3 Mindset Shifts for the New Year

January always feels like a reset button.  Many people set personal goals and resolutions.  Some people make long-term, thoughtful, and intentional ones; others, make them at 11:59 New Year’s Eve and promptly forget them within a week or maybe even by January 2.  No judgement here either way – I’ve done both!

Teachers do this too. New systems. New routines. Goals to be more organized, more efficient, more on top of everything. I’ve set these goals in the past too.

But over the last couple of years, I’ve quit doing this because I’m working to shift my mindset to make small, intentional changes that make teaching feel more sustainable.  It’s a work in progress, but some shifts have helped me and they might help you too!

Mindset Shift #1: Rigor Doesn’t Mean More Work

Somewhere along the way, rigor got tangled up with volume: more pages, more questions, more assignments.

About five years ago, I took over an advanced 8th-grade class.  These are 8^th grade students who are taking a 9th-grade ELA course. I’ll be honest: my first instinct was to add. More reading. More writing. More work, because surely that’s what rigor looked like.

What I’ve come to realize (and, honestly, what I’m still working on streamlining), is that rigor in ELA isn’t about doing more.  It’s about thinking more.  I’ve written about this here: Why Critical Thinking Is Your ELA Superpower ) and shared strategies in this blog post.  

Tip to shift your mindset: Look at your existing unit assignments and ask, “What are the critical thinking skills I actually want to address?” Focus on those skills.

Over time, assignments tend to expand. A few extra questions here, a graphic organizer there.  Suddenly, rigor starts to look a lot like busywork.  This is what we want to avoid!

What to do instead:

• Emphasize one skill per lesson (theme, analysis, craft, structure).
• Replace multi-page worksheets with one strong prompt that requires justification.
• Ask students to defend their thinking, verbally or in writing, rather than completing repetitive tasks.

 Mindset Shift #2: Engagement Comes From Relevance, Not Entertainment

Have you ever looked around a restaurant and noticed that everyone is on their phone instead of talking? Being constantly entertained has become the norm.  Sitting still feels uncomfortable now because we’re used to constant stimulation.

Our students live in that same world, and they bring that reality into the classroom with them.

But as teachers, we don’t need to turn every lesson into a performance. We don’t need to compete with TikTok; we need to compete with irrelevance.

Mindset shift: Begin a unit by anchoring it in a big idea that matters to students today before they ever open the text.

Engagement doesn’t come from making lessons more “fun.” It comes from helping students see why what they’re reading and learning matters. When students understand the relevance first, the text has a purpose beyond just getting through the pages.

What to do instead: 

• Start lessons with questions, not objectives.
• Use a discussion, journal prompt, or anticipation guide that introduces a real-world issue or theme connected to the unit.
• Frame skills around real-world thinking like persuasion, interpretation, and decision-making.
• Ask students to connect texts to ideas and issues, not just personal experiences.

Mindset Shift #3: Not Every Lesson Needs to Be Graded

Think about how often students ask, “Is this for a grade?” The truth is that grades have become the currency of school. So, it’s no surprise that students chase points instead of progress.

But as teachers, we don’t need to grade everything to make it matter. In fact, some of the most meaningful learning happens when the pressure of points is removed.  This allows students to practice, make mistakes, and learn from them without fear.

Mindset shift: Treat practice as practice, not performance.

When everything is graded, students learn to focus on the score at the top of the page rather than the thinking underneath it. They worry more about losing points than about taking risks, revising their work, or trying something new.

What to do instead: 

• Identify which assignments are practice and which are performance
• Explain why an assignment isn’t graded and what to focus on instead.
• Use discussion-based activities and collaborative analysis tasks.
• Provide feedback in manageable ways:
• Highlighted sentences
• One targeted comment
• Peer discussion or conferencing

Final Thoughts

Not everything needs to change.  But some things probably should.

A clearer focus.

More intentional choices.

Less pressure to do it all.

Small mindset shifts don’t just change lessons—they change how teaching feels. Sometimes, that’s the difference that matters most.

**Want even more tips and ideas to make this your best year yet? Check out this post. 

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