A message from Peggy Larson, Ed.D
District Administrator
Tip 3: Challenge but Don’t Rescue.
We learn a lot from making mistakes, pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone, and taking risks to try new things.
Encountering challenges, mistakes, and failure builds a growth mindset and develops intellectual resilience. When your child encounters difficulties, don’t jump in to solve the problem and rescue him/her. Instead, ask questions that will help him/her to think through the problem, and then identify and choose a course of action to move forward.
The Learning Pit
I think out of the 10 tips this is my favorite. James Nottingham, Co-founder and Director of Challenging Learning, created the learning pit. At the core of the Challenge is “the pit.” Learners “in the pit” are in a state of cognitive conflict, defined as those times when learners have two or more ideas that make sense to them, but which upon reflection, find that the ideas conflict with each other. It is in the pit where students struggle and think to find solutions.
I did it!
James talks about a “Eureka” moment. Eureka means, “I found it.” Not my teacher found it, or my mom found it, but “Eureka! I found it!” We know when students discover their answer or hit that Eureka moment because they can’t stop talking about their discovery. This also goes back to tip #2, develop a growth mindset.
The pit allows students to discover their learning and creates that growth mindset - I can learn! I can improve! So, let your children ponder and think. Don’t provide your solutions. Let them come up with their own solution. I realize it is difficult to watch your child(ren) struggle, but ask questions, don’t give them the answers. When they discover solutions on their own their self-confidence will grow, too.
