BONUS: What REALLY Matters in Student Success Beyond Grades

In this S5E7 Schoolutions Teaching Strategies BONUS, I'm unpacking 3 game-changing insights from my conversation with Stuart Yates about his creation, My Sport Diary.

These ideas apply way beyond sports—we're transforming how we approach education, feedback, student engagement, and what we choose to remember. Because what if we're teaching kids to measure success by all the wrong things? We celebrate the A on the test, the trophy on the shelf—but what about the student who showed up even when struggling, asked for help, or cheered for teammates without playing time?

The 3 Mindset Shifts:
1️⃣ The Process is the Prize – Moving from outcome obsession to celebrating growth
2️⃣ Reflection Before Interrogation – Why students need processing time before feedback
3️⃣ Memory Keepers vs Record Keepers – Documenting what actually matters

What You'll Learn:
✅ How to apply John Hattie's feedback research in practical ways (student success, effective teaching)
✅ Why "the car ride home" conversation needs to change (parent communication, family partnerships, caregiver support)
✅ Innovative teaching strategies that boost student motivation, student participation, and active learning
✅ How to create a classroom culture that values process over outcome (classroom belonging, student engagement, inclusive teaching)
✅ Practical lesson planning tips for reflection-based learning (instructional strategies, teaching tips)
✅ Why documenting the "human stuff" transforms student discipline and classroom behavior
✅ How sports diaries translate to classroom success (whole child, thriving students, pro-kid mindset)

Key Takeaways:
→ Celebrate the process as much as the outcome with your students
→ Build in reflection time before feedback conversations (coaching strategies, teacher coaching)
→ Create memory keepers, not just record keepers
→ Focus on student empowerment over compliance (managing students, classroom control)
→ Document relationships, growth, and joy—not just grades (inspiring students, attention in class)

This isn't just about sports. It's about raising humans who can reflect on experiences, articulate what they need, take ownership of growth, find value in the journey, and build meaningful relationships.

Your Next Step:
Pick ONE area—your classroom, your team, or your family—and try ONE shift this week:
• Add a reflection question to your routine
• Build in 5 minutes of think time before discussions 
• Start a "silly awards" or memory-keeping tradition

CHAPTERS:
0:00 – Introduction: Are We Celebrating the Wrong Things?
1:00 – The Problem with Outcome-Based Success
2:00 – Meet Stuart Yates & My Sport Diary
3:00 – The Quote That Changed Everything
4:00 – Mindset Shift #1: The Process is the Prize
5:00 – John Hattie's 3 Essential Feedback Questions
6:00 – Celebrating the "How" Not Just the "What"
7:00 – Mindset Shift #2: Reflection Before Interrogation
8:00 – The Car Ride Home Problem
9:00 – Why Students Need Processing Time
10:00 – Creating the Protective Bubble
11:00 – Mindset Shift #3: Memory Keepers vs Record Keepers
12:00 – What Are We Really Recording?
13:00 – Your Action Steps This Week
14:00 – Final Thoughts & Next Episode Preview

🚀📚 Watch the full S5E7  @schoolutionspodcast interview here (https://youtu.be/a7npy42tJw0)

📧 Connect: schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com 
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl

#StudentEngagement #Schoolutions #SchoolutionsTeachingStrategies

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

Transcript

Hey everyone. Welcome back to Schoolutions Teaching Strategies. Here's a question for you. What if we're teaching kids to measure success by all the wrong things? Think about it. We celebrate the A on the test, the trophy on the shelf, the championship win, but what about the student who showed up to every practice even when they were struggling?

The kid who finally asked for help, the athlete who cheered for their teammates, even without playing time. Today I'm unpacking three game-changing insights from my conversation with Stuart Yates, season five, episode seven, about his creation, My Sport Diary, and fair warning - these ideas apply way beyond sports.

We're talking about transforming how we approach education, feedback, and [00:01:00] what we choose to remember. I'm diving into why the process is the prize, why students need reflection before interrogation, and why we need to become memory keepers instead of just record keepers. Because here's the truth, I think most of us are missing: We live in a world that celebrates outcomes, but the students who learn how to struggle productively, ask better questions, and find value in the journey - they're the ones who thrive even when they don't win. 

If you're tired of watching kids measure their worth by grades and trophies, if you're ready to celebrate the stuff that actually matters, this episode is for you. Let's dive in.

This is Schoolutions Teaching Strategies, the podcast that extends education beyond the classroom. A show that isn't just theory, but [00:02:00] practical try-it-tomorrow approaches for educators and caregivers to ensure every student finds their spark and receives the support they need to thrive. 

Hey everyone. Welcome back to Schoolutions Teaching Strategies. This is your Friday bonus episode where I get to sit with what we learned this week and share the connections that are still brewing in my mind. If you caught Monday's episode with Stuart Yates about his creation, My Sport Diary, you know we covered a lot of ground. If you have not yet listened to that episode, pause this bonus. Go back. It's called A Sports Diary That Helps Athletes Love Writing and then come back and listen to this. 

There was one moment in our conversation that I haven't been able to stop thinking about, and I'd like to unpack it with you today. Stuart was talking about setting goals with his students, and he said this, “If your goal is just to win [00:03:00] a game, you're going to be disappointed a lot. It's not about that. It's about doing everything in between. It's enjoying playing with your friends. It's getting fit and strong. It's going out and making yourself do something when you don't feel like it. Those are all the wins. That's the value in it.”

So let that sink in for a second because I've thought about that all week. And here's what I think Stuart was really telling us. We're teaching kids to measure success by the wrong metrics. And listen, I get it. I really do because as educators, as coaches, as caregivers, we live in a world that celebrates outcomes. The grade, the trophy, the college acceptance letter, the championship win. 

But what about the student who showed up to every single practice even when they were struggling? What about the kid who finally asked their coach to explain something they didn't [00:04:00] understand? What about the athlete who celebrated their teammate's success even when they didn't get playing time?

Those are the wins in my book, and I don't think we're acknowledging them nearly enough. So today I want to explore three big ideas that came out of my conversation with Stuart. For me. Three mindset shifts that I think could transform how we approach education, both on the field and in the classroom. Number one, the process is the prize. Two, reflection before interrogation, and three, creating memory keepers, not just record keepers. 

Okay, so the process is the prize. I've been thinking a lot about John Hattie's feedback, research specifically. Those three essential questions every learner needs to answer. Where am I going? [00:05:00] How am I doing, and What do I need next? Stuart’s Sports Diaries answer all three of these questions, but here's what's even more brilliant: They push students to look at the how, not just the what. Not just did we win, but what did I do to prepare? How did I show up for my teammates? What did I learn that I can use next time?

And here's where it gets interesting for us as educators, we do the same thing in our classrooms, don't we? We fixate on the test score sometimes - the final product, the grade and the grade book. But what if we celebrated the process more intentionally? What if we asked students, what strategy did you try today that you've never used before? When did you feel stuck and what did you do about it? Who did you help and who helped you? 

Because again, here's the [00:06:00] truth. The student who learns how to struggle productively to ask better questions and to reflect on their process, that learner is going to be okay even when they don't win. Even when they don't get the A. When we help students see the value in the journey, in the learning, the struggle, the growth, they start applying that mindset everywhere. 

Okay. Number two, reflection before interrogation. Let's talk about the car ride home after a game for a second. If you're a parent or a caregiver of a young athlete, you know, this moment, the game just ended, you're bursting with observations, maybe some feedback, definitely some questions, and your athlete is just silent or worse? Defensive.

Stewart said something that really stuck with me. He said, students need time to internalize, to go through their [00:07:00] emotions and their thought process before anyone starts asking questions. And yes, this applies to everything. Think about it. When you have a rough day at work, do you want someone immediately asking you 17 questions about what happened? Or do you need a moment to process? Kids are the same way. Actually, I think all humans are the same way. 

Doug Lemov talks about wait time and teaching - that pause after you ask a question that gives students space to think. But we need process time too. That space between the experience and the conversation where students can figure out what they actually think and feel. Here's what I love about Stuart’s approach. The diary creates a buffer. A protective bubble, as I call it in our conversation. Instead of the interrogation starting immediately, the student gets to sit with their experience, [00:08:00] use the prompts to guide their thinking, write or draw what they noticed. Then have the conversation. 

And guess what? The conversation is better. It's deeper, it's more productive because the student has already done that cognitive work. They've already started to make sense of what happened. Now they're ready to talk about it. 

So here's my challenge for you this week. Whether you're working with athletes, students, or even adults, build in process time before feedback conversations. In the classroom this might look like exit tickets where students reflect before you jump into discussion, think time before sharing, journal prompts before peer feedback. With athletes, it might be five minutes after the game to jot down thoughts, a reflection question on the ride home before you start talking, a weekly check-in where they tell you what they [00:09:00] noticed. The key is let them process first, then engage. 

Alright. Number three, creating memory keepers, not just record keepers. This is where Stuart absolutely won me over. At the end of each Sport Diary, there's a section for silly awards, things that make you laugh through the season, inside jokes, memorable moments.

And Stuart said, “I've forgotten most of my seasons now there's one or two little bits that stick out, but I wish I had something to remind me of all the different players I played with and the silly things they did.”

This got me because what are we really doing here as educators, as coaches? People who work with young humans? We're not just teaching skills, we're creating experiences, we're building community. We're making memories that shape who these kids become. And yet, so often, too often, [00:10:00] our record keeping is cold, clinical, impersonal. It's grade books, it's statistics, it's win-loss records. 

What if we captured the human stuff too? What if our classrooms had space for the moment when the whole class finally understood a concept together, or the joke that became a running theme all semester? How about the student who quietly helped everyone around them? Even the breakthrough moment that had nothing to do with the test. What if we created memory keepers, not just record keepers? 

And I think about my own teaching career. The lessons I remember most aren't the ones where test scores were highest. They're moments of connection, the breakthroughs, the laughter, the community we built together. And I wonder, what are my students remembering that I've had over all of these years? What will they look back on in 20 years? [00:11:00] Because Stuart's right, we need to document the stuff that actually matters, the relationships, the growth, the joy. Because that's what shapes who we become. 

So I'll bring this full circle. Stuart created my sport diary because he kept forgetting what he learned in his martial arts training. If a passionate adult learner couldn't retain week-to-week lessons, what about the kids? And what he discovered was profound. When you give students structure for reflection, when you help them focus on process over outcomes. When you create space for memory keeping, everything changes. 

Students who were reluctant to write in school were suddenly chasing down their PE teachers for more diary pages. Athletes were asking better questions, taking ownership over their learning, giving their coaches feedback about what they needed and the skills were transferring from the [00:12:00] field to the classroom, from sports to life.

Because here's the thing: this isn't really about sports. It's about raising humans who know how to reflect on their experiences, articulate what they need, take ownership of their growth, find value in the process, not just the outcome, build meaningful relationships, and create memories worth keeping. 

And that that matters everywhere, in every classroom, in every home, in every life. So here's what I want you to take away from this bonus episode. Start celebrating the process as much as the outcome with your students, your athletes, your own kids. Name it. Notice it. Make it visible. Build a reflection time before feedback conversations. Give people space to process before you [00:13:00] engage and create memory keepers, not just record keepers. Document the human stuff, the moments that actually matter. 

Thank you for being here. Thank you for doing this work. Thank you for caring about the process, not just the outcome. And if you haven't already, go check out Stuart’s work at mysportdiary.com, and if this episode resonated with you, share it with another educator, coach, or caregiver who needs to hear it.

I'll see you Monday with a brand new episode. I am so excited for you to join my conversation with Patty McGee. She co-wrote, Not Your Granny's Grammar with Tim Donohue, and we talk about grammar study. Until then, remember, the process is the prize. The reflection is the revolution and the memories. Those are what last. Take care, and I can't wait to see you next week. [00:14:00] 

Schoolutions Teaching Strategies is created, produced, and edited by me. Olivia Wahl. Thank you to my older son Benjamin, who created the music playing in the background. You can follow and listen to Schoolutions wherever you get your podcasts or subscribe to bever miss an episode and watch on YouTube.

Here's my invitation. Send me an email at schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com, and tell me one thing from this bonus episode that shifted your thinking. More importantly, tell me what your next step is. Maybe pick one area, your classroom, your team, or your family, and try one shift this week. Add a reflection question to your routine. Build in five minutes of think time before discussions or start a silly awards tradition. 

Just try something and watch what changes. Don't forget to tune in every Monday for the best research-backed coaching and teaching strategies you can apply right away to [00:15:00] better the lives of the children in your care. And stay tuned for my bonus episodes every Friday where I'll reflect and share connections to what I learned from the guest that week. See you then.