What's normal in your class?

The beliefs and values of a culture are reflected in the stories they hold as true. In Czechia, it is a common belief that a child needs their mother during the early stages of development, leading to a three-year maternity leave. In contrast, the Netherlands has a much shorter maternity leave of four months.

Cultures are also evident in different environments. By observing behaviour, speech, and social habits, it is easy to distinguish different groups of students on a college campus. Although I am not qualified to judge the length of parental leave, I have an opinion on the culture in many European higher education institutions.

I believe that in many European higher education institutions, students are trained to study because they have to, not because they want to. This often results in students who are unprepared, disengaged, and lack motivation. To change this, we need to create an educational culture that fosters a growth mindset and encourages students to become the best versions of themselves.

Here are some ideas to promote a culture of effective learning:

- Clearly explain the purpose of the curriculum
- Incorporating “shareable” fun facts
- Make it your job to help things click in students' heads
- Introduce house rules, for example, "This course is a dangerous space for ideas, but safe for people"
- Reward students for aligning with institutional values and norms
- Set high standards but keep the stakes low
- Recognise and reward student effort
- Celebrate course and program milestones
- Lead by example as a role model
- Foster a sense of community in the course
- Spark and maintain student interest
- Help students set goals and aspirations
- Understand students' narratives and guide them towards positive change
- Use a learning management system that gamifies and rewards the desired behaviours

While changing cultural norms is challenging, creating a culture of effective learning is a walk in the park compared to changing norms around parental leave. Educators of the world, let’s change culture!

Photo by Product School on Unsplash
Photo by Tony Tran on Unsplash