Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance - U.S. Department of ...

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such as task definition, planning, monitoring, deliberation over findings, and adaptation of
approach. Design thinking is a pedagogical paradigm that emphasizes the processes necessary for
innovative design—brain storming, using imagination, collaboration, prototyping, feedback, and
iterative development (Carroll et al., 2010). Design thinking supports perseverance through the
development of important mindsets and learning strategies, as students learn to “fail early and
often” and use feedback to iteratively improve a product.
Some schools are beginning to implement PBL with the intention of fostering grit, tenacity, and
perseverance, among other competencies. One such school is Envision Charter School
(http://www.envisionschools.org/) in San Francisco. This school serves a diverse student
population (78% black and Latino, 60% first-generation college bound, and 61% qualifying for
free or reduced-price lunch). A key foundation of the charter is PBL, culminating in a college
success portfolio produced during the senior year. Envision, from its inception, saw the pursuit
of long-term goals and all the necessary skills that demands as the most critical elements of
learning. Time-management and persistence through long-term projects are central in their
model. While formal evaluation data is not yet available, Envision reports that 98% of their
graduates go to college and 91% remain in college.
Quest to Learn (http://q2l.org/) is a network of two schools in Chicago and New York City that
share much of the same philosophy, placing a strong emphasis on design thinking. Founded on
principles of game design, the activities in these schools utilize the motivating qualities of game
play to encourage creativity and deep cognitive engagement. What aligns their philosophy
closely with PBL is their view that the best learning happens through a process of trying, failing,
and iterating. In fact, there is an expectation at these schools that assignments almost never be
turned in just once. The process of getting feedback, from both teachers and peers, before
persisting in creative ways to improve one’s work, is seen as a critical in learning and developing
as a student.
Beyond these models, there are a number of schools throughout the country that are developing
their own models. The Middleshift Initiative, funded by the Raikes Foundation, has begun to
build a resource network of such programs to foster what they call “agency”—a combination of
productive mindsets and learning strategies. Middleshift convened a conference in fall of 2012 in
which practitioners, researchers, and policymakers met to begin to build a community of practice
and explore essential design principles.
These models have just begun to emerge in last 5 years or so, and touch only a small percentage
of schools throughout the country. More research is necessary to refine the models and establish
whether they are effective, for whom, and under what circumstances.
School reform programs. A third approach is found in reform programs that work with schools
to help them set up learning environments that are supportive of perseverance. Darling-
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