3.3 Failure, Quitting and GRIT

In this unit, students are introduced to the concept of GRIT and how it relates to failure and quitting.  There are a number of videos in this unit that demonstrate the concepts being discussed. In particular, the video by Angela Duckworth about GRIT is an essential element to understanding the concept of someone having GRIT in order to succeed. The game of ” Scramble” is a fun game for all levels of learners and is meant to be frustrating to students. I would not recommend this game for students  that  become aggressive when frustrated. During the debrief after the game, students are taught how the game relates to real life and how we deal with frustration and wanting to quit.

This unit is lengthy and may be best suited for students to break down into smaller units. The principles of Universal Design for Learning are incorporated into the variety of activities in this unit.

This unit will help some students to:

• Explain the important role of failure on the road to success.
• List real life examples of successful people who have failed.
• Discuss how and why the brain grows when someone makes a mistake.
• State when quitting is a viable option.
• Describe a strategy for deciding on whether to quit something or not.
• Write activities that can improve someone’s life when they are feeling overwhelmed and want to quit.
• Define the term GRIT.
• Identify the small short term goals (steps on a GRIT ladder) needed to achieve their long term goal.
• Compose a small short term goal for the semester on the GRIT/GROWTH WALL that they want to become more comfortable with.