Webinar that discusses the "Tenacity, Grit, and Perseverance" report released by the U.S. Dept of Education. Highlighted two SmarterMeasure clients schools and how they use the tool to improve their programs.

1. An Overview of
Promoting Grit, Tenacity,
and Perseverance
Dr. Mac Adkins, SmarterServices
Dr. Yi Guan-Raczkowski, Middlesex Community College
Wendy Wibbens, Colorado State University – Global Campus

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– webinar #noncognitive
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3. Sorry, we are not promoting grits.

4. Draft released Feb 14, 2013
Emphasizes
the
importance of
noncognitive
attributes in
student
success.

5. Call to Action
The test score accountability movement and conventional
educational approaches tend to focus on intellectual aspects
of success, such as content knowledge. However, this is not
sufficient. If students are to achieve their full potential, they
must have opportunities to engage and develop a much
richer set of skills. There is a growing movement to explore
the potential of the ―noncognitive‖ factors—attributes,
dispositions, social skills, attitudes, and intrapersonal
resources, independent of intellectual ability—that high-
achieving individuals draw upon to accomplish success.

6. Singing
Our
Song
Over the past ten years the noncognitive attributes of more than 2,000,000
students have been measured with the
SmarterMeasure Learning Readiness Indicator

7. POLL
How strong of an indicator
of student persistence do
you consider noncognitive
indicators to be?
Very Strong
Strong
Moderate
Weak
Very Weak

8. WEBINAR AGENDA
• Introduction to Noncognitive Attributes
• What is Grit?
• How is it Measured?
• How Can Educators Foster It?
• Examples
• Colorado State University - Global
Campus
• Middlesex Community College

9. Four Research Questions
1. What are grit, tenacity and perseverance?
2. How are these factors measured currently?
3. How can formal and informal learning
environments be designed to promote these
factors for a wide variety of students?

10. Noncognitive Attributes

11. Noncognitive
Attributes
In 2011 the National
Research Council
released ―Assessing
21st Century Skills.‖

12. 21st Century Skills
―The routine jobs of yesterday are being replaced by
technology and/or shipped off-shore. In their place, job
categories that require knowledge management, abstract
reasoning, and personal services seem to be growing. The
modern workplace requires workers to have broad cognitive
and affective skills. Often referred to as "21st century skills,"
these skills include being able to solve complex problems, to
think critically about tasks, to effectively communicate with
people from a variety of different cultures and using a variety
of different techniques, to work in collaboration with others, to
adapt to rapidly changing environments and conditions for
performing tasks, to effectively manage one's work, and to
acquire new skills and information on one's own.‖

13. 21st Century Skills
COGNITIVE INTERPERSONAL INTRAPERSONAL
Problem solving Communication Self-management
Critical thinking Social skills Time management
Systems thinking Team-work Self-development
Cultural sensitivity Self-regulation
Dealing with diversity Adaptability

14. Noncognitive Attributes
―Years of schooling predicts labor market
outcomes—cognitive skills account for only
20%; therefore 80% of the ―years of
schooling‖ benefit is due to noncognitive
skills.‖ (Bowles, Gintis, & Osborne, 2001)

15. Percentage Employers Rating Skill as ―Very Important‖
Conference Board (2008)

16. Collegiate Uses of Noncognitive Data
• The typical measures of academic achievement (GPA,
standardized test scores) and demographic factors (i.e.
first generation college student) can be augmented with
ENROLLMENT noncognitve data for a more holistic/predictive model.
• Learners can be directed toward resources and
experiences which can foster improvement in
PERSONAL noncognitive skills.
DEVELOPMENT
• The affective domains of course/degree program
objectives and student services programs can be
PROGRAMMATIC
assessed regarding improvement in noncognitive
ASSESSMENT outcomes

17. POLL
Indicate each way that your
school is currently using
noncognitive data.
Enrollment Process
Personal Development
Programmatic Assessment
Other

18. What are grit, tenacity and
perseverance?
―Grit - Perseverance to
accomplish long-term or
higher-order goals in the face
of challenges and setbacks,
engaging the student’s
psychological resources,
such as their academic
mindsets, effortful control,
and strategies and tactics.‖

19. Sociocultural Context
―It is well documented that
students from high-poverty
backgrounds are particularly
likely to face great stress and
limited social support for
academic achievement.
These are factors which can
undermine perseverance
toward a wide range of
goals.‖

20. Learning Environments
1. Students need opportunities to
take on ―optimally challenging‖
goals that, to the student, are
worthy of pursuit.
2. Students need a rigorous and
supportive environment to
accomplish these goals and/or
develop critical psychological
resources.

21. Psychological Resources
1. Academic mindsets – Beliefs, attitudes,
dispositions, values, and ways of
perceiving oneself. ―My ability and
competence grow with my effort.‖
2. Effortful control - Students must be
diligent when faced with tasks that are
important for long-term goals but that in
the short-term do not feel desirable or
intrinsically motivating.
3. Strategies and tactics – Actionable skills
for taking responsibility and initiative.
Planning, monitoring, change course,
overcoming obstacles.

22. Potential Risks of Grit
Persevering to accomplish goals that are
extrinsically motivated, unimportant to the
student, or in some way inappropriate for the
student can potentially induce stress, anxiety,
and distraction, and have detrimental impacts
on a student’s long-term retention, conceptual
learning, or psychological well-being.

23. Benefits of Measuring Grit
1. Feedback to educators
2. Inform program design
3. Research in perseverance
4. Diagnostic indicators about
vulnerable students

24. Disposition or Process
Disposition measures indicate a
general or enduring tendency to
persevere.
Process measures include
sequences of behaviors, emotions,
physiological reactions, and/or
thoughts that unfold over time
during learning.

25. Methods for Measuring Grit
1. Self Report – Learners respond to
questions about their perceptions,
attitudes, goals, etc.
2. Informant Report –Teachers, parents, and
others
3. School Records – Attendance, discipline
records.
4. Behavioral Task Performance –
Engagement metrics from LMS

26. Learning Environments
They reviewed 50
programs for promoting
grit and articulated five
conceptual models for
creating environments
that foster persistence.

27. College Readiness Programs
Students best develop
attention regulation and
self-control when they
can practice skills in a
supportive environment
that addresses
cognitive, social, and
physical development
together.

28. POLL
My school offers some form
of college readiness
program.
Yes
No

29. Brief Interventions
Brief interventions (e.g., 2
to 10 hours) can
significantly impact
students’ mindsets and
learning strategies, and, in
turn, academic
performance.

30. Alternative School Models
• Character Education - Explicit articulation
of learning goals for targeted dispositions
• Project Based - Engagement in long-term,
challenging, real-world problems that
require planning, monitoring, feedback, and
iteration.
• Targeted support – First in family to go to
college, STEM professions, etc.

31. Online Resources
• Digital learning environments that provide
optimal challenge through adaptivity;
• Digital tools to help educators promote a
rigorous and supportive classroom climate
• Resources, information, materials, and
tools to accomplish difficult goals

32. Report from two schools which use
the SmarterMeasure Learning
Readiness Indicator as a measure of
noncognitive readiness.

33. Using SmarterMeasure at Colorado
State University-Global Campus
– Pre-admission
• for applicants who do not meet admissions criteria
• One of the evaluation criteria for admit decision
– Students not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress
• Help students self-assess
• Provide insight into non-cognitive factors
• Better informed strategic planning and goal setting for success

34. Non-cognitive Skills at CSU-GC
• Academic Predictors
– No consistent predictive value
• Non-cognitive factors
– Motivation and commitment
– Life factors
– Locus of control
– Help seeking

35. Student Stories
• Professional motivators
• Linking professional and academic cross-over
skills
• Parenthood – setting an example
• Overcoming health & family tragedy

36. A Case Study in SmarterMeasure
• Middlesex Community College used SmarterMeasure for
advising and helping online/hybrid students since Spring
2009.
• A case study has been done on 3228 students in six online
semesters.
– Correlations between SmarterMeasure scores and final
grades.
– For overall 3228 students and each of six semesters, the
score of personal attributes shows a significant correlation
with student grades.
– The score of personal attributes in SmarterMeasure is a
strong predictor to student success in online learning.

37. Implementation of SmarterMeasure
• Based on the finding, strategies are implemented
– Academic advising
• Advise potential online students take SmarterMeasure to find
out their strengths and weaknesses in online learning.
• Explain to students that the aspects of personal attributes,
motivation, disciplines, time management, etc. contribute
highly to their success.
• Seminars – Better Prepared for Online Learning
– Orientation (online and on-campus)
• Taking SmarterMeasure
• Learning course navigation and various tools in Blackboard
• Success Tips
– During a semester
• Student success seminars

38. Thank you for joining us
• Complete survey at close of webinar
• Contact info
– Dr. Mac Adkins – mac@smarterservices.com
– Wendy Wibbens – wendy.wibbens@csuglobal.edu
– Dr. Yi Guan-Raczkowski –
Yguan-raczkowski@mxcc.commnet.edu