​

​

BIG Questions Institute Update

July 22, 2025, No. 188 (Read Online)​

What kind of support actually helps students thrive? Introducing the People-Based Learning Lens (Guest Post - resend with fixed links!)

​

Hello readers - This is a special newsletter featuring the writing and artwork of brilliant friend, thinker, innovator, and educator, Dr. Jane Shore, and was originally published on her outstanding School of Thought Substack.

​

"I’m grateful to the Big Questions Institute for inviting me to share this post with you. Like many of you, I’ve been thinking about what it means to support young people, not just as students, but as humans. This reflection started on a recumbent bike and ended with a question: What if we reimagined the “Mentor Mindset” through a People-Based Learning (PeBL) lens? PeBL is a framework I’ve been developing through research and a conversation campaign across the world. It’s rooted in the idea that people, not just content, are the real curriculum. I’m exploring these ideas more deeply in a forthcoming book on People-Based Learning, coming early next year. I’d love to hear what this piece stirs up for you." ~ Jane

​

Meeting in the Middle

How can we evolve the Mentorship Mindset?

“We are not preparing young people for something, we are supporting them as they prepare themselves for anything.” A.J. Juliani

I am trying something new in this post. Instead of offering ideas all wrapped up and ready to serve, I thought I’d share some that were still in progress. My hope is that you might contribute to the thinking if you are so inspired.

So, it all started when I was at the gym the other day, listening to the People I Mostly Admire Podcast. Stephen Leavitt was interviewing Dr, David Yeager.

​

Dr. Yeager’s work on adolescent development has inspired me for years. He’s one of the rare researchers who actually has classroom experience and does practical research that can be applied right away. His studies stem from an understanding of what we need in learning settings.1​

His latest book, 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People, continues that pattern, adding depth and insight to the field. I talk more about it here.

This line sums up his latest work for me:

“Young people have an innate need to be respected and admired. But few leaders today, whether parents, educators, or managers, understand how to harness it.”

He centers the question: What kind of adult support actually helps young people thrive? The book introduces a framework that maps adult approaches to youth development along two axes: standards and support. That leads to four types of adult mindsets (and I think we can all imagine certain individuals fitting these):

The Enforcer (high standards, low support)
​The Protector (low standards, high support)
​The Disconnector (low standards, low support)
​The Mentor (high standards, high support)

​

(Original Source: Mentor Mindset: The Science of Motivating Young People)

Here, the Mentor mindset is the sweet spot, firm expectations and genuine care.

But somewhere into the final sprint on the recline bike, I found myself rethinking Yeager’s model through a People-Based Learning (PeBL) lens.

​PeBL is learning with and through People that I am co-creating with many of you, with a book out early next year.

And then it struck me—something that’s surfaced before: the word mentor still carries a subtle one-way weight. Too often, it defaults to a stance of, “Let me impart my wisdom onto you,” rather than an exchange.

That’s when a new thought sparked: Yeager’s model is powerful. But what if we tilted the lens just slightly?

What if we asked: How relational are these mindsets, really?
Where’s the mutuality, the shared growth, the co-learning?

What if the Mentor Mindset isn’t the final evolution, but the starting point for something more reciprocal?

The Big Idea

I decided to do a little PeBL audit of the Mentor Mindset. We set the bar too low by treating “Mentor” as the destination, instead of the doorway to deeper, more human-centered learning relationships.

And that idea actually fits Yeager’s research, too. It’s not just young people soaking up insight from older, wiser mentors. It’s about mutual respect and status granted by recognizing that youth have knowledge, perspectives, and questions that shape our growth too.

So I wonder if we could consider the “Mentor Mindset” as a step toward something like the PeBL or Co-Learner Mindset? Mentorship with youth is still adult-directed. In PeBL or Co-Learning, we mutually grow. That is the point.

PeBL, by definition, takes mentorship to the next level.

​

Making Big Ideas Usable

So I am working out this idea:

If we want young people to rise, we have to meet them at eye level.

The matrix below does not diminish the value of traditional instruction, cooperative structures, or mentorship. Each has a role depending on context and goals. But People-Based Learning emerges in the upper-right when we combine high connection with shared agency, where people are not just recipients of learning, but participants in shaping its direction and meaning.

​

In Yeager’s own words, teens are not just, "sponges soaking up wisdom," but active meaning-makers who respond to learning that is authentic, socially relevant, and personally empowering.

This matrix honors and extends that insight. It says:

YES, mentorship matters, but what if we push beyond wise-sage-to-young-novice and invite mutual growth?

YES, structured collaboration is better than isolation, but what if young people help set the goals, not just achieve them?

It also says NO, it does not need to be a top down situation.

This isn’t a rejection of mentorship or Collaborative Learning. It’s a recognition that those models, like all learning models, can evolve across these axes and continue to move forward. Many project-based or mentorship experiences already operate in the upper-right quadrant. The matrix simply gives us a way to name that space and aim toward it more deliberately.

How might you use this with students or educators to surface assumptions about power, connection, and learning purpose?

What do you think of the shift?

I may include this concept in the People-Based Learning book. What should it be called?

In the end, we don’t grow because we know it all. We grow because we don’t.

Let me know your thoughts,

Jane

(Here's how to find Jane!)

Resources for this post

Books + Research

​The Emotional Lives of Teenagers – Dr. Lisa Damour
​A compassionate, science-informed guide to how teens process emotions and how adults can support them through stress, struggle, and growth.

​The Awakened Brain – Dr. Lisa Miller
​Explores adolescence as a key window for developing connection, purpose, and resilience, backed by neuroscience and psychology.

​We Want to Do More Than Survive – Dr. Bettina Love
​A must-read for any educator serious about youth empowerment, equity, and transformative learning, especially for Black and Brown adolescents.

Podcasts + Talks

“How to Support a Teen’s Drive for Purpose” – ​The Lisa Damour Podcast“The Mattering Instinct” with Isaac Prilleltensky – ​EdSurge On Air​

​

Learn (and Partner!) With BQI

​

Are you looking for COACHING in the new academic year?

Individual Sessions: If you could grow with an Executive or Leadership Coach to challenge and expand your possibilities, this work is led by Kathleen Naglee and Homa Tavangar, with a growing bench of diverse coaches. We currently have limited openings for the new year. Our individual coaching process has been proven to help individuals grow in their technical skills, leadership, trust-building, innovation, collaboration and other areas of effectiveness.

Group Sessions: We are excited to have new groups of Mastermind Coaching Cohorts opening for international school educators, with Homa, Kathleen, and Tim Carr. Contact our partner, AAIE for information or to register.

Our team can support your inquiry into teaching, learning, strategy, student, and community-wide engagement (including more powerful, human-centered AI use). This could take the form of an opening keynote or professional development day, support to your strategic planning, your Board, or other thought partnership.

Upcoming Governance Sessions:

• Registration for the Governance as Leadership Training Institute in Hanoi, Vietnam , September 13-14 at the United Nations International School, led by Homa Tavangar and Rami Madani, is still open.
• The following week Homa will co-facilitate the NAIS Leadership Through Partnership Academy in Chicago.
• Watch this space for more regional Effective Governance institutes around the world, or reach out to inquire about a session near you.

You can reach out directly to Homa Tavangar: homa@bigquestions.institute to schedule an exploratory call.

​