“I’m ALREADY trying hard!”
Common approaches to learning—academics and athletics, especially—link effort with success. Struggling and special needs learners often conclude, “Something must be wrong with me; I know I tried.” Some stop trying, but they don’t need to. The amount of effort required is neither an indicator of something wrong with the learner, nor a predictor of a learner’s success. Effort often means, simply: “I’m not an expert yet.” How can we become expert learners, so we can learn with ease—and help our struggling and special needs learners do likewise?