These four key themes are essential for students to thrive now—and in the future:
- Hope: Students experience hope when they believe their future is promising. But it is more than wishful thinking. Hopeful students have clear goals, paired with the mindset and motivation to reach them. They also anticipate and plan
for obstacles, and therefore plan for multiple pathways to success.
- Engagement: Students are emotionally engaged when they have strong relationships with their teacher and peers, making them feel safe, enthusiastic, and confident in their learning.
- Belonging: Students experience 21st century learning when teachers design opportunities for students to think deeply and bring their learning to life through questioning, exploring, and reflecting on how their learning connects to
the world beyond school.
- 21st Century Learning: Students experience 21st century learning when teachers design opportunities for students to think deeply and bring their learning to life through questioning, exploring, and reflecting on how their learning
connects to the world beyond school.
When you invite students to share how they feel about their learning experiences—around these four key themes—you can discover gaps between student perception and teacher intention, and then you can respond with research-based
strategies.
Learn more about the research around the four key themes and why they matter: