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​Explicit patterns of instruction that build awareness and strengthen resolve

​CREATE WAYS TO ILLICIT STUDENTS' STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
Students who don't know their strengths and weaknesses can't self-advocate because they don't from where they need to grow or change.  As teachers, we are in the business of telling students all the time what they are good and not good at.  What can you do to help students better address those questions and initiate their answers?

GROW THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF FAILURE
Would students agree that FAIL is just the First Attempt in Learning?  Doubtful.  Certainly not as long as the letter F is inseparable from that term.  What can we do to change that?  What can we do to chip away at the notion that this fixed mindset prevents an adaptable definition of failure?

REDUCE BARRIERS TO STUDENT-INITIATED QUESTIONS
On a scale of 1-5 the rank of a student announcing in front of others that he or she is unsure about something is around a 7.5.   Students with the greatest obstacles to asking questions - self-inflicted or not - are also the ones that should have the most questions.  What can we do to lower those barriers?  How can use tools that allow for anonymity or privacy?  How can we use question seeds to plant in the "audience" as a way to slowly pivot from teacher-initiated questions?

EXPLORE WAYS TO BUILD A CULTURE OF APPROPRIATE SELF-CONFIDENCE
It would be great if a poster could do the job, but like a wagon with no horse to pull it, we're not getting anywhere with just a cool picture and a hype quote. They need a certain degree of saturation - what the see, hear, do - for anything to sink in.   It's amazing how many students are not convinced we believe in them. Again, this is more true for the the students that need it most.  What can you do to move that mindset?

USE A RUBRIC FOR MORE THAN CALCULATING POINTS
Rubrics are essential tools, but students rarely invest in them as much as we do.  Rubrics can be a report on achievement, but also a recipe for improvement.  How we write the rubric makes a difference.  How can we construct a rubric, and the strategies we use to share them, in order to value both points and progress?
​Students need to be prompted and given opportunities to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. This, paired with time and a safe place to ask questions, allows students the chance to seek the support they need.