Hard Work Leads to Success…Except When it Doesn’t

I have always been passionate about trying to find the best ways to motivate students.?Students are almost like a puzzle waiting to be solved. You have to really understand who they are as unique individuals and how to best meet their needs.

Tanmay Vora , inspired by the work of?Charles Jennings , professes that there are four ways that adults learn:?Challenging Experiences, Opportunities to Practice, Creative Conversations, and Time for Reflection.

As I pondered these ways in which adults learn, I reflected on how students learn and added an additional four that I think are equally important: ?Motivation ? Feedback ? Safe Environment & ? Success.

The Importance of Success

Growing up, I was lucky. ?I learned early that hard work and success often go hand in hand through my love of playing sports.?

If I wanted to get better at juggling a soccer ball, I went outside every day and kept trying to break my previous day’s record.?If I wanted to get better at shooting a basketball, I would do hours of shooting drills and practice my form until I could see my percentage improving.??It was always apparent to me that if I wanted to improve at something, the secret was a lot of practice and perseverance, coupled with good teaching and coaching opportunities that provided the feedback that I needed to improve.

Think about something you have learned to do.?No matter what it was, I am certain that regardless of what you were learning; as you practiced and had success, you became increasingly motivated to keep trying. Your success spurred further success.?Now think of something that you wanted to learn, but where your efforts quickly fizzled.?Maybe it was to learn how to play a musical instrument, or write a book, or learn a language or to reach certain fitness milestones.?If you practiced to learn these skills, but did not see yourself improving, most likely your motivation for learning this task waned and you likely gave up on this ambition.?

Students are the same way.?We can teach them about having a positive attitude, having grit, forming good habits and teaching growth mindset (and we NEED to) but

if students never experience success; they will stop putting forth their best effort and eventually lose motivation.

For example, a student with dyslexia is going to need more than grit to learn to read, or a student with dysgraphia will need more than a positive attitude to learn to write, or a student with executive functioning is going to need more than persistence to learn to organize, plan and follow-through on projects, or a student with auditory or visual processing delays are going to need a better technique than "Try harder!"?Yes, teaching students the value of hard work, positive attitude and perseverance is crucial to maximizing their potential; however we must provide the "just-right" learning opportunities and accessibility tools so that students are able to experience success.

?Winning Streaks

Rick Stiggins has said that,

“...We can't let students who have not yet met standards fall into losing streaks, succumb to hopelessness, and stop trying...The goal… is not to eliminate failure, but rather to keep failure from becoming chronic and thus inevitable in the mind of the learner.

Retired Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has pointed out that the key to winning is to avoid losing twice in a row (Kanter, 2004, p. 251). He meant that if you lose once and fix it, you can remain confident. Losing twice, though, can raise questions, crack that confidence, and make recovery more difficult. So when learners suffer a failure, we must get them back to success as quickly as possible to restore their confidence in their capabilities. This is the emotional dynamic of assessment for learning.” (Assessment Through the Student's Eyes)

?If we are going to help students to taste success and avoid prolonged losing streaks, we need to be Learner-Centered and provide accessibility options for all learners.

BrainPOP

BrainPOP builds features and products that engage, excite, and challenge EVERY child in every way they learn. BrainPOP Accessibility Highlights include:

• All navigation is clear and predictable.
• All descriptive images are accompanied by alternative text for screen readers.
• All text is written at an appropriate reading level.
• All BrainPOP movies and comics include transcripts and captions that provide visual and audio alternatives to video and sound.
• All site content is easily navigable for someone with low vision or color blindness through appropriate color contrast, functional browser zoom and does not use color to convey meaning.
• BrainPOP Jr. includes the option to toggle on and off audio that speaks the button text.
• Microsoft Immersive Reader (Read more ) accelerates the development of critical reading and comprehension skills while making learning more accessible for all students. As Karina Linch, BrainPOP's Chief Product Officer says,

“We’re excited to level the playing field with Microsoft Immersive Reader’s proven techniques to improve reading and accessibility for all learners.”

BrainPOP?is grounded in learning science research (Equity n Learning with BrainPOP?: Fostering Access and Impact for All , by Dr. Yigal Rosen & Dr. Barbara Hubert)?so that strong pedagogical methods are utilized to provide teachers with sound resources to develop meaningful and engaging experiences for all students.??It's this combination of providing rich and engaging content, with the tools that students need to master essential standards at each grade level that make BrainPOP so unique and powerful.

Let's Empower Kids to Shape the ?? Around them & Within Them

Yes; hard work leads to success; but hard work without providing the accessibility tools that students need, has limitations, and will limit the motivation students need to maximize their potential.

BrainPOP?empowers ALL learners to be curious and creative, to be creators and critical thinkers and to shape the world around and within them.

Learn more about BrainPOP