Bill Lucas and Ellen Spencer's 'Developing Tenacity: Teaching learners how to persevere in the face of difficulty' is a powerful call to action and a practical handbook for all teachers who want to stimulate and strengthen their pupils learning tenacity.
The UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Social Mobility recently proposed the adoption by schools of specific interventions in the areas of resilience and character; meanwhile, across the Atlantic, an end-of-high-school score for grit is also being considered in the USA. In line with this growing consensus, an increasing body of evidence suggests that cultivating these competencies is key to success both in school and in later life. In 'Developing Tenacity', the second instalment in the Pedagogy for a Changing World series, Lucas and Spencer show educators how.
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.
Contents include:
Series Introduction: Capabilities and Pedagogy
Chapter 1: Tenacity
Chapter 2: Cultivating Tenacity
Chapter 3: Getting Going
Chapter 4: Going Deeper
Chapter 5: Promising Practices
Chapter 6: Signs of Success
Chapter 7: Tenacity Challenges
Professor Bill Lucas is Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning. With Guy Claxton he created the Expansive Education Network: a group of teacher researchers who share a common view of the goals of education. These goals are outlined in Bill and Guy's seminal book, Educating Ruby. Bill is also co-chair of the new 2021 PISA test of creative thinking, a member of the LEGO Foundation s advisory board and an adviser to Australia's Mitchell Institute.
Dr Ellen Spencer is a senior researcher at the Centre for Real-World Learning. She has a PhD from the University of Warwick, where her doctoral research focused on the impact of policy on school improvement. With Bill Lucas and Guy Claxton, Ellen is co-author of 'Expansive Education: Teaching learners for the real world'.
