A Lab to Grow Grit

A first-of-its-kind undergraduate course that will apply cutting-edge scientific knowledge on fostering passion and perseverance is debuting this spring. Called Grit Lab, the class is being taught by Angela Duckworth, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and will encourage students to experiment, reflect, and teach.

Grit Lab will be limited to 64 students and taught pass/fail. The first half of the semester will focus on the power of passion, with students choosing a project. The second half will teach perseverance—how to turn passion into success. In teams of four, the students will conduct experiments, discuss their experiences and readings, and create videos about what they’ve learned. The videos will be used in a future on-line course for high-school students.

“Grit Lab, in some ways, is the course I’ve been preparing my entire life to teach,” says Duckworth, author of the New York Times bestseller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. “My goal is to help students develop a passion that sparks their interest and aligns with their core values, then to master the mindsets and strategies that enable perseverance.”

There are no prerequisites for Grit Lab (PSYC 005-001), and it is open to all undergraduate students in the College, Engineering, Nursing, and Wharton. Check out the Department of Psychology website and Penn in Touch course catalog for more information.