The Master Teacher Blog

We give students a special gift when we teach them a “hustle” approach to learning and life. Hustle creates an advantage in almost every life situation. In the words of Abraham Lincoln, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” Hustle is the key advantage people who are successful over a lifetime know—and tap. 

In fact, hustle is a better predictor of success in school and life than intelligence and innate talent. Hustle is making small increments of additional effort proactively and consistently. Over time, hustle becomes a huge differentiator in learning and life. People who emerge as exceptionally successful in life rarely do so by a single effort or action; often, hustle is their secret.  

We have taken the important step of building strong, positive, influential relationships with our students; sharing learning and life success secrets with them is a natural next step. The secrets of hustle may seem simple, but they can transform the way students work in our class and even change the trajectory of their lives. Here are eight behaviors we can teach our students and coach them on so that they know how to tap the power of hustle: 

• Decide what is important. Stay focused on what matters. Refuse to allow distractions to pull you off of the path you have chosen. We can choose to change direction, but we need to be sure to take our hustle approach with us. It is fully transferable. 
• Show up. This advice may seem obvious, but people who are present are more likely to be aware of and influence what is happening around them. Further, people who can be depended on disproportionately determine what is going to happen and play a key role in making it reality. 
• Stay curious. Curiosity keeps us connected and informed. Curiosity is often the door to discovering opportunities. Asking questions, seeking to understand, and exploring possibilities accelerate learning and build insight.  
• When we see an opportunity, take it. Hustle uncovers more opportunities in life. Opportunities are gifts life presents to us, but we must act in order for them to benefit us. Being able to recognize an opportunity is important, but doing something with it is what matters.  
• Do one thing more. Choose to always take one additional action or step than required or planned. Over time, the gap between what others do and accomplish and what we achieve will widen in our favor. The long-term difference will be amazing. 
• Get better every day. Even very small improvements accumulate over time and can make a huge difference. The Japanese call this approach to life kaizen, meaning continuous improvement, and use it as a way to stay fresh and always be learning and growing.   
• Choose to work hard and smart. Working hard has its advantages, but working smart increases the likelihood of desired results. But when we work hard and work smart, we create a near unstoppable winning combination. 
• Treat mistakes and setbacks as natural, even expected. People who hustle also experience errors and missteps. In fact, hustle makes some mistakes more likely. However, for these people, mistakes and setbacks are almost always temporary. They also often reveal new insights and signal what to do next. Mistakes are a natural part of the learning process for people who hustle.  

We teach students many things during their time with us. Some things students learn may have limited impact and be quickly forgotten. However, when we teach students how to be successful in life, we give them a gift that can transform their achievement with us and set them on a course of lifelong success.  

Grades are such an integral part of schooling today that it can be difficult to imagine how schools could ever operate without them. Students are told that getting good grades is the ultimate reason to work hard. After all, grades are used to judge a learner’s history and status, and even predict—and sometimes dictate—their future. Given the significance assigned to this component of our educational system, we might think that it has a deep and rich history associated with learning.  

Yet, grades and grading have not always been the way in which learning was measured and reported. Prior to the introduction of grades, the quality and preparedness of students were connected to the educator, or educators, under whom they studied. When seeking a position, students presented the name and reputation of their teacher or teachers. The reputation and testimony of the person(s) under whom they studied was used to assure the preparedness of the position seeker. However, this approach presented at least two challenges: first, educators’ reputations were dependent on ensuring that their students gained the intended knowledge and skills, and second, such a tight connection between learner and teacher meant that educators could support a limited number of students at any time.   

In the late 1700s, a tutor at Cambridge University, William Farish, borrowed the practice of grading the quality of shoes made in factories and applied that practice to students. Finished shoes were given a grade based on the quality of the workmanship they represented; better-quality shoes were worth more, while lower-quality shoes were priced low or rejected. Interestingly, Farish’s idea caught on almost immediately, became common practice in schools within a generation, and has remained the most common way to judge learners and learning ever since.  

Why is this history important, and why might it matter today? Let’s explore.  

First, students and learning are much more complex than stitching and leather, and learning is infinitely more difficult to measure and judge than the ruggedness and style of a shoe. Deciding to consolidate the multiple dimensions of learning into a single number or letter compromises understanding and ignores the complexity of the process.  

Second, while a poor-quality pair of shoes may not be comfortable or last long, failing to learn risks handicapping future opportunities for students. Further, a low grade does not just imply poor-quality learning; it often means that some learning did not occur at all. Consequently, future instruction based on the assumption that prior learning occurred further disadvantages the learner and compounds the error.  

Third, when grades are applied to shoes, the identity of the shoe is intertwined with the quality of its materials and workmanship. Alternatively, students are much more than the grades they receive. Yet, grades too often are used to assign identity, define expectations, and determine the levels of adult effort and investment that students will experience.  

Fourth, a shoe may be the product of the assembler’s effort and skill, but learners play a key role in the teaching and learning process. Readiness, relationships, and instructional practices are all significant to the learning process. However, the assignment of grades can create a temptation to blame students for lack of learning rather than sharing responsibility, providing needed support, or taking timely steps to address barriers. 

Fifth, while the idea of grading students like shoes provided an efficient way for teachers to teach more students, there remain limits on how many students a teacher can effectively support. It is true that many of the limitations present at the time grading was adopted no longer exist today. We know much more about how learning occurs and how to nurture it, and technology can help us to customize experiences and track progress in real time. Regardless, the ability to assign grades should not serve as a reason to continually expand the number of students teachers are expected to support.  

The time has come to re-examine the traditional practice of assigning a single grade to such a complex process as learning. Students, parents, and others with an interest in learning progress and performance deserve more informative and actionable indicators of where learning has occurred, how much learning has occurred, and what needs to be done to see that expected learning will occur.  

Listening is easily taken for granted. After all, it feels as though we do it almost all the time. Yet, listening is one of the most underrated and underdeveloped skills among professionals—and just about everyone else. Listening is a crucial element in forming relationships, solving problems, making decisions, and performing many other work and life tasks.  

Listening is a near-constant element in our work with students, colleagues, parents, friends, and family. It is worth doing well. However, it is easy to compromise listening effectiveness and ignore key elements of listening that could lead to better communication, stronger relationships, and greater influence on others. Such mistakes can be costly. Here are six facets of deep listening worth heeding.  

Commit to hearing, not just listening. Hearing represents deeper engagement than just receiving and understanding words. Really hearing someone means seeking meaning, implications, and emotions in and behind what they say. We may think that when others are speaking, we are just receiving their message. However, we are likely confirming, rejecting, or leading the speaker to modify the message as we listen. Communication experts say that more than half of communication is transmitted through body language, not through what is spoken. Consequently, even though we may not be speaking, we are still communicating.  

Engage fully. Obviously, we need to put down our phone or anything else that might interrupt or distract us from what is being said. We may think that we are paying full attention, but if we are also doing something else, the message we communicate may be one of less-than-full attention and commitment to the conversation. Equally important, we need to drop our assumptions and set aside our emotions. Perceptions, predictions, and predispositions can color what we hear and how we interpret the message. Only by giving our full attention can we prevent mishearing, misinterpreting, and misfiring in our response. 

Listen to learn. One of the most difficult challenges associated with listening is to avoid forming a comment, defense, solution, or other response while the other person is still speaking. Doing these things risks missing key portions of the message or misinterpreting the intent of what is being said. When we commit to learning from what is said, we are likely to absorb information that will better inform and calibrate our response when it is time to provide one. Of course, if we need some time to formulate a response, we can employ a few seconds of silence and allow the message to settle.  

Repetition is a signal. It is not unusual for people to repeat themselves when reporting an experience, sharing a message, or recounting a conversation. Repetition can be an indication of something important. Sometimes repetition is intended to emphasize something emotional about the message. At other times, repetition is an indication that the speaker is not feeling heard or is feeling that we do not fully understand the implications of what is being said. When we notice repetition, it is worth noting and asking if the speaker wants to say more about that aspect of the message.  

Silence is powerful. Accomplished interviewers and skilled interrogators understand the power of silence. Silence, even for a few seconds, can have a powerful effect on conversations. Silence can be an invitation to continue speaking. It can imply and "give voice,” so to speak, for deep emotion. Silence can even communicate skepticism and doubt. Regardless, most people feel a powerful urge to fill gaps of silence. When we resist the urge to interrupt and are willing to sit quietly, we can often learn far more important information than if we choose to ask an immediate question or offer an immediate response. 

Confirm what is said. The best way to know if we have accurately heard and interpreted what was said is to confirm it with the speaker. Of course, as we confirm, we are also assuring the speaker that we have been listening. Confirmation can take multiple forms. We can confirm what we heard by repeating what was said (“I heard you say…”). We can also summarize what we heard to confirm our understanding of the full message (“In summary, it sounds as though…”). Or we can interpret what we hear to confirm themes and implications (“Would it be correct to interpret what you are saying as…”). 

Listening is one of the most powerful ways to communicate respect. We don’t always have to have answers or guidance to offer. Often, just being willing to listen can make a crucial difference. Practice these six strategies, and you may be amazed at the impact.  

Academic learning is an especially challenging experience for many students. They may struggle to grasp concepts, become confused, and make mistakes that set their learning back. They can find themselves off track and so far behind that they choose to give up. 

Unfortunately, many common grading practices can inadvertently make these challenges even more daunting. One or two low grades can drop averages to the point where achieving hoped-for grades is no longer within reach. Early grading when students are struggling to learn a new skill can mask later learning growth, leaving students with a low grade despite later progress. Life circumstances may result in students being unable to complete assignments and projects on time. Confusion regarding expectations or assignment completion requirements can result in low grades even though students learned key concepts and skills. 

Any of these circumstances can leave students who otherwise would invest continued effort and work feeling despair. Students often choose to give up rather than struggle when they see no possibility of success. These are times when students need a lifeline to give them hope and make their continued learning efforts worthwhile.  

We might find ourselves taking the position that life is not always forgiving and that students must learn to deal with reality. However, we need to remember that their learning is our top priority. Our students will have plenty of opportunities to deal with the harsh realities of life. While teaching students to manage their time and deal with difficulties is certainly important, we need prioritize their core learning success.  

Fortunately, there are several steps we can take when students are at risk of giving up. These “lifelines” can make the difference between having students fall farther behind and lose hope and continuing to put forth effort and be willing to struggle in the face of learning setbacks and challenges. Here are five strategies to consider:  

• Postpone grades and focus on feedback. Quality feedback in the absence of grades leads students to focus on the steps and strategies that lead to success. Once grades are assigned, students are more likely to shift their focus and stop struggling. We need to wait as long as possible before assigning a grade to student work.  
• Include learning growth in grade calculations. Students who struggle often begin their learning with little background knowledge and related experience. They face the reality of having to learn more than students who come with these advantages. Yet, traditional grading practices often ignore this aspect of learning. In fact, students who achieve the highest grades are not necessarily the students who learned the most. Including recognition of learning growth in grading can be a good way to recognize and encourage the students who may have struggled.  
• Provide flexibility in completion timelines. Obviously, we need to provide clear expectations regarding the submission of completed assignments and projects. Nevertheless, offering reasonable flexibility can maintain engagement and commitment from students who face circumstances and challenges that might otherwise lead them to give up.   
• Throw out the lowest grade(s). Over the course of a grading period, students may experience distractions and circumstances that interfere with their learning. Or they may just have had a bad day or made a poor choice. The result can be outcomes that are not representative of their body of work. Our willingness to throw out unrepresentative work products and performances, or offer such an option, can be a source of hope and continued commitment for students.  
• Permit learning reflections as evidence of learning. For a variety of reasons, there are times when the quiz, test, and assignment performance of students may not be representative of what they have learned. When we suspect that students are caught in these circumstances, we can offer opportunities for students to submit reflections on what they have learned, present a portfolio to supplement the information we have, or make a presentation to explain and demonstrate the learning they have gained.  

It would be wonderful if we did not have to deal with grading systems and could instead focus on learning as the essential measure of progress. However, for most educators, this prospect is not near-term reality. Consequently, we need to do what we can to encourage and support students to keep learning, even when the assignment of grades threatens to distract and discourage their efforts.  

The great American philosopher Mister (Fred) Rogers once said, “Silence is one of the greatest gifts we have.” Fortunately, this gift is free and available to all of us. However, silence can feel uncomfortable, even awkward, if we are not accustomed to it or fail to appreciate its value.  

Despite its sometimes negative connotation, silence actually offers many learning and health benefits. For example, extended silence has been shown to lead to the creation of new brain cells associated with learning and recall. Silence can help us to increase and extend our ability to focus. It can also lower blood pressure and increase blood flow to the brain, thus lowering stress and relieving tension. The key is to find time and create conditions where silence can be experienced.  

At the same time, we know that learning can often be loud and boisterous, especially when it generates excitement. Making sense of new information may require discussion, lead to questions, and stimulate the sharing of observations. Obviously, these are important components of learning, yet learning also grows with reflection, contemplation, context finding, and connection making. 

The rapid pace of the school day can make finding time for and utilizing silence a challenge. We can feel the urge to fill each second of the day with words, activity, and other features in our efforts to keep students focused and occupied. Nevertheless, there are many opportunities for us to create and utilize silence to calm, guide, and support learning. Consider these five ideas that leverage the value of silence to engage students.  

• Look inside. We might begin our class period by providing students with a few minutes to silently gauge and reflect on their emotions. During stimulating discussions or insightful conversations, we can give students a few moments to silently explore their thoughts. We can encourage students to take deep breaths and engage in other relaxation and reflection techniques. This focus likely will open doors to discussion about how our students are feeling and how they imagine others might be feeling. We could then follow the period of silence with a discussion about how they can direct their emotions and energy in a positive and productive direction.  
• Clear your mind. Before beginning a new cycle of teaching and learning, we might invite students to pause, relax, and clear their minds of distractions and preoccupation. We can direct them to consciously let go of what may get in the way of what they will learn next.  
• Consider what you already know. As we introduce new content or a new skill, we might ask students to think about what they are going to learn. We can encourage students to take some time to think about what they already know. They could jot down notes for themselves or post thoughts in a virtual common space for later discussion. We need to give plenty of time and encourage them to think beyond their initial recollections. For example, what might be related? Of course, we also can ask what else they would like to know. 
• Hold that thought. Pausing after asking a question and allowing students to think before calling on someone to respond is a common and effective strategy for encouraging more thought and more students to respond. For students who are typically reluctant to respond in the presence of other students, we might signal that we will be calling on them in advance to help them be prepared to answer. It can be a great confidence builder. 
• Imagine what it looks like. When we pose a question, we can shift students’ attention away from immediately verbalizing answers and toward developing responses using pictures, graphics, maps, or some form other than words. We may need to allow students several minutes to silently draw, compose, and develop a graphic representation that fully reflects their thinking. This approach allows students who are not quick thinkers, verbally skilled, or outgoing to reflect and think while employing other forms of expression in a context of silence. 

In a world filled with noise, silence can be both a welcome relief and an uncomfortable, vacant space. Yet, the more we create and utilize silence to support learning, the more our students will appreciate its value and become comfortable in its presence. Meanwhile, the silence we experience can improve our thinking, our mood, and our health.  

It is not unusual to hear complaints that students are too dependent on us as their teachers. We may believe that students too often wait to be told what to do, how to do it, and if they are doing well enough. Unfortunately, we can unintentionally contribute to this problem. We undermine learning independence when we are quick to tell our students what to do, how to do it, and condition our approval on their pleasing us.  

Of course, we live in a world that is quickly becoming one in which imagining possibilities, figuring out what to do, and learning even when there is no one to teach us is crucial to success. If we hope to prepare today’s students for their future, we need to nurture an increasing learning independence as they progress through their school experience. The question is, how can we nurture learning independence while remaining in a position to provide support and guidance when needed? Here are eight strategies that can help us get started.  

Tap learner interest and curiosity. Students own their curiosity, so it can be a starting point on the path toward independence. Interest gives students a reason to inquire, explore, and pursue what they find compelling. We can nudge students towards independence by feeding what is already driving them. 

Provide meaningful learning choices. The nature of choice making is that if the subject or issue is important to the student, the student is more likely to value and take ownership of what they have chosen. Value and ownership are elements capable of driving independence. Students are far less likely to seek learning independence if they see the topic as something we have chosen for them rather than something they have chosen for themselves. 

Present and expose students to challenges that feature multiple solutions. Students often believe that the problems they are presented in school must have one singular solution and that success is achieved by finding that solution or providing the teacher with the answer they are seeking. Yet, life more often presents challenges that can be solved through a variety of processes and that lead to multiple answers. Our role is to ask what else might be important, how else a situation might be approached, and what other solution might also be effective. 

Allow students to experience struggle and setbacks. When we step in too quickly as students begin to struggle or experience a setback, we risk fostering dependence rather than independence. Struggle can be an effective force for learning, and setbacks can provide excellent opportunities to seek new strategies and approaches. We can encourage greater independence by asking questions that help students to reflect on their thinking and examine what else they might try. We can encourage and coach, but we need to be careful not to take over and provide answers that students can discover and develop on their own.  

Give opportunities for students to work in groups. At first, this strategy may not seem to be an obvious tool to foster independence as students may still be dependent on other members of their group. However, group work shifts the focus of learners away from our direct support, thus it can be an important intermediate step. Further, if we structure the group’s work to foster independence and autonomy, risk-averse students can gain confidence as they experience the support of other group members.  

Expose students to authentic problems and real-world challenges. Authenticity is an attractive feature in learning, as the purpose for learning becomes more apparent and the results become more rewarding. When students see the outcomes of their efforts and learning as making the lives of others or the community better, the incentive to learn becomes stronger. Further, we can position ourselves as resources to support their learning rather than the assigner of content and skills to be learned.  

Coach students to set learning goals. For many students, setting goals for their learning makes them more likely to take learning seriously than when we set and present goals to them. Of course, students often have limited experience and skills in goal setting, so we may need to provide early support and coaching. Modest, short-term goals are likely to be most effective at first. Over time, though, we can gradually shift the responsibility to our students and coach them to increase the length and significance of goals they set.  

Help students build the skills and reflection capacity to assess their own learning. Of course, we have a responsibility to assess, provide feedback, and share accountability for the learning that occurs in our classroom. Unfortunately, for many students, we become the sole judge of what is satisfactory or excellent. Yet, students can develop the ability to apply standards, rubrics, and other measuring tools to their learning. Not only does this skillset better equip students for life, but as students assess their learning, they also become less dependent on us and can better engage in discussions about how they are doing, what they need to do next, and how good is good enough.  

Nurturing and coaching students to be independent learners is not easy. They often prefer to have us tell them what to do and how to do it. Our students can become frustrated as we nudge them to become more independent in their learning. However, doing so is a key responsibility and gift from which students can benefit for the rest of their lives.  

As educators, we might think that a perfect lesson is one in which students immediately respond to our instruction and quickly grasp a challenging concept or learn a complex skill we have introduced. These experiences can be uplifting and reinforcing, but they do not always lead to the best learning outcomes for our students.  

When students are immediately able to grasp and apply what they have been taught, it is likely that they already knew some (or much) of what they heard or that the content was not as challenging as we assumed it would be. Unfortunately, it is also true that the learning that comes easily and quickly can be forgotten just as easily and quickly.  

We know that struggle is a key part of deep and long retained learning. Still, though, a common perception is that when learning comes easily, it is a sign of being smart, and when learning requires struggle, it indicates that the learner must not be very skilled. Students who learn quickly often have strong short-term memories that make them able to repeat and demonstrate what they have been taught in the near term. Obviously, we do not want students to become overwhelmed with the difficulty of struggle, but when students struggle at the leading edge of their learning, they must pay attention, examine, and grapple with what they are learning. As a result, new learning becomes more deeply embedded in their understanding and memories. Consequently, struggle should not be an experience confined to students who lack robust academic background knowledge or who need more time to process and make sense of what they are taught.  

If we want to nurture proficient, highly skilled, confident learners, we need to design struggle into the learning we present to them. Struggle must become an expected—even welcomed—element of the learning in which they engage. Let’s examine six benefits that learning struggles can generate for our students.  

Designed struggle in learning... 

• Leads to clarity. Struggle often begins with confusion about what and how to learn. As students sift and sort through what they already know and discover new elements to be learned, they gradually gain clarity and insight that lead to learning progress and ultimate success. Overcoming struggle involves the pursuit of understanding and finding a productive path forward. 

• Improves memory. When learning comes easily, students can neglect to transfer what they have learned from working memory to long-term memory. Consequently, it can be quickly lost and will need to be relearned when needed again in the future. On the other hand, when students engage in struggle, their brains are more likely to recognize the significance of what is being learned and transfer it to long-term memory for later recall.  

• Encourages use of multiple strategies. When learning involves struggle, obvious and previously relied-upon strategies can be inadequate or inappropriate for use. As a result, students often must discover, design, and deploy new approaches. Learning how to be flexible, preparing to find new paths, and practicing new tactics can be important life success skills that extend well beyond formal, school-based learning.  

• Nurtures resilience. Struggle invites students to do more than try or persist. When students learn new strategies, discover new approaches, and deploy new tactics, they are simultaneously growing their resilience. No longer are they repeating what has not worked for them; rather, they are learning to shift their thinking and adjust their behavior in ways that can be transferred to other areas of life when they encounter significant challenges and setbacks.    

• Builds confidence. The more students engage in learning that challenges them and the more that they build skills and strategies to prevail, the more confidence they develop in their learning abilities. Consequently, when these students find themselves struggling, they are less likely to conclude that they are not capable and that they should give up. Students who know that struggle is an important aspect of learning and who have a history of overcoming struggle to find success do not panic. They also do not underestimate their ability to learn challenging things.  

• Leads to satisfaction. Interestingly, satisfaction is a direct result of experiencing and overcoming struggle. In fact, without struggle, satisfaction can be a rare emotion. The more often students must struggle in their learning, the more satisfaction they are likely to glean from the experience.   

Our students' guardians, too, can fall into the trap of assuming that fast and easy learning is a sign of learning skill. We may need to explain and demonstrate the value of learning struggles so that they do not become alarmed when their students who have not struggled in the past find themselves having to develop new skills and strategies to be successful.

We typically think of review as something in which we engage students as they prepare for a major assessment. After all, we know that revisiting past learning refreshes memory and helps to retrieve previously learned concepts and skills. While such retrieval can lead to better performance on assessments, of course, review can also play important roles in learning beyond simple test preparation. In fact, review is a key to building long-term information recall, and it is crucial in preparing for new learning.  

Regular review of previously learned content needs to be a priority if we hope to have students retain what they have learned beyond the next assessment, or even the end of the year and beyond. The more opportunities we give students to review what they have learned, the longer they are likely to retain it. Further, review can build students’ confidence that they are making progress and building a strong memory base that will serve them well in the future. Let’s examine six learning benefits of regular review. 

Review builds and freshens background knowledge. Distributed practice is an effective way to review previous learning and refresh recall. It can also remind students of details and reinforce nuanced elements of previous learning, thus dispelling misconceptions and avoiding faulty memory.  

Review creates space for working memory. Working memory has limited capacity, as it functions as a temporary location for new information. When students review information and concepts to which they have recently been exposed, they accelerate the process of moving information from their working memory into their long-term memory, thus creating space for new learning to occur.  

Review strengthens long-term memory. Not only does review create space for new learning, but it also builds stronger, more accurate long-term memory. Over time, recall can become selective, and perceptions can drift. Even a quick review of key information and brief practice with previously learned skills can sharpen and reinforce long-term recall.  

Review builds connections and schema. When we initially learn new concepts or are introduced to new information, we can miss subtleties and overlook how pieces of information and actions are related. When we return to previously learned content, we often see connections and patterns we missed the first time. As a result, we can build schema that deepens our understanding and insight and increases our ability to apply what we know in new and more effective ways. 

Review increases automaticity. We know that frequent review of information such as math facts or standard procedures and processes makes them increasingly easy to recall. When combined with practice, the information becomes so familiar that we sometimes call it muscle memory. If we want students to easily access and apply what they have learned, frequent review is a must.  

Review builds expertise. The combination of review-related benefits we have discussed contributes to high levels of proficiency. The journey to becoming an expert is paved with review and practice. Regular engagement in review can prevent a drift into bad habits and faulty shortcuts.  

Obviously, review needs to be part of our ongoing learning-support routines. As examples, information learned last week might be a priority for review on the following Monday and learning from the past month might be the focus of review during the second week of the next month. The key is to make review a regular practice if we hope to have our students retain what they learned with us—after they leave us.  

It has been said that the student who does not believe they can learn is the most difficult student to teach. Learning requires effort, risk, and persistence. This prospect can seem like a heavy lift for students who doubt their abilities, lack confidence, or have not experienced much learning success. In fact, all students are, at some points, likely to wonder about their capability and question their ability to succeed. 

Yet, the presence of hope for success is often the first step in the learning process. It opens the door for students to see the purpose and possibilities associated with learning. Still, it is a factor in learning that we may overlook and take for granted as we prepare to teach.  

When hope is lacking, investing energy and enduring the frustration that can accompany learning can seem like a “bridge too far.” In fact, it can be easier for students to see themselves as incapable and tell themselves that what they are asked to learn is not relevant, useful, or worth the effort. Such self-talk can actually feel better than risking engagement with an activity that may lead to embarrassment and shame.

Obviously, negative self-messaging undermines our efforts and our messages about the importance and value of learning. A well-prepared, focused, professionally prepared lesson is of little value if students are not ready or able to engage in the learning we have planned.  

To be clear, hope is not just voiced optimism or a naïve view of life. Hope is the realization that success is possible with patience, effort, strategy, and persistence. Hope is a key motivator that pushes and pulls people toward their goals. Equally important, students who are hopeful also are more likely to bounce back when they make mistakes and experience setbacks.  

The good news is that hope is a learnable skill. We can teach and nurture it. Here are five actions that can help us to get started.  

Create an emotionally safe learning environment. Students need to feel safe to take risks. They need to be free from the prospect of embarrassment and public criticism. Respect, valuing, and support are crucial elements of an environment in which students feel safe to take risks and learn. Of course, a safe learning environment by itself is not enough, but it is a condition that we need to create to make taking learning risks feel like a reasonable commitment.  

Conduct empathy interviews. The more we understand about students who struggle to gain and sustain hope, the better able we are to reach and teach them in this crucial area. Explore the student’s history with learning, including that which occurs outside of school. Inquire about past challenges they have confronted and overcome to find success. Nudge for details about what they did, how it worked, and how they felt. What we learn from these conversations can provide helpful reminders and levers to instill, nurture, and sustain hope. Finally, assure students that we want them to experience this type of success, and the feelings that accompany it, over and over in our class.  

Give students a sense of control. Hope is closely associated with a sense of control. Helping students to see connections between their efforts and learning outcomes can be crucial to the development of hope. We can start with small things: making choices about activities, what to do first, with whom to work, and so on. Over time, we can expand and build choices to include use of time, learning strategies, and other learning drivers. The goal is to help students gain a sense of agency relative to their learning.  

Coach students to set goals. Goals are tangible elements of hope. Goals create a path to the future. We can help students to break goals into specific, actionable steps so they can see how they can get from where they are to where they want to go. At first, the goals may be modest and short-term, but over time they can build into more challenging and significant learning targets. Initially, students likely will need instruction, coaching, and support. However, we need to be careful to ensure that the goals are owned by the student. If students perceive the goals as ours, we will have lost much of the leverage the goals can provide. 

Encourage students to reflect on and talk about hope. At first, students may be reluctant to discuss this aspect of their learning. To build awareness and comfort, we might start with activities such as writing about or discussing a sentence stem like “Today, I hope…” as a warm-up activity and collect or invite reflections at the end of class. We might share vignettes of people who persisted and prevailed in the face of a challenge because of the power of hope. We can also connect examples of how the power of hope led to solving complex and difficult challenges related to our subject area to make a connection with what students are learning. As students become more comfortable and conscious of the power of hope, we might even have them write a letter to their future selves describing who they hope to become and why. 

We do well to remember that the level of hope in people ebbs and flows. We may see progress one day, followed by a day that will require more attention and reassurance. Experiences and circumstances can impact hope, especially as students are building confidence and growing the power of their hope. We must be patient without giving up. As hope grows, we can be assured that in the face of struggles and setbacks, we will see students bounce back faster and persist longer.