HELPING YOUR MENTEE DEVELOP GRIT: A Strong Predictor of Postsecondary Success

1. MENTOR TRAINING HELPING YOUR MENTEE DEVELOP GRIT: A Strong Predictor of Postsecondary Success Spring 2014 Indiana College Success Mentoring Initiative

2. Welcome & Thank You: Host Mentoring Agency USA Funds Indiana Commission for Higher Education Dennis Bumgarner

3. NATIONAL: • Of the 34 OECD members, U.S. is 8th in enrollment but second-to-last in completion. • Mid-1990’s, U.S. had the highest rate in the world; it is now 12th. • Completion rates increased for advantaged students but fell for disadvantaged. IN INDIANA: • 1/10 students complete a two-year degree on time • 3/10 complete a four-year degree on time • Two-year Associate Degree Within Four Years: Full Time: 20.3%; • Four-year Bachelor’s Degree Within Eight Years: 68.6% COLLEGE COMPLETION STATISTICS

4. For Indiana’s 21st Century Scholars… 88%: Scholars entering college directly after HS 75%: Scholars persisting from 1st to 2nd year in college 31%: Scholars earning a degree within: - 6 years(Bachelors), 3 years (Associates) 13%: Scholars earning a degree ON TIME ! - 4 years (Bachelors), 2 years (Associates) COLLEGE DROPOUT CRISIS

5. Limited rigor of academic preparation • Scholars lack of confidence or hope about succeeding • Financial limitations, actual and perceived • Needing to earn an more income than PSE would allow (working at local retailers and restaurants) • Family obligations (including parenting and pregnancy) • Not accessing their TFC scholarship due to lower than required GPA or late or no FAFSA filing • Delayed enrollment for Spring 2013 • Not sure why, because unable to reach scholars! TRANSITION CHALLENGES

6. 1. Assumptions regarding postsecondary success 2. Obstacles topostsecondarysuccess 3. Grit and success 4. The development of grit 5. How mentors can develop grit TOPICS TO BE COVERED

7. …It is a bridge over Niagara Falls (Vast distance, long way to fall, between 2 very different places) • May – September and • HS Senior Year to Freshman Year and • PSE Freshman Year – PSE Sophomore Year and • Home community to school • Mentoring relationship from HS to PSE, possibly from local to distance relationship WHAT IS A “TRANSITION”?

8. SENIORS ARE NOT ABOUT TO CROSS THE FINISH LINE OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION. • THEY ARE ABOUT TO CROSS THE STARTING LINE OF COLLEGE.

9. Why are successful people successful? WHY ARE SUCCESSFUL YOUTH SUCCESSFUL? UNDERSTANDING SUCCESS

10. When school and community partners are asked why some of their students succeed and persist, while others do not, their common response: Students are successful who: • Have grit and life skills, • Are able to problem solve, • Advocate for themselves, and • Reach out to people and resources for help. What is the common underlying thread across barriers? Grit, resilience, “soft skills” TRANSITION SUCCESS

11. The Cognitive Assumption • Success is a function of cognitive skills • Cognitive input = academic output The CharacterAssumption • Success is not merely a matter of cognitive qualities • Personality traits, or character, are crucial FUNDAMENTAL ASSUMPTIONS

12. Moralv. PerformanceCharacter • Moral character is a matter of ethics. It embodies such values as fairness, generosity, integrity, honesty, and dependability. • Performance character includes such values as effort, diligence, and perseverance. THE ROLE OF CHARACTER

13. Factors That Predict for Low Achievement • High levels of home/environmental/life stress, especially early • Low levels of parental attachment • High levels of parental criticism • Minimal after-school supervision PREDICTORS OF LOW ACHIEVEMENT

14. TRANSITION = STRESS For Under-resourced Students: • The lives of these kids are characterized by stress. • High ACE scores predict for poor academic work. • The HPA axis responds to stress predictably. • This response was designed to respond to acute, not chronic stress. NEUROLOGICAL IMPACT OF OBSTACLES

15. We were not meant to be stressed by everything. Povertycauses stress causes chemical reaction causes brain impact, especially regarding: • inattention, • impulsivity, • concentration, • compliance, and • rebounding from disappointment. NEUROLOGICAL IMPACT OF OBSTACLES

16. Persistence • Passion • Conscientiousness: ability to exert oneself regardless of reward • Self-Control: restraint of one’s actions, feelings, conduct. • SocialIntelligence: the exclusively human capacity to effectively navigate and negotiate complex social relationships and environments. • Optimism: a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome. • Curiosity: the desire to learn or know about something; inquisitiveness. • Zest: keen relish, hearty enjoyment, liveliness, energy, animating spirit. • Gratitude: the quality of being thankful. CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL KIDS

17. Grit = PERSERVERANCE and PASSION for LONG-TERM GOALS. Goal attainment entails not just talent and intelligence but sustainedand focusedapplication over time. Grit involves: • working diligently toward challenges • maintaining effort and interest over years • doing so despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress. WHAT IS GRIT?

18. GRIT IN ACTION • Gritty individuals approach achievement as a marathon; their advantage is stamina • Disappointment and boredom signals others to quit; the gritty individual stays the course. • Gritty individuals stick with a project/ activity for more than a few weeks. • A kid with high self-control but moderate grit may delay gratification or control emotions, but switch goals frequently. WHAT DOES GRIT LOOK LIKE?

19. GRIT PREDICTS COLLEGE SUCCESS MORE THAN IQ, GPA, SAT’S Gritty individuals are more likely to: • Persist at West Point Military Academy • Are more likely to graduate in the Chicago Public Schools • To advance in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee GRIT + OUTCOMES

20. KIDS WITH GRIT ARE MORE LIKELY TO… • Go to college • Complete college • Find a good job • Keep a good job • Get married • Have a family GRIT + OUTCOMES

21. For the disadvantaged: • Stress • Absence of attachment, nurturing relationships, and high quality parenting. For the advantaged: • Low levels of parental attachment. • High parental expectations. • High levels of parental criticism. • Minimal after-school supervision. • Indulgence and lack of failure. OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPING GRIT

22. CAN GRIT BE DEVELOPED? CORE QUESTION

23. Grit, tenacity, and perseverance are multifaceted concepts regarding goals and challenges and how they are met. • Socio-cultural context is crucial. • Learning environments can be designed to promote grit, tenacity, and perseverance. • Students can develop psychological resources that promote grit, tenacity, and perseverance. • There are potential risks and costs to grit. PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPING GRIT

24. Cultivate a growth mindset and optimism (“hope”) (setback are temporary, problems are surmountable) • Challenge yourself in your practice (feel difficult, focus on weaknesses, be repetitive, include immediate & information feedback) • Stay passionate about your purpose (for a personally meaningful goal) • Know it’s OK to quit (after thought and reflection, not in time of frustration) HOW GRIT IS DEVELOPED (Character Lab)

25. I can succeed at this. • My performance grows with my effort. • Challenge is inevitable for success. • This work aligns with my values, interests, and goals. • I belong in this community. MINDSET: ACADEMIC, GROWTH, OPTIMISTIC

26. Self-discipline- the ability to marshal willpower to accomplish goals and uphold standards that one personally regards as desirable—how to plan your behavior to reach your goals. • Self-control - the ability to control and regulate attention in the face of distractions, and the ability to inhibit inferior but strong impulses and take action toward superior goals. This concept includes delay of gratification. EFFORTFUL CONTROL & PRACTICE

27. Defining the task • Setting goals • Making plans • Enacting • Monitoring • Reflecting • Adapting STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

28. Stress overload affects, primarily, executive function. • Executive function = a set of mental processes (mental air traffic controller) • Centers on: decision making & judgment • Executive function skills are not just critical but malleable NEUROLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY TO GROW GRIT

29. Raw IQ is resistant to improvement after age 8. But these factors related to grit. . . - executive function - ability to handle stress - emotional management . . . can be improved into adolescence and even early adulthood. THREE CRITICAL KEYS TO SUCCESS

30. RESPOND BASED ON WHEN YOU: • Achieved one of your most difficult goals • Made it through one of your most difficult times SELF ASSESSMENT

31. 1. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones . • 2. Setbacks (delays and obstacles) don’t discourage me. • 3. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest. • 4. I am a hard worker. • 5. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue (follow) a different one. • 6. I have difficulty maintaining (keeping) my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete. • 7. I finish whatever I begin. • 8. I am diligent (hard working and careful). GRIT SCALE FOR CHILDREN

32. https://sites.sas.upenn.edu/duckworth Offers: 1. Online Grit Scale with national comparison 2. Online Parenting Strengths Questionnaire ONLINE GRIT SCALE

33. MENTORING + GRIT: Leverage the relationship as a vehicle to help the young person: • develop grit; • understand and own the power of their own grit; and • be able to overcome obstacles by tapping into their grit. MENTORS CAN DEVELOP GRIT

34. Create alliance. • Nurture relationship that buffers the impact of stress: - warmth, interest, curiosity, acceptance, genuineness safety, respect, absence of judgment • Provide exposurethat offers possibilities of passion. • Expect and support personalresponsibility. • Encourage failure. Failure breeds success. HOW MENTORS DEVELOP GRIT

35. Teach kids how to think around 3 dimensions of grit and how the meaning they attach to good and bad events: • Permanence • Pervasiveness • Personalization HOW MENTORS DEVELOP GRIT

36. Permanence:“Sometimes” v. Always” PERMANENCE

37. Pervasiveness:“Specific v. Universal” PERVASIVENESS

38. Personalization:“Me v. Them or It” PERSONALIZATION

39. SCENARIOS

40. Cognitive skills do not by themselves produce success; non-cognitive skills (e.g., grit) do. • Grit predicts college success more than IQ, GPA, SAT’s. • Poverty likely means: - home/community chronic stress - lack of relationship to buffer that stress - resultant impact on executive function • Character is not innate. While rooted in brain chemistry, it is molded by environment. • Nurturing relationships foster resilience and grit. They are not merely emotional and psychological but biochemical. KEYS TO REMEMBER

41. Angela Duckworth • Developed the Grit Scale • Character Lab publishes articles and tools for youth development practitioners and educators • https://sites.sas.upenn.edu/duckworth • http://ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit Carol Dweck • Leading expert on students’ mindset and impact on outcomes • http://www.Stanford.edu/dept/psychology/cgi-bin/drupalm/cdweck Paul Tough • Has used Duckworth, Dweck and others‘ research in his writing • Recommended book: How Children Succeed GRIT RESOURCES (provided by Leah Boersig)

42. For more information, please contact: Tracy Butler trchbutler@sbcglobal.net 317-417-0073