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It is the end of the day. Seventeen preschoolers come into the classroom and sit in a circle on the rug for their closing ritual, which involves asking and answering a question. The question this afternoon is "What challenge did you work on today?" Juan begins by asking Jenny, the girl next to him, the question. He passes her the talking piece, a polished purple shell each child holds when it is his or her turn to speak.
Jenny (who receives occupational therapy): I exercised my finger muscles with the tweezers and beads.
Michael: I worked on swinging. I can go by myself now, but not really high yet.
Quincy (who is on the autism spectrum): I'm working on not crowding Matilda and playing with a lot of friends.
Stacey (referring to the visual timer): I worked on staying at one thing until all the red was gone.
Challenges, mistakes, and problems are inherent every day in learning activities and social interactions. How children think about and respond to those difficult situations has an impact on how they see themselves as being able to shape their own learning and on how they handle the next problem that comes their way (Hall & Pearson 2003). Building resilience means fostering children's sense of agency (the knowledge that they are in control of their actions) and self-efficacy (the belief that they are competent and capable) and developing a framework for approaching problems. By supporting children's developing sense of agency and self-efficacy, teachers give children confidence in their ideas, their understanding of challenges, and what they do to work with those challenges.
As teachers of young children, we use our words as powerful tools for developing these skills (Cimpian, Markman, & Dweck 2007). Noticing and commenting on effort rather than ability makes a world of difference in a child's sense of agency:
"Wow! You have been working on riding the like-a-bike (pedalless bike) every day this week. Do you remember how last week you could only use your tiptoes and walk the bike around the path? Now you can get up speed and glide sometimes! When we practice something, we get better at it and it feels good inside."
By developing a "growth mindset" - an attitude that allows...