March 13, 2026

How to Help Students Take the Risks Learning Demands

Have you sensed that young people today are less inclined to take risks than previous generations? It may be more than your imagination. According to a recent CDC Youth Risk Behavior Report, today’s adolescents less frequently choose to engage in risk-related behaviors such as drinking and sex, and for an increasing number of adolescents, even driving is seen as risky and frightening.

On the surface, this may seem like good news. Yet this shift in behavior also suggests some bad news. While we want young people to be safe, part of learning to be independent is gaining experience in trying new things and learning to take risks and understand consequences.

What is driving the changes in behavior is open to speculation. Some blame an uncertain world. Others point to overprotective parents. Still others speculate that today’s youth are just more afraid of making mistakes and facing failure than previous generations. Regardless of the cause, it is a concern to monitor and address where practical.

Of course, students’ reticence to take risks also finds its way into the classroom. Students can be reluctant to take on complex projects and persist when faced with difficult challenges. Yet we know that trying hard things and finding a path to success, despite uncertainty, are important learning experiences. These experiences also help students to build confidence in their abilities and skills.

While we might advise and encourage parents to allow their children to take responsible risks and confront occasional lack of success, we cannot control that part of students’ lives. Nevertheless, there are strategies we can employ in our classroom to encourage and support students to take learning-related risks. Here are seven actions to consider.

We can start by making learning-related risks safe. We can create and protect a psychologically safe environment where students are not subject to public shame and criticism for trying, even if they are not completely successful. Building a learning community where students feel they belong can also make taking risks feel safer.

We can treat mistakes and missteps as natural to learning paths. We might use phrases such as “not yet,” “draft thinking,” and “evidence of progress” to help students understand that learning that is challenging rarely means getting things right on the first attempt. When students offer answers that are less than correct or complete, we can recognize and reinforce elements and aspects of their response that reflect thought and effort while continuing to coach them toward full understanding and skill development.

We might focus our praise and feedback on productive effort and effective strategies. Learning what it takes to succeed can be more important in the long term than succeeding without significant effort.

We can create scaffolding to support early efforts. We might provide exemplars, frameworks, checklists, and other resources to give students confidence to take early steps. We can also break complex tasks into manageable parts to prevent students from feeling overwhelmed.

We might provide students with multiple opportunities to practice. Practicing in a low-stakes environment can build confidence and lower feelings of risk. When the time comes for formal assessment or public performance, students are more likely to see the experience as an extension of practice than a “high wire” act.

We can normalize risk-taking language. We might talk with students about the importance of productive struggle and moving beyond their comfort zone into their learning zone. We also can build in opportunities and expectations for revising early attempts, engaging in reflection, and using what is learned to retry.

We can resist stepping in too early to rescue or fix mistakes. We might ask questions rather than immediately provide answers and solutions. We can inquire about what students are seeing and thinking rather than starting with our interpretation. The key is to offer support without removing ownership or lowering the challenge.

Our goal is to help students see learning-related risk-taking as a natural part of learning. Taking risks offers opportunities to succeed with things that are hard. When risk-taking becomes normalized, students are more likely to see risks as expressions of confidence rather than tests of courage.

Citations:

Baron, J. (2026, January 26). Why today’s teens are taking fewer risks. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/parenting-teens-through-connection/202601/why-todays-teens-are-taking-fewer-risks

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Youth risk behavior survey data summary & trends report: 2013–2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/yrbs/dstr/index.html