Education was not the place where I was learning. Education became a stage when I was trying to perform. Learning has left the building. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the greatest myth sold is that grades matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHa,\u201d replied a colleague. \u201cWait\u2026 doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of us would agree that grades doesn\u2019t make you happy in the long-term, in fact, the pursuit of good scores makes you miserable. Neither does it predict future success in your career. Focusing on grades is associated with less risk taking and creativity<\/a>. But as K. Anders Ericsson once said to me, \u201cmeasure what people do, not what people say.\u201d Most of us, agree that grades don\u2019t matter, but look at how many of us get caught up with this modern myth in the pursuit of perfect grades. I said grades really didn\u2019t matter to me, but look at what I was doing. I was playing the game. I even played this game a little further when I returned to do a Ph.D. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Grades are a finite game<\/strong>.[1] The rules of the game are defined by the ivory tower of academia. Reach the end of this game, and you get a wildcard. This wildcard lets you decide if you want to play the next game called \u201cthe corporate ladder\u201d or, play another round of academia (Masters, doctoral, post-doctoral, become a lecturer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure. Grades matter. It sends a powerful signal. It costs a lot to get \u201ceducated,\u201d and you are likely to get into a recruitment process for your designated job, as it signals to prospective employer that you meet the trifecta of intelligence, conscientiousness and conformity<\/strong>.[2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heck, the alphabets after our names signal not only to the others that we\u2019ve earned this, but it becomes a story we tell ourselves that we’ve made the grade. These post-nominal letters says, \u201cLook, I am competent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working and consulting with therapists from the all over made me realise that so many of us are fearful of committing a blunder, something that signals incompetence. We worry if we aren\u2019t doing \u201cevidenced-based\u201d or evidenced-informed practice, or that we are missing something that the rest of the profession are clued in to, like the latest trauma-focused neuroscience based approach, cutting edge science on self-compassion, or something else. We end up doing our best to perform, to meet some competency checklist pre-defined by the country\u2019s governing body, which paradoxically, impedes our ability to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be clear, I\u2019m not talking about \u201cGrit,\u201d the 12-item scale developed by Angela Duckworth and her team. [3]. Duckworth\u2019s work might have gotten a lot of press, but as the main proponent of grit, she has stated in an op-ed in the New York Times<\/a> \u201cI worry I\u2019ve contributed, inadvertently, to an idea I vigorously oppose: high-stakes character assessment.\u201d She goes on to say, \u201cmy concerns stem from intimate acquaintance with the limitations<\/a> of the measures themselves\u2026 Should we turn measures of character intended for research and self-discovery into high-stakes metrics for accountability? In my view, no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides, the Grit scale penalises people who \u201cinterests change from year to year,\u201d and, \u201cset a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.\u201d In other words, people who change their pursuit are deemed as less gritty. Especially for students in higher education, if we stop and think about it, asking a 18-year-old to stick to their major is like asking him to marry their first sweetheart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The road of true growth comes with the territory of changing of minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (In case you are wondering \u201cwhat about measuring growth vs fixed mindset?\u201d I\u2019m not referring to that either. Besides, isn\u2019t it a fixed mindset to be asking if a person has a fixed or a growth mindset? For more on this, read this post<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if we can fix this? What if we start to truly value growth and not just competence<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m not saying we shouldn\u2019t play this finite game of going to higher education. In fact, as a client I would like to see that my therapist is at the very least licensed i.e., competent in the eyes of some pre-ordained registered body that professions pay their annual dues to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What I\u2019m saying is to change the rules of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if we figure out a way to measure each learner\u2019s development across time, help them expand their hunger for ongoing development and less about their ability? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Measuring competence triggers an attitude that is limiting, non-expansive, and constraining. We end up doing what I was doing in higher education days, learning for the test. We strive to get from A to Z. In such dogged pursuit, we might end up at the finishing line, but none the wiser. And worse, we become fearful, and as Carol Dweck would say, become fixed in our mindset<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Measuring growth facilitates a climate that values person development. While playing the finite game of academia focusing on growth keeps in mind the infinite game<\/strong> of learning. Here, we aim to get from A to B, then C, and then D<\/strong>, and so on. In a slower pursuit for competence, we end up reaching the finishing line slower than the pursuit of competence, but we end up wiser. And hungrier. And, we grow a little bravely and willing to face our vulnerabilities in the pursuit of learning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There is now room for failing. Because failing is not equal to failure. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is beyond quipping about \u201clearning from your mistakes\u201d or about \u201cfailing fast.\u201d When we make room for real growth and development, this space allows us to experiment, tinker, and learn. When we focus solely on competence, we rigidify and fail to play the long game of what it means to be a true lifelong learner in the helping profession. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Measure Outcomes from the Get-Go<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is imperative that we teach therapists to use outcomes and engagement measures beyond just as assessment tools, but as conversational tools. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to teach them not to fear integrating such tools into clinical practice\u2014imagine your family physician saying I don\u2019t use the thermometer or the stethoscope because it gets in the way of rapport building with my patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to guide them on to use measures as a feedback tool, so as to feed-forward and inform the treatment process (see How to Get Better at Eliciting Feedback<\/a> and How to Get Better at Receiving Feedback<\/a>). Ultimately, It\u2019s about the use of of clinical data plus our clinical intuition to make better decisions<\/a> in the practice of psychotherapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Not \u201cHow effective are you?\u201d but \u201cHow have you developed?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If we can teach trainees to integrate measures into clinical practice from the start, we then get to do an important and highly underrated piece in the deliberate practice<\/a> puzzle: Figure out your baselline<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a crucial first step. Figure out where you are before where you need to \u201cgrow<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here\u2019s the fragile balance. Do not let measures become yet another piece of evaluation, but as a stepping stone to tracking how one is developing across time. Measures can tip a learner into a performance, fixed mindset mode. It is the job of the teachers to facilitate a conducive climate that focuses on growth, not competence. The context determines our mindsets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So don\u2019t just stop at figuring out \u201chow effective am I?\u201d go one step further and extrapolate \u201chow have I developed\u201d \u201cwhat have I learned and discovered.\u201d Sometimes, it\u2019s equally important to work out \u201cwhat\u2019s in the way of my development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Designing a system of deliberate practice <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Renowned decision-making social scientist Herbert Simon said, \u201cThe proper study of mankind is the science of design<\/strong>.\u201d[4]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once we\u2019ve helped trainees use measures as a form of real-time feedback tool, and subsequently helped them establish their baselines, we need to help trainees design a scaffold that supports a system of deliberate practice. To date, the amount of time spent in deliberate practice has been found to be a significant predictor that differentiates the best from the rest. And it\u2019s not just about the amount of time. It\u2019s about how the time is optimised to leverage into impacting client outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The goal of improving outcomes is not enough. The novices\u00a0have goals, and the pros have systems. Click here to watch an entire talk on\u00a0 developing a system of practice<\/a>. Based on the foregoing suggestions, there are significant implications for teachers in our field. We need to learn how to interpret and analyse outcome data, and help trainee\u2019s identify each person\u2019s unique growth edge. This is where numbers come to life. No room for the excuse that \u201cI\u2019m not a math person\u201d because this isn\u2019t about numbers. Much like how we use alphabets to tell a story, we need to use numbers in order to leave numbers. These numbers tell an important story. It is the story of how we can help each therapist get better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As legendary Coach Wooden would say, you haven\u2019t taught until they have learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his book, The Case Against Education, Bryan Caplan poses a question for us to consider to what degree are teachers \u201csculptors or appraisers<\/strong>\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n By analogy, both sculptors and appraisers have the power to raise the market value of a piece of stone. The sculptor raises the market value of a piece of stone by shaping it. The appraiser raises the market value of a piece of stone by judging it. <\/p> Teachers need to ask ourselves, \u201cHow much of what we do is sculpting, and how much is appraising?\u201d And if we won\u2019t ask ourselves, our alumni need to ask for us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Steeped in tradition, the measure of competence served specific functions of filtering and gatekeeping. We need to help students stretch beyond and not worry about making the grade. Climate control, not command and control\u2014or more testing\u2014is needed in institutions of learning, in order to keep the flame of learning alive in the halls of education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n School is not just for school\u2019s sake. School should be designed for the real-world. We can convert the measure of competence to emphasise the measure of growth and development. Going one step further, this should not just be about what\u2019s measured by appraisers of the institution, but by the people who see our help, out there in the real-world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Measuring growth, not competence is a subtle but distinct shift. Because this would mean that if I were to replay my higher education history, I would fear less about failing, not be plagued by trying to get perfect grades, and have learning be kindled<\/a> and sustained for a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWe Bought This Myth<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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For some, revealing flaws in clinical supervision, even when we are in training, can be too raw and vulnerable, as we might be judged for being incompetent. That was my experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\nNot Just Grit<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reimagine This<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keys: <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(For more, stay tuned to our forthcoming book with Scott Miller and Mark Hubble, Better Results.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/darylchow.com\/frontiers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Arrow-300x300.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe Role of Teachers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nGrowth is the Measure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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