A Focus on Mindset Shifts and Global Citizenship: In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, fostering global citizenship is crucial for young students. Engaging them in a hybrid learning environment presents both challenges and opportunities. Educators are shifting focus from merely delivering content to promoting mindsets that connect academic achievement with personal and global growth. In hybrid classrooms, where students alternate between in-person and online learning, this shift becomes vital.

Mindset significantly impacts how students approach their education. Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset highlights that students who view challenges as growth opportunities excel more than those who see them as obstacles. In hybrid settings, fostering a growth mindset is essential to address feelings of disconnection and low motivation. We aimed to bridge academic learning with personal and global development by encouraging students to see education as a continuous, interactive process.

To enhance engagement, we gamified classroom interactions by incorporating thoughtful questions like, “How are you being kind to your teachers?” This method promoted self-reflection and empathy while linking student actions to broader educational goals. By turning questions into a game, we tapped into students’ competitive spirit, making learning more dynamic and reinforcing critical thinking and communication skills.

In hybrid classrooms, ensuring quieter students feel included is crucial. From September, we introduced a system where students identify their peers who spoke less, promoting teamwork and mutual support. This approach will help quieter students become more comfortable participating and foster a supportive classroom environment.

A unique aspect of our approach is global peer-to-peer interaction. In the coming weeks students’ questions will be shared with peers worldwide, offering diverse perspectives and enhancing cultural awareness. This international exchange aims to motivate students to engage more deeply with their learning, preparing them to thrive as informed global citizens in an interconnected world.