Is Your Child Putting Forth Enough Effort? How to Define, Measure and Increase Effort in Children & Teens
Effort is without a doubt one of the best predictors of school (and life) success! How's that for a hot take? While this statement is not really that provocative, it should at least motivate parents, teachers and stakeholders in children's futures to focus more on this skill (and yes, it can be taught, so it is a skill) than the more common reading, writing, 'rithmetic skills.
As a society, we've pretty much figured out how to teach academic skills pretty well. Even when children struggle to learn we have specialized curriculum and teachers. What we don't focus enough on is teaching effort. We also struggle to define and measure it.
The most useful way to assess effort in children and teens is NOT to ask, “Did you try your best?”
Effort is much more measurable when it is defined as observable behaviors that occur before, during, and after a task.
This is particularly important because a child can spend two hours “doing homework” while producing very little, while another child may work for 30 minutes with excellent focus, persistence, self-monitoring, and problem-solving.
A practical definition of effort
For schoolwork, I would define effort as:
The degree to which a student independently initiates, sustains, monitors, and adjusts their behavior in order to accomplish a task, especially when the task is difficult, boring, frustrating, or requires delayed gratification.
That definition gives parents and educators something they can actually measure.
The 7 Dimensions of Academic Effort
Initiation
Starting without frequent reminders
Sustained Attention
Remains engaged rather than drifting
Persistence
Continues when something becomes difficult
Strategy Use
Changes approach when stuck
Self-Monitoring
Checks whether work is being done correctly
Self-Regulation
Manages distractions, emotions and impulses
Completion and Follow Through
Finishes or communicates when work is incomplete
Initiation
Many people who struggle with task completion state that it is harder to get started on than to finish a task. This goes for EVERYONE! Children, teens and adults.
Finding what gets a person started will likely include setting (in the car on the way home, during study hall, at a coffee shop, etc.), due dates (is it due that night, in weeks from now) and time allotment (do you have too little or too much time?).
Some great tips I've heard from other experts include:
Start with 1 = Have the child just do one problem and phrase it that way, "Just do one and let's see how it goes from there."
Go somewhere else = Some kids have a hard time initiating at home because "home is for fun" and they are at school all day so get started in the car, at a Starbucks or even a....wait for it....LIBRARY!
Buddy up = Sometimes working with a partner who is also doing work helps get us into the routine.
Sustained Attention
If Initiation is like a runner starting the race, Sustained Attention is the ability to keep your pace until the end of it. Unfortunately for today's youth, there are more distractions readily available. As the adults in the room, we have to do our best to limit them, not as punishment, but to help do what their frontal lobes can't. If that's not enough, there are some other methods such as:
Switching tasks = Once attention starts to wane, the child can change subjects or tasks, take a productive break (clean or organize something) or change the way they are doing the task.
Change location = The brain also does pretty well when we introduce some novelty so moving locations while working can sometimes be enough to reset.
Use immediate reinforcers = Brains also like rewards so sometimes an attractive reward can be just the right motivator to keep that attention "muscle" working.
Persistence
Once you start, can you keep going?
That is probably the easiest definition you can find on persistence. But wait, there's more!
Persistence usually has to do with sustaining attention, effort and energy when the task is "hard" or "boring." That is when it really matters. It's easy for most kids to play a video game or watch shows with plenty of energy and attention. Now let's see if they can match that energy and attention when studying Spanish vocabulary or algebra.
Like previous sections, there are some helpful ways to increase a students' persistence including:
Exercise analogy = Think of persistence as one more push-up when you don't think you can do any more. If they are at the point of giving up, let's see if they can do one more. That is where that persistence "muscle" is being built.
Praise effort, not results = If you see your child struggling YET sticking with it, praise that! That effort they are showing is what will take them farther in life than memorizing multiplication tables.
Strategy Use
Instead of just asking:
"What work do you have to do?"
We should be asking:
"What's your plan to get the job done?"
Strategies are tools. And like tools, you'll need different ones for different jobs. Can't figure out how to do a math problem, you might find a video or ask a friend. Need help memorizing information, there are lots of mnemonic devices to rely upon.
The key is that if something isn't working, children learn that they can try something else. This is especially true for attention and effort. If it's hard to self-motivate, you might want to collaborate with someone or see if you can do something special afterwards (NOT getting an expensive gift or vacation but maybe getting to pick the movie to watch that night or what to have for dessert).
Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring can be thought of as "frequently checking in on yourself ensuring you're doing what you need to get done and in the most efficient way possible."
This allows children and teens to tweak what they are doing, how they are doing it to maxmize results. This skill is also used to monitor emotions and to know if they are interferring with functioning which comes in handy if you're a teenager (or toddler, or adult!). Some ways to help foster strong self-monitoring skills are:
Modeling it = If you are having a difficult time focusing or staying calm, you can name it (e.g., "I'm having a tough time getting this work done right now, let me try something else" or "My brain is telling me I need to take some space.")
Check-In = You can teach children how to do a quick check-in by teaching them to ask themselves if they are:
doing what they are supposed to be doing
giving the necessary amount of attention and energy
trying something else if they are getting stuck and
asking for help if needed
Self-Regulation
Self-Regulation uses execuitve functioning tools to manage real-world demands, like staying quiet in a classroom, finishing a frustrating task, or ignoring distractions and requires the cognitive management system to monitor and control emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in daily life.
Children who are more adept at self-regulating are better able to do difficult things like hard homework assignments or prolonged attention to less stimulating tasks. We can help them develop this by:
Keep you cool = Easier said than done! By the time your child is dysregulated, they're going to sound and act differently (inappropriate voice tone, nastier language, etc.) so you'll have to match their intensity with just as much calmness and patience.
Prepare for dysregulation = When it comes to schoolwork, we can almost always predict a certain response from children and teens. So let's plan for it! If your child HATES doing math work, pair it with something they enjoy like their favorite snack or if the weather is nice, doing it outside (as long as it is not too distracting for them).
Completion & Follow Through
One of my favorite questions to ask middle and high school students is how they know when they are done studying. Knowing when homework is complete is usually pretty easy. But studying?! Back in the 1900's (the 80's and 90's to be more precise), we were given practice tests or our text books had chapter reviews at the end of each chapter which were our way to measure if we were prepared for a test or not. If your children's teachers are provoding them with practice tests, rubrics, study guides, wonderful! If not, you'll have to figure out with them what works best.
The same can be said for homework or projects. Anything measurable is easier to determine if it is complete or not; however, we must help our children learn the following:
Done or Done Right = Some work doesn't require the same amount of attention and energy as other work. Think of copying spelling words versus writing an essay.
Turned In = Most homework nowadays is submitted online. If I had a nickel every time I worked with a student who forgot to submit work...Your child should learn how to master their school portals like Blackboard, Canvas, Google Classroom, etc.
Final Points
While children are graded on their work production, they are not given feedback regarding their effort. The student who worked very hard to get a C on a test still gets a C. The good news is that effort, like many other things children develop, is a skill. And like most skills, it takes time to learn and strengthen. Let's start likening it to a muscle. The more our children put forth effort, the stronger the muscle becomes making it easier to use next time.
Hopefully one day, putting forth a lot of effort for what they want to achieve later in life will be....effortless!
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