专业学习
Many teachers intuitively look to familiar activities that have been widely used for decades when teaching new material. These include having students repeatedly reading and highlighting texts and intensively practicing one skill or problem type to “burn it into memory” before moving on to the next. These methods do work in the short run when the only goal is to display the new information or skill on an immediate assessment, yet the learning quickly dissipates and can’t beretrieved for future applicationto a new situation.
On the other hand, durable mastery of the academic skills and content set forth in more rigorous state standards, including theCommon Core State Standards, is evidenced by deep conceptual understanding and procedural fluency that transfers to new situations and persists over time. Empirical cognitive and neuroscience research shows that this kind of learning is achieved only throughproductive strugglein the classroom.
But what is the definition of productive struggle, and why is it important?
The Definition of Productive Struggle
Significant, durable academic learning is difficult. When students expend effort to grapple with perplexing problems or make sense of challenging ideas, they engage in a process of productive struggle—effortful practice that goes beyond passive reading, listening, or watching—that builds useful, lasting understanding and skill.
Why Is Productive Struggle Important?
Effort and persistence matter so much because we encounter new information through our limited short-term working memory system, which focuses attention by filtering out most environmental stimuli. Working memory holds the attended-to information for only a few seconds, seeking meaning through associations between the new material and what we already know.
Then, the more we actively work with the new material over time to strengthen those associations, the better organized and integrated into our existing knowledge via interconnected neural networks orschemasof long-term memory, meaning, and understanding it becomes. Building robust, lasting connections between new and old information requires conscious effort to repeatedly pull the newer information from memory, includingmaking mistakes along the wayand correcting them through feedback and further practice.
也可以提高学生的metaco生产斗争gnitive self-regulation—the ability to set learning goals, plan strategies to meet those goals, monitor progress, and know when and how to ask for help along the way. Critical thinking requires these types of self-regulation and thought processes.
Key Elements of Productive Struggle
Motivation, persistence, andscaffolded support through targeted explanatory feedbackare key elements of productive struggle.
Motivation and persistence:When a learning goal is clear and the level of challenge is not too low or too high, students are more likely to be internally motivated to engage in productive struggle to achieve the goal.
Opportunities for choice, collaboration, use of interesting texts, and hands-on activities bolster student motivation, while too many competing demands for attention can diminish student resolve to persist toward an academic goal.
Furthermore, motivation for productive struggle requires a “growth mindset”—theunderstanding that success is a result of effortmore than of raw ability. A growth mindset makes students eager for new challenges and enthusiastic, rather than fearful, about learning from mistakes. Students who believe that their ability levels are inherent and “fixed” are less motivated to engage in productive struggle because they fear failure, resist risks, and worry about the judgments of others, thwarting their own learning.
Support and feedback:The durability of students’ motivation to persist in struggling to achieve an academic goal is mediated by the quality of the teacher–student relationship and the scaffolding provided through feedback. Struggle in academic learning contexts isnotproductive when students become frustrated because the goal is unclear or far out of reach, they do not feel safe to fail, or they do not receive adequate, appropriate support. Struggle can be destructive in this situation, and teachers need to intervene after finding that students are not making any progress and feeling that their efforts are pointless.
Effective feedback makes clear to students what the goal is, what progress they are making toward that goal, and what they need to do next to make better progress. Instead of merely correcting students’ errors, effective feedback guides students to develop better strategies for processing and understanding the material so that they gain mastery, confidence, and motivation to continue to invest effort in productive struggle.
***
Learn more aboutWaggle, the award-winning personalized learning program, and how it engages students in Grades 2–8 in productive struggle to grow proficiency.
The information in this blog post originated from the white paper"Productive Struggle for Deeper Learning" by Marcella L. Bullmaster-Day, EdD.
This blog post was originally published in April 2019 and was updated in June 2022.
Related Reading
-
Creating a School Improvement Planning Process That Works
Zoe Del Mar
ShapedStaff -
What Is Orthographic Mapping in Reading and Why Is It Important?
Dr. Amy Endo
Education Research Director, Supplemental & Intervention Language & Literacy -
How to Talk to Kids about School Tragedies
HMH Staff
CORE CURRICULUM
HMH Social Studies, 6-12
SEE ALL SOCIAL STUDIES
AP & ELECTIVES
AP Human Geography
Personal Finance
SEE ALL SOCIAL STUDIES
AP & ELECTIVES
SUPPLEMENTAL
Connected Teaching and Learning
HMH’s Connected Teaching and Learning integrates assessment, core instruction, supplemental practice, intervention, and professional learning all on one platform.
Professional Development
Providing professional development for teachers, HMH’s professional learning courses, coaching, and leadership advisory supports educators every step of the way.
Keeping It Current For Grades 6–12
Each month we bring you videos, articles, and current events designed to build cultural awareness, media literacy, and a deeper understanding of significant historical figures and events.
For Teachers
Coaching Membership
Teacher's Corner
Live Online Courses
SEE ALL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
For Leaders
在Educa冰柱(国际中心的领导地位tion)
Intervention Curriculum
HMH's K-12 intervention programs are built on 20+ years of proven results. We can help teachers develop an intervention curriculum that meets students' needs.
Science of Reading eBook
In this exclusive Science of Reading eBook you’ll find research-backed information that will walk you through the experience new readers face as they build their reading brain.
Model Schools Conference
Join us for our 31st annual Model School Conferences presented by ICLE. We showcase districts, schools, and educators who have achieved success.
AP & Electives
Assessment
Early Learning
English Language Development
Homeschool
Intervention
Literacy
Mathematics
Professional Development
Science
School Improvement
Social and Emotional Learning
Social Studies
Special Education
Summer School
SEE ALL SOLUTIONS
Intervention Curriculum
HMH's K-12 intervention programs are built on 20+ years of proven results. We can help teachers develop an intervention curriculum that meets students' needs.
BROWSE RESOURCES
Classroom Activities
Customer Success Stories
Digital Samples
Events & Webinars
Grants & Funding
International
Research Library
Shaped - HMH Blog
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
Contact Sales
Customer Service & Technical Support Portal
Platform Login
Free Teaching Resources: Fun Classroom Activities and Lesson Plan Ideas
Here you'll find free learning activities, lessons, downloadables, and videos for students in Grades K–12 to keep learning and growing at grade level.
2022–2023 Monthly Calendar Themes for School
Check out these monthly calendar themes for school, complete with teaching resources for holidays and other days of significance for all grade levels.
Learn about us
About
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Governance
News Announcements
Our Legacy
Social Responsibility
Supplier Diversity
Join Us
Careers
Educator Input Panel
Suppliers and Vendors
Divisions
Heinemann
在Educa冰柱(国际中心的领导地位tion)
NWEA