Opinion Blog

Ask a Psychologist

Helping Students Thrive Now

Angela Duckworth and other behavioral-science experts offer advice to teachers based on scientific research. To submit questions, use this form or #helpstudentsthrive. Read more from this blog.

Student Well-Being Opinion

To Increase Persistence, Write About Success

By Angela Duckworth — January 27, 2021 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
How do I help students become more persistent?

This is the third in a four-part series on self-efficacy. Read the first piece on why students persist or quit here and the second piece on how to cultivate confidence here.
What can I do to help students understand that struggling is part of learning?
The struggle is real. But low points can lead to high points: Here’s something I wrote recently on the topic for Character Lab as a Tip of the Week:
Last week, I told you about my daughter Amanda’s first experience with “hard math.”
My guess is that the young people in your life have their own stories to share. No doubt they have struggled and failed at something important to them. Surely they have stories of success, too—perhaps, as it was for Amanda, following a dark period when self-efficacy was at a low point.
If, as four decades of research have shown, self-efficacy grows with small wins, does anything turbocharge such learning?
A recent experiment supported by Character Lab suggests that experience is an even better teacher when followed by writing. Students spent 15 to 20 minutes writing about a time they failed, and at least one way this failure changed them for the better, as well as a time they succeeded, and the steps they took to “make this success a reality.” Compared to a control group, the students who did this writing exercise demonstrated greater academic persistence, which in turn predicted better grades the following marking period. (Even more recent studies suggest that these effects are driven mainly by writing about successes—stay tuned!)
And I’ve seen the power of writing in my household. Here is Amanda’s story in her own words:
Before 7th grade, I considered myself a poor math student. I was never the smartest or the fastest or even the neatest person in the room. Yes, I was in the “advanced” track—but I failed my first two tests in Algebra 1, scoring 40 percent on the first and 54 percent on the second.
When I received that second failing grade, I cried. Not because I was fearful of my punishment—I knew there would be none—but because I felt ashamed: I’m not smart enough, not quick enough, not neat enough. I will never be able to do well in math. To his credit, my teacher offered me a chance to prove myself wrong. “I know you can do better,” he told me. “Retake the test this weekend. Not for a grade, of course. But show me what you know.”
That week, I studied for hours. I did every problem in the book and then I did them again. I infuriated my mother, frustrated my father, and miffed my little sister. I drank coffee for the first time. Then, on Sunday morning, my dad drove me to church as usual. But instead of going to the service, my dad sat me down in an empty room and handed me the test. “You have an hour, Amanda. Try your best. You got this.”
And then, I was off. I must’ve used 20 pages of my dad’s yellow legal pad, but I breezed through problems that had paralyzed me just one week earlier. By the end of the hour, my fingers ached, and my hands were black with graphite. But my shame was gone. And in its place? Pride.
The surge of pride I felt that Sunday buoyed my motivation. The next few months were challenging, but I worked hard every night to keep up. I finished with an A in the class.
In hindsight, it’s clear to me that trying, failing, trying again, and succeeding built confidence in a subject that I never thought I’d master. I learned that it is OK to mess up, because your failures do not define you.
What prompted Amanda to write this reflection? I wish I could say that I’d suggested it. But she showed it to me after the fact, having written it as part of an application that required a personal essay.
Try sharing your stories of failure and success with the young people you love. And consider framing writing assignments—whether for an English class or a college application—as a golden opportunity rather than an obligation. Writing is thinking. And writing about your growing competence is thinking about your growing competence.
Angela Duckworth, the founder and CEO of the education nonprofit Character Lab, is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. You can sign up to receive Tip of the Week here or follow Character Lab on Twitter @TheCharacterLab.

The opinions expressed in Ask a Psychologist: Helping Students Thrive Now are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being Opinion School Sports Matter. How to Make Them Matter More
The skills we hope sports will teach are the very ones that help produce successful graduates and responsible citizens.
8 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being Death of Nonbinary Teen Nex Benedict After School Fight Is Ruled a Suicide, Medical Examiner Says
A summary autopsy report was released more than a month after the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict.
2 min read
In this image provided by Malia Pila, Nex Benedict poses outside the family's home in Owasso, Okla., in December 2023. A recently released police search warrant reveals more details in the case of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary Oklahoma student who died a day after a high school bathroom fight that may have been prompted by bullying over gender identity.
In this image provided by Malia Pila, Nex Benedict poses outside the family's home in Owasso, Okla., in December 2023. A recently released police search warrant reveals more details in the case of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary Oklahoma student who died a day after a high school bathroom fight that may have been prompted by bullying over gender identity.
Sue Benedict via AP
Student Well-Being How Coaches Can Be a Source of Mental Health Support for Student-Athletes
Coaches interact with kids all the time and are well placed to support students' mental health—but they need more training.
5 min read
Blue concept image of coach and team discussing soccer tactics with ball in foreground.
Highwaystarz-Photography/iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being Opinion How Bad Journalism Encourages Bad Education Research
Favorable accounts of lackluster studies corrode the credibility of both researchers and reporters.
3 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty