“Success is a ladder you cannot climb with your hands in your pockets.” ~American Proverb

Effort. As teachers, we understand the significance of this one word. But for many of our students, the “ladders” they need to climb appear too steep, too high, too dangerous. Some students believe that they will never reach the top because they might fall off the ladder, the whole ladder will topple over or they are afraid to climb it in the first place. And so they do not set foot on even one rung; they keep their proverbial hands in their pockets.

Not all students realize the importance of effort. I would even generalize to say that most do not understand the correlation between effort and success. One of the most significant research studies that I have ever read states that “students who were (explicitly) taught about the relationship between effort and achievement increased their achievement more than students who were taught techniques for time management and comprehension of new material.” (Van Overwalle and DeMetsenare, 1990)

Climbing the Ladder- One Rung at a Time

The most important planning I do as a teacher is to examine my own thought processes when performing a task. I recognize that I cannot teach my students anything unless I am cognizant of the thought processes that lead to the accomplishment of that task. As I pondered how to teach my students about the relationship between effort and success, I developed a checklist of processes that I use when I learn.

As my students were developing an understanding of effort, this checklist became the focus of the beginning of every lesson. There was a great deal of dialogue about each tactic. Students were expected to keep a record of the learning tactics that they used as I taught. I modeled through think alouds how I use each learning tactic myself. I wanted my students to understand what each tactic looked like and sounded like.

My classroom vernacular now regularly includes the words “learning tactics.” Students have taken ownership of their learning tactics as evidenced by the discussions that follow the culminations of lessons.

Case in point: Joshua expressed to me that he was not clear on how to subtract mixed numbers. I asked him if he could pinpoint where his understanding was breaking down. He told me that he did not understand how to regroup when necessary. I asked him what learning tactics he used. He explained that he looked at the teacher, thought about the topic and asked questions. So, I asked him to consider adding another learning tactic as I explained the process of regrouping with mixed numbers again.

Joshua decided to come up to the front of the room and lay on the floor to be closer to the board where I was writing. After the lesson, I gave him five problems to try independently. He was overjoyed when he got them all correct! I asked him how he accomplished his goal. He showed me that he had created a list of the steps that I had demonstrated. In short, he had created his own graphic organizer to help him remember the information.

“Oh, you used writing to help you, and you made it into a graphic organizer! Do you think this made a difference? “

“Yes! I understand now!” Joshua was one happy little boy!

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