Developing Tenacity: Teaching learners how to persevere in the face of difficulty (Pedagogy for a Changing World series)
About this ebook
Delving beyond 'grit' and 'growth mindset', and encompassing more than the formal curriculum, Developing Tenacity draws on the co-authors' research at the University of Winchester's Centre for Real-World Learning to offer a powerful synthesis of what it takes for learners to persevere when confronted with challenges. The resulting analysis depicts the true value of tenacity inside and outside the educational setting and provides teachers with action-oriented strategies as to how the four key 'habits' of tenacity confidence, control, commitment and connectivity can be developed in learners.
The wealth of teaching and learning methods presented is accompanied by practical suggestions on how to embed tenacity more systematically into the curriculum, providing plenty of stimuli for lesson planning and for the drip-feeding of everyday activities which boost learners' agency and self-efficacy. The authors also investigate the effectiveness of various pedagogical approaches including developmental self-evaluation, deliberate practice and service learning and share inventive assessment methods which teachers can employ to track learners' progress along the way. Lucas and Spencer then go further by showcasing case studies that illustrate the successful adoption of a capabilities approach by various educational institutions, and offer expert advice on how teachers can overcome any potential obstacles as they journey towards cultivating a tenacious learning culture in their classrooms.
Suitable for all teachers and school leaders in both primary and secondary settings who want to instil a strong sense of tenacity in their pupils' approach to learning.
Click here to watch Prof Bill Lucas and Prof Guy Claxton's video 'Putting the heart and the hand back into schools'.
Developing Tenacity has been named a finalist in the 2018 INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the education category.
About the author
Professor Bill Lucas is Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning at the University of Winchester and, with Ellen Spencer, the originator of a model of creativity in use in schools across the world. A global thought-leader, Bill was co-chair of the PISA 2022 test of creative thinking and curates the Creativity Exchange website.
Dr Ellen Spencer is Senior Researcher at the Centre for Real-World Learning and, with Bill Lucas, author of Teaching Creative Thinking. Ellen is also a Researcher for Arts Council England's Creativity Collaboratives, a three-year project to test a range of innovative practices in teaching for creativity in schools.
