Productive Struggle: A Conversation with Live Oak's Division Directors
Live Oak integrates research-backed pedagogy to challenge students academically and build resilience in supporting students through developmentally-appropriate struggle. Guided by principles within the Collaborative Problem Solving model, faculty help students develop skills to embrace the growth that happens in the face of challenge. Read this Q&A featuring Live Oak's lower and middle school division directors originally featured in the Summer 2026 issue of Live Oak Magazine.
What does Live Oak School believe about the benefits of challenging learners?
Regina Hardatt, Lower School Division Director: I always return to our school’s mission, vision, and values, which emphasize a strong academic foundation. The skills students need aren’t built by doing what’s easy; true learning often feels uncomfortable and challenging. By focusing on academic challenge, we continually ask how to best develop students’ deep thinking and mastery skills, which largely comes from working through discomfort in the classroom.
Asha Weber, Middle School Division Director: When kids face challenges, they are stretched, which is essential. Discomfort lets them reveal their true knowledge and skills. While some may fake it, most rely on what they know, triggering mental muscle memory. By guiding students through cycles of challenge, struggle, feedback, and success, we help build strong, embedded skills. This prepares them to handle future discomfort confidently, strengthening their abilities each time they face tough situations.
How does Live Oak support students in using academic struggle to their advantage?
Regina: Academic challenge centers on Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. How can educators help students remain in this zone to learn deeply? It involves two parts: content knowledge and social-emotional aspects. We guide students to consider both their brain’s activity and bodily responses, emphasizing emotional regulation during discomfort.
Asha: I think one of the things we do here really well is being thoughtful about partnerships and collaborative work. When we talk about project-based learning and the amount of projects that our students do, it underscores how our academic program focuses so much on communication, collaboration, and opening up the opportunities for our students to practice those skills.
Regina: There is also a priority around giving timely feedback to our students. If we are going to challenge them effectively, we also need to be providing consistent feedback that allows us to gauge their progress in real time.
Asha: Yes, providing feedback to our students is kind of like the engineering cycle that we talk about with our students a lot. You produce, you gather observations, you process feedback, you iterate, and you continue with the process. It’s sort of this ongoing, ever-evolving loop.
Regina: And when our students are getting more consistent feedback, it tends to make the feedback feel like lower stakes. It doesn’t feel like a crushing result if a student makes a mistake because they know they are going to have another opportunity to refine their skills and show their progress.
What do parents need to understand about their child’s learning and development when they notice they are struggling in class?
Asha: That it is a perfect chance to help kids advocate for themselves, handle discomfort, and grow because of it. As a parent, I’ve seen my child struggle. We must guide kids to see that challenges don’t last forever.
Regina: If a parent sees their child struggling, I first reassure both parent and student that it’s normal and will happen again. Parents should help kids know when to rest—not quit—and that sometimes a pause is enough. This is where parents aid self-regulation by guiding kids to ask, What did I do? What can I do? What could I change next time?
Asha: I think, to your point, parents tell children who they are before children fully know themselves. If a parent says a child can’t do something or only they can help, it takes away the child’s power. We need to help kids find their own power through their experiences.
Regina: Yes, that’s exactly right. When we over-scaffold and remove many barriers, students don’t learn to persevere. Perseverance is a skill, so we must help students and families see that productive struggle is essential for learning and building confidence.
In your experience, what are the pitfalls in challenging students beyond their capabilities?
Regina: Pressure from adults like teachers, parents, or coaches can sometimes increase anxiety, lower confidence, or cause students to lose interest in activities they once loved. Academic challenges shouldn’t be about testing if kids can handle pressure. However, educators must regularly recalibrate their approach to push students toward growth. Some students need a nudge as they may not see their potential. Our aim is for them to recognize their potential and feel supported by others’ confidence when they haven’t yet figured out how to motivate themselves.
Asha: As a former math teacher, I’ve seen students with real aptitude, so I would continue to challenge them, but sometimes forget they have other subjects too. From an educator’s view, it’s crucial to keep balance and involve students in the process. I really appreciate Live Oak’s structures like advisory and grade level team meetings, where faculty discuss student progress collaboratively to challenge students flexibly as needed. Our approach focuses on the impact on kids and goal setting, keeping students’ needs at the center.
What progress are we seeing among our students in building skills around self-advocacy and perseverance?
Regina: Each year, culminating projects showcase resilience and persistence. We see concrete skill growth. This growth is measurable in some work, like writing, math, etc., but more abstract in the student’s cumulative efforts, which absolutely reflect persistence and learning. Development, teacher support, and student effort are key.
Asha: Live Oak middle school students confidently ask for help, shown in their engagement with adults. While grades matter, confidence is key. Last fall, some hid from tough work; by year’s end, they tackled it saying, “I’ll do this. I know where to find support.” This change is monumental to me.
See more of the way's that Live Oak's academic program is structured to support academic and social-emotional growth in the full digital issue of the most recent Live Oak Magazine.
See more of the way's that Live Oak's academic program is structured to support academic and social-emotional growth in the full digital issue of the most recent Live Oak Magazine.
Tinatanggap at tinatanggap ng Live Oak School ang mga mag-aaral ng anumang lahi, kulay, bansa at etnikong pinagmulan, katayuan sa pagkamamamayan, pagkakakilanlan ng kasarian, pagpapahayag ng kasarian, oryentasyong sekswal, at pananampalataya sa lahat ng karapatan, pribilehiyo, programa at aktibidad ng Live Oak School. Ang Live Oak School ay hindi nagtatangi batay sa lahi, kulay, bansa at etnikong pinagmulan, katayuan sa pagkamamamayan, pagkakakilanlan ng kasarian, pagpapahayag ng kasarian, oryentasyong sekswal, at pananampalataya sa pangangasiwa ng mga patakaran at programang pang-edukasyon nito, mga patakaran sa pagtanggap, programa ng Adjusted Tuition, at athletic at iba pang mga programang pinangangasiwaan ng paaralan.