There are many things you can do as an educator to help students tap the full potential of their talents. This includes teaching to their strengths and empowering them to perform better.

Rather than using external motivators like gold stars and extra credit, teachers should focus on changing mindsets. This will motivate students to excel in the classroom and beyond.

Project-Based Learning

Project-Based Learning is a teaching technique that allows students to work on a long project that involves an in-depth inquiry into a specific topic or question. This approach is highly effective for teaching important academic concepts and developing problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills.

Research shows that project-based learning can boost student achievement across all educational levels. For example, third-grade students in Michigan who used an interdisciplinary project-based science curriculum scored 8 percentage points better than peers on a key science assessment (Krajcik et al., 2020).

PBL also helps students develop interpersonal skills. They learn how to collaborate with peers, communicate with teachers and resolve conflicts when they arise. These skills are essential for life and career success.

Another important benefit of PBL is that it fosters creativity and innovation. Using their own ideas, students create projects that can answer real-world questions.

These projects can range from solving a puzzle to designing an innovative solution for a specific problem. The process is a great way for students to learn about themselves and their abilities while having fun!

Project-Based Learning can be incorporated into any subject area, from math to language arts to social studies. Time4Learning's award-winning curriculum offers a wealth of interactive, engaging lessons and activities to get you started!

Self-Discipline

One of the most important and empowering skills students can learn and develop throughout their academic careers is self-discipline. It is a skill that is essential for all types of learners, especially when there are subjects they don’t enjoy and periods of distraction in their lives.

In order to be disciplined, you need to have a clear purpose and goal for your efforts. This can be difficult at first, so it’s helpful to start small and work your way up.

It is also helpful to have accountability partners who can check in with you to help keep you on track. Studies show that having someone else to report back to raises your success rate by 65%, and making an appointment to report increases it by 95%!

Another great tip is to create a daily routine. This will make your daily activities consistent and effortless.

Having a schedule will help you be more consistent with your work and study habits, which can improve your self-discipline. It also helps you remember what you need to do and makes it easier for you to get started on your tasks.

You can also choose to do certain tasks for specific amounts of time each day, such as studying for a specific amount of hours, reading for a specified number of pages, or taking a short break between study sessions.

If you are a student who struggles to be disciplined, it may be helpful for you to exercise regularly. Exercising every day helps you stay healthy, reduces stress and can make you more focused during your study session.

Students can also learn self-discipline through observing other students who are highly motivated and disciplined. This will help them learn how to model their behavior after a successful achiever who has the right attitude towards their goals and spheres of responsibility.

Perseverance

Perseverance is the ability to work through a challenge and achieve an objective even when it feels difficult. It’s the tenacity and drive to stick with something until it’s finished, whether it’s an academic goal or a personal achievement.

Teachers can play a huge role in helping their students develop perseverance. Teaching explicit lessons that highlight the importance of this life-changing skill can be one way. But it’s important to keep in mind that it takes time and many lessons to build a student’s perseverance.

Another way to teach perseverance is to find real-life examples of people who have overcome challenges and persevered to reach their goals. This can be done through reading or watching video about people who have achieved success in their fields.

Read-alouds are a great way to introduce this concept to students. These stories allow students to see the struggles and perseverance of others in a way that makes them more likely to relate.

Videos about perseverance heroes are also a good place to start. These characters are real-life heroes who faced many hardships and fought through them to achieve their dreams and goals.

When you’re working on a task, it’s easy to feel like you’re going backwards. It’s also easy to think that you should quit or give up. But if you persist, it’s not hard to believe that you can achieve your goal.

Self-Confidence

Self-Confidence is a critical component of students' learning and development. It allows them to take risks, overcome challenges and setbacks, and believe in their abilities.

Students with low self-confidence often feel that they are not good enough or that they will not be able to achieve their goals. It can affect their ability to focus, concentrate and study.

Educators should make sure to provide students with opportunities to develop their self-confidence through classroom practice and support from teachers and peers. They can also refer students to mental health professionals who can assist them in building confidence in their learning.

In addition, encouraging students to adopt a more intellectual humility can help them build their confidence in learning. They will be more comfortable admitting that they do not know the answer to a question and will therefore be more willing to ask for assistance when they need it.

Finally, educating students about the power of self-confidence can help them develop a strong belief in their own capabilities and a positive attitude towards life. This will enable them to work toward their goals with a greater sense of purpose and motivation.

Having high self-confidence makes it easier for students to embrace challenges and risks, because they understand that every obstacle is an opportunity to learn something new. They also understand that failure is normal and it is important to try again.

Freedom of Expression

Freedom of expression is a core value in democratic governance, and it enables people to search for truth through open debate and discussion. It also encourages individuals to develop their own sense of self and dignity, and is an important pillar in the human rights framework.

In addition, it protects the role of the media in bringing information to the public and creating an important forum for discussion and reflection. This is a vital part of human rights law and it enshrined in numerous international treaties and agreements.

However, there are circumstances where restrictions to freedom of expression may be legitimately imposed by public authorities (for example, when speech violates the right to privacy or other rights). They must meet the requirements set out in the European Convention on Human Rights and be 'proportionate' - that is, they must be appropriate for the aim they are trying to achieve, not broader or maintained for longer than is necessary.

This is a complex issue and the legal principles surrounding it can vary between jurisdictions. Generally, a restriction to freedom of expression must be provided by law, be necessary to achieve a legitimate aim and be made known to you in advance, along with information on how to seek guidance and redress.

Despite the importance of this right, it can be a challenging area for educators to navigate. Educators have to be aware of when and how to balance their students’ rights with the educational needs of the curriculum, as well as the University’s commitment to free expression.

It is also important to be aware of the many cases where student speech codes have been challenged in court and where students have been censored for saying things that they do not agree with or find offensive. Often, these challenges have stemmed from the desire to protect the intellectual property of other parties – especially when it is unclear whether or not this infringement has been properly justified.