to a muscle. For example, if a bicep muscle is weak, we know that the muscle will grow from strength training. Working through frustration with repeated effort and perseverance will build a bigger bicep. The same is true with our brains.
The August 17 issue published by The Search Institute emphasized that,
"Although Americans have traditionally viewed intelligence as something inherited and unchangeable, research on the Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck and others have created acceptance of the idea that effort creates intelligence."
The article further explained that arming our students with strategies to support their efforts at learning new material, or "Struggle Strategies," will help students make progress when they are feeling defeated by difficult subject matter. Guiding a struggling student by offering one or more of the "Struggle Strategies" below can be an effective method to help him or her gain confidence in their own ability to master a difficult subject.
1. Clarify the Task: Carefully reread the directions or ask for more information on the assignment to be sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Perhaps underline key words in the directions to be sure you understand all aspects of the task or assignment.
2. Ask for Help Early: Don't wait until you are lost and discouraged before you ask for help from a teacher, a classmate, or someone else. Be as specific as you can about what you need help with. For example, rather than saying to a teacher, "I don't get it," you might say, "I understand what we are supposed to figure out, but I don't know which formula to use on this problem."
3. Check Your Steps: Review the process you used to try and complete the assignment, checking to be sure that you didn't get something wrong or forget something.
4. Think Out Loud: Talk out loud about what you are doing to solve the problem or why you think your approach is the right one. When you talk out loud, you often listen to yourself like you would listen to another person, and the source of a mistake or problem may jump out at you.
5. Break It Down: Take a large and complex task or problem and break it into smaller steps. As you take these smaller steps, you will move closer to completing the larger task.
6. Write Down What You Know: Write down what you know or what you can do in order to identify what you do not know how to do. When you have identified the gaps in your knowledge or skills, seek help to fill in those gaps.
7. Use Another Method: If you know more than one way to complete the task or assignment, try a different method. Even if the new method isn't successful, trying a new approach may help you better understand the task or the assignment.
8. Make a Plan: For tasks and assignments that will take a significant amount of time to complete, develop a plan that identifies the steps that need to be taken to complete the task and when you will take those steps.
Trying one or all of the Struggle Strategies, combined with positive self-talk statements such as "I can and I will!" will hopefully help students over the mental hump of frustration and self-defeating thoughts when learning difficult material.