The Master Teacher Blog

By this time of year, students often fall into a pattern of using a familiar yet narrow set of study strategies. While some of their go-to approaches may seem to be working well enough, exposure to and use of a wider array of strategies can break up tired routines, add novelty to study experiences, increase the amount of learning students gain, and lengthen the time they retain it.  

Students may be unaware of additional effective ways to study and need instruction and support to try them out. Some students may know additional strategies, but they have gradually migrated away from them and need a reminder. Students may also be reluctant to try new study techniques, assuming that the strategies they are using are good enough.  

Regardless, we want students to know and be able to apply the best study strategies for the content or skill they are learning. We also know that when students play an active role in exploring, practicing, and deciding the best strategies for themselves, they are more likely to engage with and ultimately adopt the tools that meet their needs.  

Consider dedicating time during a coming week or unit to introducing and having students try out a variety of study strategies. Each day might feature a different study strategy for students to apply and evaluate. The curriculum content and skills you already have planned for the week or unit can be a useful area of application for a set of study strategies that are research-based and experience-proven. We might even choose a fun title for the series such as Put-Study-Strategies-to-the-Test Week or Five-Days-of-Study-Tool Tryouts. The key is to position students to try, reflect, and assess the impact of each study strategy on their learning and recall.  

Each day of the week might feature a different study strategy for students to test. Once we have introduced a piece of content, a new skill, or a learning challenge, we might teach or review the learning strategy to be tested that day or evening. We can begin class the following day with feedback from students about their study strategy experience and invite recommendations for how and when the strategy might be used.  

Here is a potential line-up of strategies students could test over the course of a week. Of course, you might spread the tryout period out and address one study tool each week throughout a unit. The key is to plan for the intentional application of these strategies, however that best fits your particular schedule, curriculum, and students. 

Skill 1/Monday—Self-Quizzing  

Advise students to create questions and pre-assess themselves on the topic or content before they begin to study. Even incorrect answers help to focus attention and look for key information as their study period unfolds. When finished studying, students can self-test again, using questions from the pre-assessment and developing other questions that seem relevant from the study session. The time spent pre- and post-testing themselves will generate more learning than additional time they might have spent simply rereading or reviewing highlighted content.  

Skill 2/Tuesday—Interleaving   

Coach students to include multiple skills or concepts within the same learning or study session. For example, students might study math and chemistry in the same session, mix new information with review of past learning, or address content out of chronological order. The process of addressing multiple concepts or skills in the same session keeps the brain alert and improves its ability to differentiate elements and aspects of the content students are learning.  

Skill 3/Wednesday—Drawing/Visual Organizers  

Drawing pictures of what we want to remember has been shown to be more than twice as powerful as writing down new content. It is important to note that the artistic talent displayed, or the quality of drawing students produce, does not appear to influence the benefits gained from the drawing activity. Further, the amount of time invested in drawing pictures for this purpose also does not appear to be a significant factor in the strategy's effectiveness. Even a few minutes spent drawing what students read and hear can generate significant advantages in later recall.  

Skill 4/Thursday—Retrieval Practice  

This strategy can fit well later in the week or unit when we want students to recall what was learned earlier or access background information in order to prepare them for new learning. Students begin with a “brain dump” by recounting, verbally or in writing, everything they can recall from prior learning related to the recall target. Students can quickly refresh their memories while identifying areas that may need reinforcement. Interestingly, this approach has been shown to be more efficient and effective than reteaching. Of course, we can encourage students to repeat this process on their own as they prepare for exams individually or in small groups. A key benefit associated with this activity is its ability to extend recall well beyond the completion of a unit of study or an exam.   

Skill 5/Friday—Teach a Friend  

Have students develop a mini lesson to teach the content or skill they are learning and share their lesson with a family member, friend, or classmate. The process of organizing information and sharing with others helps to deepen understanding, clear up confusion, and fill learning gaps. In addition, teaching consolidates new learning and extends learning retention.  

We want to give our students access to the best and widest set of study strategies possible. The more options they have, the more likely they will be to choose an option that works for them. When we involve students in exploring and testing study tool options, we also increase the likelihood that they will remember and continue to use a wider array of tools after they leave us. 

Background knowledge plays an outsized role in learning success. In fact, a recent major, peer-reviewed study points to background knowledge as a key factor in determining whether and how learning occurs. The researchers intended to study what accounts for why some students appear to learn faster than others. However, they discovered that rates of learning vary little across most populations. What appears to accelerate the learning of some students is the amount of related background knowledge they possess and their ability to apply it to the learning task before them.  

The study was conducted at Carnegie Mellon University and was released in early 2023. It included more than 7000 youth and adult learners from a variety of backgrounds, learning histories, and geographic areas, as well as 1.3 million observations and 27 datasets. Participants were given a variety of learning tasks in math, science, and language.

Given the role background knowledge plays in learning, our challenge is to do all that we can to ensure that our students possess what they need to learn successfully. We also need to help students activate the background knowledge they already possess. If students haven’t recently engaged with their relevant existing background knowledge, it may not be immediately available to assist their learning efforts. Further, we must help students make connections between their background knowledge and the learning with which they are about to engage.

Admittedly, students come to our classrooms with varying amounts of background knowledge. For many students, their family background (including a history of formal education), levels of parental and familial engagement, and even economic and cultural factors, can influence the academic background knowledge they possess. Yet, there are a variety of steps we can take and activities in which we can engage students to assess and build background knowledge before we begin planned instruction. Here are five initial activities upon which we can build:

• Pre-assessment activities. We might have exploratory conversations with students about what they already know, or we might ask them to respond to a series of prompts in order to uncover their current knowledge, understanding, and areas of misconception.
• Storytelling. We can share engaging stories with students to fill in information gaps, help them see relevance in what they are going to learn, and spark interest in the topic.
• Virtual field trips. We can employ videos and other media to help students to understand elements (such as historical events or figures), build context, and experience authentic applications.
• Graphic organizers. We might use mind maps, charts, and other structures as advance organizers to build understanding and reveal important relationships.
• Visual representations. We might choose tangible objects or pictures to demonstrate key concepts, connections, and content.

Many students may have previous experience, or otherwise have background knowledge, that is relevant to what they are about to learn, but they may not immediately recall what they have learned. Yet, with some refreshing and reminding, their background knowledge is likely to be renewed in preparation of supporting their learning. Consider these activities to assist in activating background knowledge:

• Vocabulary review. When we have students revisit key terms and language associated with what they have previously learned, we can stimulate their recall and uncover what they already know.
• Brief reteaching. We can provide students with brief reteaching lessons to activate their recall and emphasize elements of past learning that will be important in the learning that lies ahead.
• Peer conversations. We might give pairs of students discussion prompts that draw on what they know and invite recall of previously learned content. After a discussion, students might record or report what they learned about what they already know.
• History mystery. We might conjure a fun mystery that will require students to draw on past learning to solve. We could include hints and clues that point to key elements of past learning as assists to solving the mystery.

The final step in tapping background knowledge is to help students connect what they already know with what they are going to learn. While building and activating prior knowledge sets the stage for learning, making connections can jump-start the process. Here are some options on which to build:

• Present a preview. Once students have built the necessary background information and refreshed what they already know, we might present a preview of what they will learn next. Following our introduction, we can present questions or lead a discussion about how what students already know might connect with and support what they will be learning.
• Tap curiosity. We might present a question or dilemma that stimulates imagination and “hooks” students on finding answers. When the “hook” is embedded in what students already know, and points to what they are going to learn, it will be a sure winner.
• Design a small-scale problem. We can present students with small-scale problems that can be solved with information they already have and skills they already possess. We might follow up with an introduction to the new learning that builds on what students already know but requires making connections and going beyond their current knowledge and skills.
• Create a simulation. We might design a multi-part simulation, the first phase of which can be engaged with the background knowledge students already possess. When students reach a barrier or challenge that demands more knowledge or skill, we can introduce new learning to complete the next phase, and the cycle can be repeated as new learning grows and becomes more complex.

The crucial role that background knowledge plays in learning demands that we ensure that students have the knowledge and skill foundations to benefit from our instruction. We also must be certain that the background knowledge students possess is active and ready to be tapped. Finally, we need to help students to make the connections necessary to allow what they already know to support what they are going to learn.

Reference:

Koedinger, K. R., Carvalho, P. F., Liu, R., and McLaughlin, E. A. (2023). An astonishing regularity in student learning rate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States of America, 120(13). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2221311120

Talent is an often-overrated contributor to success. In fact, talent alone is not at all predictive of success. It can actually distract from and undermine success unless it is supported by other complimentary behaviors.

Certainly, talent can be a significant contributor to success, but assurance of success resides in the supportive behaviors, not in the presence of talent alone. Talent can be nice to have, to be sure, but it is not the most important element in achieving long-term success. The truth is that significant, long-term success can as easily be achieved without a special talent as it can be when talent is present.

Unfortunately, our excessive valuing of talent often ignores the behaviors that hold the greatest potential to drive success. The result is that people who believe they have talent can become overly dependent on their talent—to the exclusion of the success drivers that really matter. At the same time, people who do not necessarily see themselves as talented often lower their aspirations and expect not to enjoy significant success.

Our challenge is to teach students—regardless of whether they see themselves as talented—to practice the key behaviors that can generate success. In short, these behaviors can be practiced by almost anyone who wants to succeed regardless of their level of talent. Here are seven success-generating behaviors that we can teach to our students and coach them to practice:

First, listen carefully. While listening is a skill that is often taken for granted, people who practice deep listening set themselves apart. They hear more, understand more, and can respond with greater sensitivity and accuracy than most casual listeners. Listening is a skill and a habit, but it does not require special talent.

Second, be curious. Curiosity acts much like a radar to scan the environment. Curious people are often the first to notice emerging changes and issues. They ask questions that reveal important and useful information, and they are among the first to engage the unknown.

Third, be enthusiastic. Enthusiastic people are generally given encouragement, support, and opportunities not offered to reluctant or disinterested people. The absence of whining and complaining make enthusiastic people easier to work with and more desirable as partners and co-workers.

Fourth, be dependable. Keeping one’s word matters. Those who show up on time and when needed are valuable team members and co-workers. They engender the confidence of others. Dependable people often are given opportunities and responsibilities not offered to more talented, but less responsible individuals.

Fifth, focus on solutions. It is said that anyone can point out a problem. Those who are willing to face and solve problems are far more valuable to any team or organization. Understanding a problem is important, but solutions add value.

Sixth, always give your best effort. Perfection is rarely possible, but a habit of always doing one’s best paves the path to success. Mistakes are inevitable, but when they occur as the result of good effort, they are not cause for shame. Rather, they represent a starting place for new learning.

Seventh, appreciate others. Significant, lasting success is almost never achieved in isolation. Recognizing the efforts and contributions of others and sharing appreciation build teams, strengthen relationships, and demonstrate good character.

When students consistently practice these behaviors, regardless of whether they have a special talent, their path to success becomes clearer and their opportunities grow. Equally important, as students engage in these behaviors, they are also likely to discover special talents they did not realize they possess.

Most of us have probably heard of the term lean manufacturing, a process popularized by Toyota. The focus of lean manufacturing is to improve quality and reliability, without increasing the time and other resources required to support the manufacturing process. While the thinking behind lean manufacturing has been applied by other activities, only recently has the approach been applied to the process of learning.  

Yet, learning is an activity featuring ample opportunities to increase efficiency and effectiveness. Consider that we forget 75% of what we learn in just seven days if we fail to apply it, according to research by psychologist Herman Ebbinghaus, the discoverer of “The Forgetting Curve.” Meanwhile, estimates are that college freshmen retain less than half of what they learned in high school. It is not unusual to find that students fail to recall much of what they have previously learned, even over the course of a few weeks or months.  

Much of the thinking and research related to lean learning is occurring in the world of adult learning, primarily in the workplace. Businesses have clear incentives to have the learning of their employees be efficient, so that minimal production time is sacrificed to classes and other learning activities. They also want employees to retain what they learned to avoid having to relearn what they once knew.  

Lean learning thrives in the presence of several conditions. For example, it works best when it is driven by a specific need, is seen as useful, or has a purpose. Lean learning practices also fit best with skills and concepts that have immediate application and can be applied in real-life settings and situations. Lean learning is typically iterative. Learning starts with just the essentials of what is to be learned, and additional information, skills, and applications are added as learners are ready for them. Introduction of new content and skills is driven by and aligned with the specific needs and interests of the learner. Further, lean learning is enhanced when learning and practice are shared with peers.   

There are obvious opportunities to apply lean learning principles and practices with our students. However, there also are challenges in the context of standardized curricula, set schedules for instruction, and frequent difficulties providing real-time, real-life applications for learning, especially if we are just starting.  

You might consider starting with your own learning to gain experience and build confidence with the approach before engaging students. Consider this brief lean learning cycle as an example of a place to start: 

• Identify a skill you would like to learn. For example, you may have a technology tool or application with which you would like to become proficient, or you may want to try a new discussion or questioning technique. The list of potential topics and skills is limitless. (Condition: Specific need or purpose) 
• Engage someone to help you learn the essential information you need to get started. And, if possible, enlist others with a similar interest or need to learn with you. Often, as little as 20-30% of the full scope of the skills is enough to begin. Focus on what is crucial to be able to do something with what you learn. (Conditions: Focus on essential learning and learn with peers) 
• Apply what you have learned as soon as possible, optimally within a few hours or days, while the learning is fresh and the recall is clear. The longer you wait, the less you will remember, and the more difficult it will be to practice productively. (Condition: Real-life, real-time application) 
• Get feedback on initial attempts, ask questions to clarify and extend your learning, and capture any insights you gained. Ask yourself: How did it go? What do I need to learn next? What did I discover from the initial application? (Condition: Explore what you want to learn next) 
• Repeat the cycle to build the next level of learning, expand your skills, and gain expertise while your initial experience is fresh and feedback is still recallable. With each iterative cycle, focus on new applications, more sophisticated skills, and new insights upon which to build. (Condition: Iterative cycles) 

The principles and conditions that underlie lean learning are not new. However, too often they are ignored in large-scale learning efforts and neglected when what we need to learn is challenging. Take some time to build your lean learning expertise and then offer the same opportunity to your students.  

We know that the environment within which learning occurs matters. The right environments can encourage and facilitate learning, while environments filled with conflict, fear, and confusion can have the opposite effect. As we approach the midpoint in the school year, now is a good time to step back and consider what is working well, what may need attention and adjustment, and what may need to be abandoned and replaced.  

A good place to start is to conduct a scan of how well the current operation of your classroom reflects your hopes, expectations, and priorities across nine key aspects of operation. Here are questions to stimulate and support your reflection:  

• Instructional strategies: How well are instructional strategies aligned to individual student readiness and needs? Do classroom activities regularly include variety, novelty, humor, voice, and choice? How well informed are students of their progress? How frequent, timely, and effective is the learning feedback students receive?  
• Learning focus: How consistently are students actively engaged in their learning? Are students more focused on learning or on grades? How often do students set goals for their learning? How frequently do students have opportunities to review and reinforce previous learning?  
• Learning Progress: Whose learning is on track, and who is falling behind? What recognition and encouragement do successful students need now? What supports are available and accessed by students who are struggling? What role do students play in monitoring their progress? How might students become more involved in and accountable for monitoring their progress?  
• Emotional climate: What is the emotional tenor in your classroom? What is the level of worry, fear, and stress? What might be done to lower the levels of emotion that may interfere with learning? How anxious or stressed are you?  
• Relationships: How strong and stable are your relationships with students? Do students seek you out when they have academic and personal concerns and struggles? Do students accept, support, and encourage each other? Have families bought in to your course expectations and goals? 
• Management activities: How well are classroom routines addressing transitions, learning activities, and student behavior challenges? In what areas do you still have to remind students of routines and expectations? How frequently are you able to anticipate potential issues or problems and take steps to prevent their emergence? What opportunities exist to make better use of time?  
• Behavioral issues: What types of behavior issues are you finding to be most frequent and disruptive? What have you tried that has been effective in moving students to more acceptable behavior? Where do you struggle most with behavior issues? How are you ensuring that all students are treated equitably? Where might you access support to expand your strategies, receive coaching, or other types of assistance?  
• Technology use: How integrated is available technology with learning activities? What is the balance of student engagement with technology as consumers, appliers, and creators? What opportunities exist for students to use technology to extend their learning beyond simply consuming information and regurgitating it? 
• Physical supports: How well does the arrangement of classroom furniture reflect student learning and engagement goals? Is the room aesthetically pleasing and reflective of the cultures and demographics of students? Are supplies, materials, and equipment organized and readily accessible?  

Obviously, there may be many aspects of your classroom environment that deserve attention. However, be careful not to become overwhelmed. Choose a few areas on which to focus. Meanwhile, do not forget to pause and reflect on what is working well, lessons you have learned, and successes you have achieved. 

The saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” may contain more truth than we assume. We know that looking at a powerful image can stir our emotions, stimulate our curiosity, and stay in our memory for a good while. As an extension of this, a recent study points to significant power in creating pictures of things we want to learn and later recall.  

The study examined whether picture drawing as part of the learning process can enhance performance and build long-term memory. Researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada found in multiple trials that drawing to-be-learned information produced results superior to any other known mnemonic techniques, including visualization, viewing pictures, listing physical characteristics, writing, tracing, or associating the information with a mental image. In fact, drawing pictures of what needs to be remembered was more than twice as powerful as writing down new content.  

The researchers noted that at least four powerful learning and recall processes are at work when we draw a picture to represent words and concepts: elaboration, visual imaging, motor movement, and pictorial representation. To draw, we must notice or create physical characteristics of what we want to learn and remember. This step requires us to elaborate beyond what we see or hear. As we draw, we create an image of the object of our attention. This step engages the process of visual imagery. The act of drawing involves hand movement, thus further solidifying our attention through motor activity. Finally, the product of the process is a pictorial image with multiple links to our observation, imagination, and actions.  

Importantly, the artistic talent displayed, or the quality of drawing people produce, does not appear to influence the benefits gained from the drawing process. Further, the amount of time invested in drawing pictures for this purpose also does not appear to be a significant factor in the effectiveness of the strategy. In fact, even when study participants were given only a few seconds to draw a picture, they still experienced significant advantages in later memory. Age also does not appear to be a factor in reaping the benefits. Drawing activities improved learning and memory for young learners, adults, and even individuals more advanced in age.  

The potential benefits of this strategy for students are obvious. The deeper observation and engagement associated with drawing pictures can enhance the learning performance and memory recall of our students.  

Meanwhile, the process also does not have to be time consuming, as students can benefit even from making short, rough drawings when time is limited. Of course, there may be circumstances when allocating more time to the process will allow students to add details and enhance the depth of their learning and extend their recall.  

We can support students to engage in drawing as a learning and memory assist by: 

• Sharing and discussing with students the research on the benefits of drawing to enhance learning and memory. 
• Guiding students to notice elements or aspects of what they want to learn that might be converted to a drawing. 

• Encouraging students to create a mental image of the information or content they want to learn and recall.  
• Reminding students to pay attention to their hand movements as they draw to create an even stronger connection between the image and their experience. 
• Having students practice drawing pictures of what they want to learn and then explain their drawing to other students to reinforce the experience. 
• Replicating the research study to test this approach against other mnemonic strategies. (The full research report is available via the provided link.) 

Giving students tools and techniques to enhance their learning and extend their recall can be a great way to build their learning capacity. We also help them to expand the array of strategies they have available when they struggle or need to learn something particularly important.  

Source:

Fernandes, M., Wammes, J., & Meade, M. (2018). The surprisingly powerful influence of drawing on memory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(5), 302-308. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418755385 

When students struggle, it can be tempting to lower our expectations, especially when our thinking is that doing so will increase their opportunities for success. However, the opposite is true—expensively so. When we lower our expectations for the quality of work and learning students will produce, we risk setting in motion consequences that can be life limiting.  

While there are times and circumstances when lowering expectations might be contemplated for any type of student, multiple research studies have shown that lowering expectations disproportionately affects our most vulnerable students. The adjustment in expectations may be well intended. We may believe that it is best for students not to feel pushed and pressed to do work that is challenging or difficult for them, especially if they come from challenging life circumstances or have a history of struggle with academic learning.  

We might even believe that focusing on building strong relationships with students will lead to greater learning success than having high expectations for them. However, students need more than our warmth and caring. They also need to be exposed to interesting work, meaningful challenges, and opportunities to build competence and confidence in their learning. It is the right balance between high expectations and high levels of caring that lead to learning success.  

Importantly, the cost of lowering expectations can take many forms. Some costs are associated with the way in which students will come to view themselves. Other costs can be seen in skills not developed and competencies not gained. Still others can be found in negative responses to the experiences to which students are exposed. And some of the most expensive consequences are found in the limits and sacrifices students will face if they leave us not having learned what will be necessary for future success. Let’s consider five ways in which lowering expectations can be a costly decision.  

When we lower our expectations, students lower their expectations. In fact, our lowered expectations risk communicating to students that we not only do not expect high level work from them, but we also believe that they are not capable of meeting high expectations. This is a dangerous message. The most difficult student to teach is the student who believes they cannot learn. We cannot afford to communicate this message or otherwise contribute to such a perception.  

When we lower our expectations, we deprive students of opportunities to face and overcome difficult challenges, persevere, and build resilience. Yet, these are key life skills students need to develop for success in life. Further, while these challenges can be uncomfortable during the times when students face them, once successfully met, they can be sources of price and new confidence.  

When we lower our expectations, we deprive students of opportunities to develop critical-thinking skills and employ creativity to solve novel problems. Low expectations for learning often mean that the teacher does most of the thinking, creating, and problem solving. Yet, these activities are what can make learning interesting, meaningful, and challenging enough to invest in.  

When we lower our expectations, we are more likely to expose students to superficial and uninteresting content. We risk diverting students from learning with depth and full understanding. Absent useful application, meaningful purpose, and engaging activities, students learn and recall even less.  

When we lower our expectations, we risk disqualifying students from pursuing highly skilled, learning-dependent life and work roles. We dramatically increase the likelihood that they will struggle to find work for which they will qualify and which will provide adequate compensation to support them and their family.  

How can we communicate high expectations for our students? Here are five actions to consider:  

• Consistently present students with challenges at the leading edge of their learning and development. Students need to consistently feel our nudge for them to struggle and grow. 
• Take extra time to establish the purpose, implications, and details of concepts and skills. Focus on generating deeper understanding rather than limiting attention to the steps and sequence of completing an assignment or finishing a task.  
• Focus on progress. Reaching high standards may take time and multiple learning attempts. Success is often the result of processes, practices, and purposeful effort. These are the building blocks for our attention. 
• Frame coaching language around the inevitability of success. We might talk with students about “when” they succeed, not “if” they succeed.  
• Intervene quickly when students begin to drift and underperform. We need to approach that behavior as an aberration that needs attention rather than as a reflection of the student’s potential.  

Admittedly, holding high expectations for our students can be challenging. However, students rarely have the maturity and wisdom to consistently exceed our expectations. In many ways, the expectations we set and hold become the ceiling for performance and possibility for our students. We need to be certain that our expectations are high enough to protect their future. 

It goes without saying that we want our students to be motivated, take ownership of their learning, and practice persistence. Of course, we also want them to build knowledge and grow wisdom. However, these important elements of high-level learning do not usually happen by chance; instead, they emerge through the engagement of underlying elements that must be tapped and nurtured through the design of learning experiences, our instruction, and student responses.  

Unfortunately, in our desire to have students demonstrate these key learning elements, we can overlook the elements that lead to their development. Of course, some students will make important connections and build key skills and dispositions on their own, but it is a mistake to assume that most or all students will accomplish this task independently. Most students need our intentional focus and measured support to build the learning bridges they need to succeed.  

By designing learning experiences focused on underlying or driving elements, we can increase the likelihood that students will make connections and build the skills we seek for them. Here are five outcome examples and contributing drivers on which we can build: 

• Want ownership? Offer choice. The process of making a choice implies favoring one approach, activity, or object over others. As a result, we form a relationship with the object of the choice. When students are given meaningful choices in what and how they learn, they naturally take greater ownership of the result.  

Learning design: We might allow students to decide how they will approach a learning challenge, what materials they will use, and how they will demonstrate or document their learning.  

• Want students to gain knowledge? Encourage curiosity. Curiosity is how we learn much about life and the world around us. When what we learn is in response to something about which we are curious, we are also more likely to invest in learning and we are more likely to retain and use our new knowledge. 

Learning design: Students are naturally curious, but they may not initially be curious about what we want them to learn. However, we can stimulate curiosity by designing relevant questions that students find compelling, sharing a story or experience that students find engaging, demonstrating a useful application, or presenting a dilemma or mystery that students find difficult to resist.  

• Want to build wisdom? Support reflection. Memorization and repetition can increase recall, but wisdom requires a deeper process. When we reflect on an experience or learning activity, new insights and understanding emerge. When we connect new learning to what we already know, we are more likely to understand its significance, appreciate its value, and can decide where and how to apply it in life. 

Learning design: When we want students to develop a deep understanding or achieve new insights regarding what they know or have learned, we can have them pause and reflect. We might invite students to think about the significance of what they have learned and how it might inform the way they think about a circumstance or challenge. We can buttress their reflection by providing open-ended questions and encouraging students to ask their own questions, followed by discussion and analysis.  

• Want students to be motivated? Tap their interests. Interest takes various forms. It may emerge from a student’s natural inclinations, or it may reflect a student’s perception of utility or a useful purpose. Motivation is a willingness to invest energy and attention in response to interest. Engagement follows when motivation transitions into action. 

Learning design: We can begin new learning activities by tapping elements or experiences in which students are already interested. For example, we might draw on student interest in sports, technology, pop culture, or some other topic with which students already have a positive connection. We also might plan an activity or pose a question that will stimulate students to seek new knowledge or skills. Of course, we can build interest through extrinsic incentives or even threats of consequences for a lack of investment, but the impact will likely be temporary. 

• Want more persistence? Have students set goals. When we identify a goal, we create a focus for our efforts. Meaningful goals function as magnets for attention, energy, and effort. The presence of goals also supports students to measure their progress and achievement. When students focus on accomplishment of the goals they themselves set and own, they also become more persistent in their pursuit and more resilient in the face of challenges and setbacks. 

Learning design: Students may be unfamiliar and inexperienced with goal setting related to academic learning. They are more likely to have experience with learning goals that others have set for them. To stimulate and model goal setting, we might share with students how we set goals for our instruction or our own learning. We can also tap student goal-setting experiences in other areas of life such as athletics, the arts, video games, or earning money. The key is for students to set goals that are meaningful, challenging, achievable, and owned by them. We can provide support by providing feedback, coaching, and sharing evidence of progress. 

Building knowledge and wisdom, stimulating curiosity and interest, and nurturing ownership and goal-setting skills are key elements in our work with students. However, these outcomes are dependent on our attention to—and leveraging of—the underlying drivers that lead to their attainment.  

When the influential people in our lives whom we respect notice unique characteristics and latent potential in us and share their observations, the impact can be dramatic and lifelong. However, their influence does not always have an immediate and visible impact. The “seeds” they plant can stay with us, eventually germinate, and ultimately grow into important drivers of the lives we build and paths we follow. Those of us fortunate enough to have had this experience know how powerful these comments, questions, and insights can be, as well as how much influence they can exert.  

We can be these influential people in the lives of our students. When we take the time to notice, question, and imagine what could be, we hold something special that may become life changing. When we share with our students what we see in and imagine for them, we can be a catalyst to unleash surprising commitment, emerging identity, and growing talent. What we share does not have to be a long conversation or “sermon.” They may be seemingly passing comments, casual observations, or incidental questions.  

The fact is that we can often see hints and glimpses of what the future of our students can be. However, most young people do not have the life experience or self-knowledge to fully appreciate what they can become. They also may be in family and community circumstances that fail to instill and support their becoming something beyond what is consistent with the history of the family and neighborhood.   

These comments, observations, and even urgings require little of us other than our attention to and insights about our students. Yet, the potential impact can be far beyond what we might hope or imagine. Here are seven examples to build on: 

• I hope that I am still around when you realize the full potential you possess. Most students are unaware of their potential. In some cases, the potential may be related to learning, or it may be in forming relationships and influencing others. Or it may develop in another aspect of life. The key is to plant the seed that the student has more to give and gain than their current aspirations and investment reflect.  
• I often wonder how much better you can become if you fully commit yourself. For some students, the opportunity to be better and the talent waiting to be developed is obvious, but their lack of commitment leads to uneven outcomes, unforced setbacks, and unnecessary barriers. Many students fail to realize what they could accomplish if they made a consistent commitment to accomplish what is important and meaningful to them. They do not need more intelligence or talent. They have what they need if they choose to consistently apply themselves. 
• I admire how you dig in when you encounter a challenge. Some students struggle and seem to make limited progress. Yet, they do not give up or give in. Despite the barriers and challenges they face, they possess special power in their persistence. In life, persistence is a more consistent predictor of success than intelligence. Often, students just need someone to recognize this special characteristic and encourage them to keep it up and know that their efforts will pay off.   
• I notice that when you take the time to think about an issue, you always seem to have a unique insight. Some students are quick to volunteer opinions and perspectives without giving much thought. Others are more deliberate and need a little more time. They may not be ready with a quick, often superficial answer. Both types of students can benefit from this observation. For the quick-to-respond student, this statement can be encouragement to take more time and think more deeply. For students who are more deliberate, this observation can offer important recognition and reinforcement for their approach.  
• Your level of curiosity has the potential to give you an amazing future. Curiosity is the gateway to learning. Even students who come from challenging backgrounds and may not have extensive academic background knowledge can find exceptional success when their curiosity is present, persistent, and pursued. When we encourage students to respect their curiosity and continue to ask questions, explore interests, and discover new ideas and insights, we can reveal for them a lifelong path of learning and success. Of course, we also need to be ready to hear and respond to more of their questions, ideas, and wonderings. 
• It would be amazing to see what would happen if you chose to use your leadership skills to make a positive difference. Many students who have special leadership skills and talents choose to use them in ways that distract the attention and undermine behavioral choices of other students. While they are practicing leadership, it can get in the way of their and other students’ success. This statement recognizes their skills and talents but nudges the application of leadership behaviors in a positive direction. Rather than fighting or seeking to undermine their leadership, we can encourage its application in a more positive direction.   
• I wonder what you will do with the talent you have yet to discover and develop. This statement suggests that the student may possess yet unrecognized talent. We open the door to a search and discovery that may surprise us and the student. The fact is that each of us holds the potential for special talents that we have yet to uncover and cultivate. Sometimes we just need someone to believe in what we may become. 

We have exceptional potential to influence our students. An encouraging observation, optimistic prediction, or insightful inquiry can make an amazingly positive difference. However, this same power, if used thoughtlessly, can sap the confidence of our students and leave undiscovered opportunities that assuredly exist for them.