Grit in education and learning

Teaching experience and limits of IQ

The speaker’s teaching experience in New York City public schools showed that IQ was not the only factor separating students’ best and worst performance. Some high-IQ students struggled, while some strong performers did not have exceptionally high IQ scores. This led to the conclusion that education and success depend on more than how quickly or easily someone can learn, and that educators need a better understanding of motivation and psychological factors in learning. After moving into psychology, the speaker studied success across many demanding settings (e.g., West Point training, the National Spelling Bee, tough school environments, and competitive business contexts). Across these varied domains, IQ was not the consistent predictor of success; instead, “grit” emerged as a significant factor. Grit—defined as long-term passion and perseverance—was linked to outcomes such as staying in training, advancing in competitions, and graduating from high school, even when controlling for other measurable variables. The speaker also emphasizes the limits of what science currently knows about building grit. Talent alone does not guarantee grit, and grit can be unrelated or even inversely related to talent measures. The best available approach mentioned is “growth mindset,” which teaches that learning ability is not fixed and can improve with effort; this helps students persist after failure. However, the speaker argues that more research and testing are needed to develop effective ways to cultivate grit in students.

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Motivational and psychological perspectives in education

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