1. THE IMPORTANCE of MAKING MISTAKES
FAILURES - MISTAKES GROWTH MINDSET - GRIT MOTIVATION for LEARNING
Lesson 1

2. “WINNERS” & “LOSERS” 1a. Made over 1000 1b. The actual inventor
attempts trying to invent of the electric the electric light bulb. light bulb.
2a. Became the 16th b. Had 2 unsuccessful President of the United businesses and lost 8 States of America. different elections.
Let’s take a look at those pairs again.
Who can guess the name of the person represented in the first pair? (Thomas Edison).
Who can guess the name of the person represented in the second pair? (Abraham Lincoln) 2

3. “WINNERS” & “LOSERS”
3a. The actual inventor 3b. Made well over 5000
of the now very famous prototypes trying to
Dyson® vacuum cleaner. create a new vacuum
4a. An NBA basketball 4b. An NBA basketball player who missed player who was MVP
9000+ shots & lost 6 times and won 6
More than 300 games. NBA championships.
Read 3a and 3b: Who is the winner in this pair? (pause)
Read 4a and 4b: And the winner in this pair? (pause)
It turns out that in each example, the loser or unsuccessful person, and the winner or successful person, are actually the same person. 3

4. “WINNERS” & “LOSERS” 1a. Made over 1000 1b. The actual inventor
attempts trying to invent of the electric the electric light bulb. light bulb.
Thomas Edison
2a. Became the 16th b. Had 2 unsuccessful President of the United businesses and lost 8 States of America. different elections.
Abraham Lincoln
Let’s take a look at those pairs again.
Who can guess the name of the person represented in the first pair? (Thomas Edison).
Who can guess the name of the person represented in the second pair? (Abraham Lincoln) 4

5. “WINNERS” & “LOSERS” James Dyson Michael Jordan
3a. The actual inventor 3b. Made well over 5000
of the now very famous prototypes trying to
Dyson® vacuum cleaner. create a new vacuum
James Dyson
4a. An NBA basketball 4b. An NBA basketball player who missed player who was MVP
9000+ shots & lost 6 times and won 6
More than 300 games. NBA championships.
Michael Jordan
Read 3a and 3b: Who is the winner in this pair? (pause)
Read 4a and 4b: And the winner in this pair? (pause)
It turns out that in each example, the loser or unsuccessful person, and the winner or successful person, are actually the same person. 5

6. FAMOUS FAILURES https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLYECIjmnQs 6
Let’s watch a video about some people who have failed. [Show Video]
Michael Jordan – Albert Einstein – Oprah Winfrey – Walt Disney – Lionel Messi – Steve Jobs – Eminem – Thomas Edison – The Beatles – Dr. Seuss – and Abraham Lincoln - these are all people who went on to do great things, despite their failures.
The video ends with the quote, “If you’ve never failed, you’ve never tried anything new.” What do you think this means? PAUSE
Remember, learning something new SHOULD be hard, if you are not working hard, you are not learning. Think of riding a bike. Now it is probably very easy for you and you don’t even think about it. But try to remember what it was like when you were first learning... not so easy then, was it. 6

7. FAILURE LEADS TO SUCCESS “LOSERS” BECOME “WINNERS”
People with a Fixed Mindsets tend to use labels and are focused only on the outcomes.
People with a Growth Mindsets tend NOT to use labels, because they focus on the process.
Process: Fail-Learn-Try Again, Fail-Learn (more)-Try Again, Fail-Learn (even more)-Try Again, etc.
People with Grit understand this process, which is why they have the perseverance to continue and the resilience to bounce back after their failures.
So you see, Failure leads to success and “losers” become “winners”.
But when people think with a fixed mindset they tend to use labels to explain everything. All they look at is the outcome.
People with a Growth Mindset tend not to label every attempt, because they focus on the process.
Remember, it takes time; time that is full of mistakes and failures, to make all of the necessary connections we need to finally understand something. With a growth mindset, we understand that failure is a necessary pathway to success, and that with grit we can stick to our goal through all of the challenging times. Failure and mistakes are a normal part of the process toward success. These unsuccessful attempts build new connections in our brain and strengthen existing ones so we learn a little more from each from each one.
Struggling with schoolwork, getting wrong answers, and not understanding concepts, is the natural process. It strengthens our brains so we can learn. 7

8. A FOCUS ON ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS FAILURES MICHAEL JORDAN
Let’s watch another short video. [Show Video]
“I’ve failed over, and over, and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.” What do you think Michael Jordan means when he says this? PAUSE
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. His family and friends thought that his brother was the one that was going to be a basketball star. Jordan would wake up early in the morning to practice before school, and would always stay late after practice. What kind of a mindset do you think Michael Jordan has? (Growth Mindset). Why? PAUSE (he didn’t believe that he could never be a basketball star, he believed that with practice he could get better, good enough to be a star.)
Once, after missing a crucial free throw at the buzzer, he stayed after the game and shot free throws for six hours. Do you think Michael Jordan has Grit? (Yes). Why? PAUSE (He had the resilience to not be defeated by his failure, and the perseverance to practice free throws for 6 hours) 8

9. LET’S DO A QUICK REVIEW OF EVERYTHING YOU‘VE LEARNED IN ALL THREE UNITS
[READ THE SLIDE]
READY? 9

10. A REVIEW OF GROWTH MINDSET
The belief that your basic qualities and abilities like intelligence, personal characteristics, and talent, are things that you CAN fundamentally change and improve.
Through effort, the right strategies and getting help from others, you can achieve more than you thought you ever could.
[Show the definition and then read the definition]
[Show the Second Part]
Remember that the idea is to put in the effort, add the right strategies, and look to get help from others, because it is when you put all three of these together that you are on your way to learning and success. 10

11. MINDSET MATTERS
You now understand your brain grows bigger and stronger by forming more, faster and stronger connections between brain cells (Neurons)
2. You understand these connections grow through your efforts, practice, and use of strategies; and that this process is what we call learning
3. You also understand you can improve all of the following:
Intelligence
Physical Ability and Talent
Personality
[Read the Slide] 11

12. YOUR BRAIN NEEDS ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
Fuel
Sleep
Exercise
Challenge!
Do you remember the four important things that your brain needs so that it can function at tip-top capacity?
(Fuel) Your brain needs fuel, such as healthy foods with Omega-3’s like Eggs, Nuts and Fish
(Sleep) Your brain needs to recharge for at least 1/3 of your day. You need 8-9 hours of sleep each night. If your brain doesn’t get enough rest, you forget things more easily.
(Exercise) Movement and exercise increase breathing and heart rate so more blood flows to your brain. A recent study found that walking actually improves memory.
(Challenge) If you don’t use brain cells, you’ll lose them. Research shows that the more you challenge your brain, the more connections you grow between cells.
The more connections between cells the smarter you become. 12

13. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SUCCESSFUL LEARNING?
Your memory does not work as well when your brain does not have enough energy or rest.
When you get moving, and get more blood flowing to your brain, you actually help increase your memory.
Even though school is hard, the more you challenge your brain, the better it gets at making connections and building new pathways.
All of this leads to you being a smarter, more successful student.
(Read slide first)
If you just cram for a test the night before, and only study the material at the last minute, why is your brain likely to forget the knowledge when the test is over? PAUSE (Answer: You didn’t practice a lot and your brain didn’t get enough sleep.) 13

14. A REVIEW OF GRIT Grit: Combination of persistence and resilience
Persistence: You keep trying when you face challenges and stay focused on the challenge without allowing yourself to get distracted.
Resilience: You show toughness when you get knocked down by challenges and you bounce back and keep trying until you complete the challenge.
Now lets review what we know about Grit.
[Read the Slide]
Challenges are difficult, and it usually doesn’t feel good to struggle. It takes grit to stick with the challenges you face, but it is important that you do keep at it.
Even when the obstacles knock you down or you lose your focus, grit can help you bounce back and keep trying. 14

15. WHY GRIT IS IMPORTANT FOR LEARNING TO OCCUR?
When you are not challenged, because your schoolwork is too easy, you are not really learning anything.
Learning comes from being challenged, trying and failing, and learning from our mistake. You show your grit when you keep trying.
School is all about learning, learning is all about facing our challenges, and challenges are usually very hard work.
When you show grit you turn a challenge into new learning, and turn a former challenge into your newest ability or skill.
[Read the Slide]
Remember, it takes time to learn, and quitting makes you stop before the learning can take place. Grit helps you to keep going, because you know that as long as you keep trying you can eventually learn anything. 15

16. MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING
The purpose of all you have “learned” in these units and lessons is for you to become increasingly more motivated to learn in the classroom, school, and life.
Your growth mindset and grit will help you to sustain the necessary effort, put in the needed practice and study, and listen to your teachers and others so you will develop the knowledge and strategies for success. 16

17. GROWTH MINDSET, GRIT, & MOTIVATION FOR LEARNING
Remember there are many students that you know who still look at learning with a fixed mindset, they give up easily in the face of challenges and setbacks because they do not understand the importance of showing grit, and they do not have the benefit of knowing that their brain can grow, get stronger, and that they CAN become smarter and learn new things.
I CHALLENGE YOU TO TELL THEM ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED SO THEY TOO CAN BE MORE MOTIVATED INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM. WILL YOU DO IT?
[READ THE SLIDE] 17

18. REFERENCES
Abdi, I. (2012, December 11). Michael Jordan: Growth mindset [Video file]. Retrieved from
King, R., & King, D. (2011). Step-It-Up-2-Thrive. Thrive Foundation for Youth, Menlo Park, CA.
Motivating success (2012, May 15). Famous failures [Video file]. Retrieved from
References 18