This Ingredient Separates High Performing Students From Low Performers

We all want to know – how did they do it? Are they naturally gifted, or is there something else that pushes them to excel in the classroom?

We hear of students who achieve great feats and assume they are naturally gifted.  It’s as if they won the intellectual lottery to understand anything and don’t need to put in the work.

And that’s hogwash.

Possessing some baseline level of intelligence indeed accelerates the understanding of complex concepts. However, many factors influence students who make the Ken Jennings of academia with their ability to achieve whatever they set their minds to.

However, if brains were the only component that determined student success, then a single result from an IQ test would determine everybody’s destiny.  But we know that's not how reality works.

There must be something else that separates high and low performers.

The Ingredient of Separation

There is a fundamental ingredient in education that separates students in their achievements that, when mastered, unlocks doors for them that nobody can see. It’s as if this ingredient gives a passport to grasp whatever comes their way.

And that secret ingredient is curiosity.

From my experience, the students who perform the best and/or improve the fastest are the ones who become the most curious. This could be because they find some relevance to their lives or because mastering the material makes them powerful.

When I work with students individually, I always try to uncover what brings them to life instead of asking them what they want to do for a living.  Students rarely want to discuss what they want to be when they grow up, but they will always lead conversations about their interests and passions.

From there, it's all about relating the subject material to their interests and watching them run with it. I admit I have that luxury because I work with individuals or small groups.

Unfortunately, when students enter a classroom, they often feel they’re being talked at.  As a result, they have an "us vs. them" mentality that makes the material the obstacle instead of the way. As a result, they put up barriers and look only to do the minimum work required to be successful in the class.

Once they experience a memory dump on an exam, they ensure that the material never enters their minds again.  Because it doesn’t get integrated into their intellectual banks, they must put in extra work to refresh their minds.

On the other hand, curious students always look to build relationships between current material and past experiences. They don't always look for grandiose relationships but focus on subtle aspects to build relationships with the material and their everyday lives. These small investments make the material stick with them naturally.

From Algebra I to Precalculus in ONE YEAR

One summer, a parent contacted me to work with a student who wanted to test into Honors Algebra II at their school. The student got an 'A' in regular Algebra I and was taking Geometry over the summer.

Our goal was simple: ensure that he scores high enough for admittance into the program.

As I worked with this student over the summer, I noticed he grasped the material faster than anticipated. He put in additional work between sessions to amend any deficiencies I detected.

What was more interesting was his curiosity about how these concepts were built into future classes.

Before he could take the test, I asked him if he thought he would be challenged enough in Honors Algebra II. He wasn’t sure, but he said he was unsure if he could jump into the following class.

I told him to take the test, and we would discuss whether, based on his result, we should skip Algebra II and jump into Precalculus.

He aced the entrance exam into Honors Algebra II.

Despite my confidence, the student, his mother, and I discussed the risks of jumping straight into Precalculus. The student expressed his sincerest desire to take the risk head-on.

The family appreciated my approach to teaching, and they stated they were going to ask me to work with him in Honors Algebra II. I assured them I would work closely with the student to fill the gaps as he jumps into Precalculus.

His school held extreme reservations about his enrollment in Precalculus. However, the student and his mother assured the school he was ready, citing his past track record, entrance exam, and secret weapon to master it… me. He had to sign a waiver from the school to accept all responsibility for the outcome of his decisions.

It was risky, and learning new definitions right out of the gate caused some turbulence. However, the student's curiosity and resilience showed through every challenge, and he persevered.

Exam time came, and he scored in the lower 90s on his first test. This reinforced my confidence that we were right on track and needed to dig in a little bit harder.  Naturally, the student was up for the challenge.

After the second test, he scored in the high 90s, and his teacher pulled him aside to personally congratulate him, stating that everybody was skeptical about his decision to take Precalculus.

We continued working throughout the year, cementing all deficiencies while building bridges into the real world.

This student earned a solid 'A' in the class in both semesters.

I want to think that I was the reason for it, but his curiosity was the deciding factor in his performing at such a high standard. All I had to do was correct them along the way.

Per the waiver, he had to accept the outcome of getting an 'A' in Precalculus.  Not too shabby, right?

The following year, he aced Calculus and got a 5 on his AP exam. I wasn’t surprised in the least.

Increasing Natural Curiosity 

Naturally, the student in the story above was curious before his parents called me.

I must admit—this is a rare case. Not many students have an innate curiosity about school material, but curiosity can decide whether students accelerate their progress or proceed at a normal speed.

He wasn't a bookworm, either. He was also active in soccer, participated in his church, played the piano, and had a tight group of friends. In fact, working with him opened doors to working with his friends, too.

Other mothers from his friend's group contacted me to work my magic with their students.  Unlike the first students, the new students hadn't figured out what they were naturally curious about in their studies.  I knew it was my job to help them figure it out.

Once we uncovered what made these students tick, their performance naturally ramped up, and they went from their baseline score to achieving in the 90s. 

Here are some methods that I used to increase the performance of students to either keep them as high performers or ramp them up into that league:

Pick A Starting Point

Most students have no idea where to start. Subjects often offer an endless number of topics to examine. Despite the choices, the worst thing to do is wait, and wait, and wait… until it’s too late.

We don’t need to wait until the teacher covers some subjects.  Resources such as textbooks, YouTube videos, and other support materials allow students to explore topics that interest them.

I know some students in AP World History who choose to study the 1900s independently. The class may have covered only the 1200s, but now they have two different eras to compare. This provides a framework to bridge the gaps between those 700 years, giving students opportunities to connect the dots.

The goal is to start somewhere, whether it’s a theme, a word, a picture, or a mathematical formula.  From that starting point, make connections.

Tie The Subject To Personal Experiences

There is ample opportunity to tie a subject to our own experiences. A basketball player may be interested in the physics and mathematics governing a crucial three-point shot. An art student may draw inspiration from Paintings from a history class as inspiration for their work.

While not everything learned in the classroom will apply to our lives, we can find more relationships between class material and our realities than may first appear. It comes down to our preferences, experience making connections, and even our friends that determine whether these connections are easy or challenging.

The goal is to personalize the material being learned to take greater ownership. When we do, we will have more mental references to remember the material than somebody who goes for straight rote memorization.

Have ChatGPT Water It Down

AI has emerged recently as a heavy hitter with its capabilities. While far from the perfect tool, ChatGPT can help us understand concepts that appear complex at first glance.

When engaging with ChatGPT or other large-language models (LLMs), it's important to craft your prompts carefully to achieve the desired results.

For example, let's say you're struggling with understanding the properties of logarithms.  You may wish to start the conversation as follows:

I am struggling to understand what a logarithm is and why it's useful in math.  Can you start explaining what a logarithm is?

Wait for it to respond.  From there, you can treat it conversationally in many different directions.  Examples of follow-up questions include:

• Why do we use logarithms in math?

• What practical applications are there to logarithms?

• When are logarithms used in history/sports/[subject of interest]?

You don't need to limit it to these options either, or only go to one.  The more questions you ask and engage with the responses, the more your curiosity will flow.

Engage In Conversation To Grasp The Subject

Everything in life has a connection.  When we learn subjects, we often want to lean on documented sources such as books, the web, and videos that we can use at our leisure and discretion.  These sources are valuable but are not fully responsive to our curiosity.

However, there is another source of wisdom: people.

People are living, breathing fountains of wisdom and knowledge.  If there's a common language between senders and receivers, we can fully grasp the messages we send to one another. Even those who may not have full command of the language understand the intricacies of vocal inflection and body language.

You don't need a subject-matter expert to make this happen, either.  It's often advised against purely hiring a tutor unless the tutor is excellent at having such off-the-wall conversations, or you desire to pursue a field long-term.

Having another person involved can make a dramatic difference in whether a subject is interesting. We all know teachers who make subjects super approachable. We can also find this in our peers, who may share these curiosities.

Practice Curiosity Regularly

Curiosity is a cognitive muscle that must be exercised regularly.  We are all born curious about the world around us.  As we begin grasping our native languages, we tend to ask questions… lots of questions.

When we were younger, our curiosity muscles were strong. Unfortunately, negative feedback mechanisms and systems of compliance slowly atrophy these muscles. As we become more conditioned, we are taught to do the bare minimum and nothing more.

It is not our fault that this happened to us, but our responsibility is to fight against it and become curious again.

Through the methods above, we can practice curiosity, which leads to different ideas and allows us to connect the dots. The best way to become more curious is to get started now instead of waiting for something to light us up.

Only then will we create our own path toward satisfying our curious expeditions.

Explore Your Own Interests

Becoming more curious about the world around us is just the beginning. By exploring new paths to learning, we embark on going where no one else may have gone yet. This is a good sign because it allows us to become more engaged in the world.

Subjects in school have the same demeanor when it comes to curiosity.  All we need to do is devote time to exploring our interests so we can find relationships with the subjects we study.  This increases the ownership of material, and a student's academic performance will increase as a byproduct of this approach.

What subjects are you curious to explore?  I think I'll dive into quantum mechanics again, but let me know your interests in the comments below!