Adopting a Mentor Mindset to Motivate Students

Have you ever spent countless hours writing feedback on students’ papers only to see little to no improvement? It’s frustrating and can feel like a waste of time. You push them to do better, yet they don’t seem motivated to do so.

In the book 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People, the author, David Yeager, introduces a powerful, new approach to motivating the next generation. By adopting a mentor mindset, we can balance high expectations with strong support, fostering young people’s motivation and growth.

As a college teacher, I’ve found this book to be a real game-changer, so I’m going to share my key takeaways and offer some guidelines on how teachers can implement these strategies in their classrooms.

Criticism versus wise feedback

David Yeager explains that the challenge in guiding young people lies in balancing criticism and encouragement. While constructive criticism is meant to help, it can undermine their confidence if not delivered properly. To address this, Yeager introduces the concept of wise feedback as a way of encouraging improvement while demonstrating respect.

The author emphasizes the fact that young adults, ranging from pre-adolescence to their mid-twenties, are particularly sensitive to social status and respect. When they feel valued and respected, they are more likely to stay motivated and engaged.

Wise feedback in the classroom

Many teachers (myself included!), struggle to give critical feedback without demotivating students. You might have tried the sandwich method or other strategies but still found them ineffective.

Yeager notes that young people are particularly sensitive to differences in status. They often read between the lines when interacting with teachers and interpret the words negatively. This creates miscommunication and a disconnect between the message we intend to communicate when giving feedback (even when it is meant positively) and what they perceive. How can we then criticize students’ work and motivate them at the same time?

In education, wise feedback:

• recognizes students’ potential and reinforces the idea that they have what it takes to succeed
• demands high performance while ensuring students feel safe and motivated
• shows respect by focusing on collaborative solutions rather than simply giving instructions

To provide this kind of feedback, David Yeager suggests adopting a mentor mindset.

The mentor mindset

David Yeager explains that adopting a mentor mindset involves combining high expectations with high support. This approach fosters respectful relationships where young people are challenged yet guided toward success. He explains that a true mentor in education:

• forms an alliance with students rather than dominating them
• assumes future growth, seeing students as who they can become, not who they are at the moment
• provides both material and psychological support to help them succeed

The mentor mindset in the classroom

A mentor mindset helps teachers build respectful relationships with students while balancing high expectations with strong support. It’s easy, as a teacher, to fall into 1 of the 2 extremes—being too demanding without enough support or being too supportive without enough rigour. The key is to find the right balance.

You can do a self-evaluation of your own current mindset by asking yourself:

• Do I worry that failure will harm students’ confidence?
• Do I believe struggling students lack work ethic?
• Do I think some students fail because they are lazy?
• Do I assume certain students are disengaged from their studies?

These beliefs can unintentionally affect how we approach students. A mentor mindset, on the other hand, fosters growth by combining challenge with encouragement. Teachers who adopt this approach:

• set high expectations while offering consistent support
• give immediate, constructive feedback
• design engaging, hands-on lessons
• provide both material (resources, time) and psychological support (availability, respect)
• empower students by validating effort and progress
• encourage students to seek extra help, and recognize their initiative when they do so

A common misconception is that competition and ranking drive motivation. Yeager argues that real motivation comes from self-improvement, not comparison. Teachers can apply this by:

• avoiding focus on class averages and ranking students
• encouraging students to focus on personal progress rather than competing with peers
• framing grades as feedback for growth, not as a measure of worth

Mentor mindset practices

In the 2^nd part of his book, David Yeager outlines key strategies for applying a mentor mindset, including:

• implementing collaborative troubleshooting
• being transparent
• teaching stress as a resource
• helping students identify their purpose

Collaborative troubleshooting

First, the author presents collaborative troubleshooting as a way to address mistakes without having young people feel confronted. For instance, rather than merely pointing out errors, a mentor would engage in a conversation about the young person’s understanding of the situation by asking open-ended questions.

Questioning instead of telling is important to understand students’ perspectives and behaviours (most likely driven by their need for status and respect). We can then better align our actions. Telling them what to do can be demotivating because the student can perceive it as disrespectful.

David Yeager suggests 1-on-1 conversations to avoid miscommunication. He proposes a 3-step interaction for effective feedback:

1. Determine their thinking by asking authentic questions
2. Validate what they already have right
3. Bridge the way to a better understanding with leading questions that build on the concepts they already understand

Imagine a discussion with your student who is failing at midterm. Instead of just presenting a low grade, a mentor teacher might say:

I know this grade doesn’t reflect your true abilities. Can you walk me through your approach so far? What’s been working, and what’s been challenging? I’ve seen your strengths in [specific area], and I know you’re capable of more. With some adjustments, I believe you can turn things around. Since you already grasp [specific concept], how do you think you can apply that strength to other areas? I have some ideas too, and together, we can create a plan to help you succeed in the next seven weeks.

This conversation shows a collaboration to meet high standards while supporting personal growth. Using “we” (collaborating) and not “you” (telling) forms an alliance with students. You let them know that you will help them fix the issue.

The key is not to lower expectations or make excuses but to provide the guidance and tools students need to succeed while acknowledging their potential.

Transparency

David Yeager highlights the importance of transparency in feedback. Students need to understand that high expectations and strong support stem from your belief in their potential. According to him, a transparency statement should:

• come right at the beginning of the interaction to build trust
• make a clear declaration of benevolent intention
• refer to your own intention and behaviour, not the role of teachers in general

For example, if you’re a teacher giving feedback to a student who has been struggling in your class, your transparency statement might resemble something like this:

I’ve noticed some areas where you’re struggling, and I’d like to ask a few questions. Before that, I want to make it clear that my goal is to understand your perspective. If I ask many questions, it’s because I want to truly understand your way of thinking. I care about your progress, and that’s why I’m giving you direct and useful feedback to help you improve and succeed.

David Yeager mentions the importance of repeating our messages, especially at difficult moments such as final exams. These are the moments where students doubt themselves the most. Repeated transparency statements can reassure them of our intentions.

Stress as a resource

David Yeager highlights the false belief that stress is debilitating and harms our performance and health. Stress is a natural byproduct of people choosing to challenge themselves, and it is a resource that can fuel better performance.

As teachers, we need to remind students that their stress is usually a sign that they are doing something they care about. We should encourage them to embrace their feelings to fuel their performance and to use stress as an asset.

Once again, it is important not to lower our expectations but to increase the resources available to help them cope with the situation. This will serve to maintain intellectual rigour while offering logistical flexibility.

If a student expresses stress about an evaluation, for instance, David Yeager proposes responding with a 3-step approach:

1. Validate (recognizing their stress as real)
2. Seek to understand (asking open-ended questions instead of offering immediate advice)
3. Collaborate on solutions (working together to find a manageable path forward)

Imagine you receive a MIO from one of your students telling you they are too stressed to do their oral presentation evaluation in your class. If you follow the 3-step approach to stress, your response might be:

I can see that you’re really stressed about this presentation, and that makes sense: public speaking can be challenging. But the fact that you’re feeling this way shows that you care about doing well. What have you tried so far to prepare for it? Have you practised in a way that feels comfortable for you? Let’s find a way together to make it more manageable. What if we start with a smaller step—maybe practising with just 1 or 2 classmates first? Or recording yourself before speaking in front of the class?

Identifying purpose

David Yeager emphasizes that students are more motivated when learning connects to a deeper purpose, such as something that impacts their community or aligns with their personal values.

To help students find their purpose for learning, teachers can:

• frame learning as a tool for change (showing students how their efforts can contribute to society, whether through science, art, advocacy, or innovation)
• create meaningful, real-world projects (assigning tasks with tangible outcomes, such as community service initiatives, creative projects, or research with social impact)
• leverage social rewards (positioning learning as a way to gain respect and status by being independent-minded individuals who contribute to making the world a fairer place)

Providing meaningful projects that contribute to society will enhance students’ sense of purpose, status, and motivation, and give them a more meaningful reason to grow and learn.

Future growth

As a final message, David Yeager reminds us that our words can shape students’ confidence and future choices. We must be mindful of the seeds we plant, as real growth happens over time. A single comment or moment can set something in motion, influencing students long after we’ve gone. This is the essence of mentoring—investing in future growth. I hope this has been as inspiring for you as it was for me when reading the book. I’d love to hear if you decide to implement any of these strategies in your classroom.