Are we teaching our learners to focus on what they can do or what they cannot do?  Are our assessments and our feedback geared toward bright spots?

If you have not read Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard, stop now and at least read the blog post Switch, Don’t Solve Problems—Copy Success.  This blog post has an exclusive excerpt from Switch.  Read the story of Jerry Sternin.  Read about the community’s results.

The two strong quotes in this story, for me, are

“Knowledge does not change behavior.”

“Sternin said that the moms were “acting their way into a new way of thinking.” Most important, it was their change, something that arose from the local wisdom of the village. Sternin’s role was only to help them see that they could do it, that they could conquer malnutrition on their own.”

How are we helping our learners grow?  Are we giving them knowledge or are we helping them act their way into a new way of thinking?

Do we think about and discuss what can’t be done?  Do we act and focus on what can be done?

Let’s do something!  When in doubt, do more of what is working.  Find the bright spots.  Do.