‘D’s Get the Degrees’: Shifting the Mindset of Underachiever Students

As someone who is passionate about my teaching and the learning of my students, the last thing I want is for my students to do the bare minimum—or worse, fail. I always want the best for my students. I not only want them to pass my course, but pass with a decent grade, knowing that they gave it their all. From my experience, I can attest that in every class, regardless of level or subject, there are three types of students.

1.  The Brainiacs: These are academically gifted and high-achieving students, keen to learn all topics; independent learners, they are never afraid of a challenge.
2. The So-Sos: These are the average students who are either academically performing in the medium band or achieve a mixture of high and low marks in various assessments.
3. The Strugglers: These are the low-performing students who score below the baseline level of academic proficiency. Students in this category genuinely struggle but are receptive to help, then try their absolute best to do better and eventually start doing  well.

Other strugglers are low-performing students who are smart and talented. They have the necessary resources to be successful in their studies, but simply do not bother. I call these the Underachievers, because despite having what it takes, they still fail to achieve their maximum potential.

I recently taught a new course to a group of undergraduate students. Two weeks into the course, I asked my class if there was a grade that they aim to achieve by the end of the semester. As expected, students were genuinely shy to respond, but to my astonishment one boldly blurted out, “Not bothered, Professor. D’s get the degrees.” I quickly learned that he was one of the many Underachievers in my class.

Early-career academics like me are still fresh in academia, so it may be discouraging having underachievers in class. Over the semester I worked closely with all the underachieving students, and their grades improved along with their mindset toward their studies. The following are the six steps I have used to guide my underachievers into becoming high achievers.

1. Notice the wallflowers.

Most of my underachievers are wallflowers. They do not want to be noticed and avoid being the center of attention. You do occasionally get the wallflowers who are silent geniuses and fall under the Brainiac category. Pay attention to them by taking mental notes or keep a class logbook and make progress comments. Most underachievers want to be invisible so they can do the bare minimum and not be noticed.

2. See through their “invisible cloaks.”

To show that I care and value my students, I let them know that I can see through their invisible cloaks. How do I do this? I simply start by learning their names. All my classes have over 30 students, and I make it my duty to learn their full names. Addressing my students by their name means that I notice them, and I recognize the effort they are putting into their work. I then try to learn about where they come from and what ambitions they want to achieve. This creates a welcoming space where students feel valued and respected.

3. Create a sense-of-belonging environment.

Students can be a direct reflection of their background, where they come from and upbringing. Students generally fight secret battles that we do not know about, and this can be reflected in their grades. Underachievers usually carry baggage when they enter the classroom, so the last thing they want to do is perfect the molecular orbital theory. All they want is to get through each lesson and leave. To get through to my students, I create a sense of belonging by learning about them in an unintrusive way.

For example, I had a few underperforming students who were always quiet, sat at the back, and were not paying attention—sometimes on their phones or looking out the window. After I got to know them, they felt welcomed, saw that I genuinely cared. Then I started seeing changes. They opened up in class, started answering questions, moved up to sit at the front of the class and improved their grades drastically. Creating a sense of belonging promotes learning and enhances student success.

4. Always track their academic performance and give tailored help.

I keep track of my students’ academic performance by recording their grades for every assessment so that I can monitor their progress. This gives an insight into their abilities, and so I can specifically tailor my support specifically to a student’s needs so that they can do better on the next assessment task. After shining light on areas to improve, I have seen underperforming students begin to do well.

5. Give a reality check, emphasizing that grades do matter.

Students of traditional college age tend to have a mindset that their degrees will get them jobs, which is true, but not completely. I remind them that transcripts are also what employers look out for. Grades may not always be a measurement of IQ, but they measure a student’s learning and success and give an indication of how they would do in the real world. I also give my students the lay of the land, by informing them of the competitive job market and giving insight into the job hiring processes. This is not to frighten them, but to give them a reality check that grades contribute to their GPA, and most employers use GPA as a metric to assess applicants for entry-level roles in their companies.

6. Recognize that a little encouragement goes a long way.

Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Educators’ words can leave a long-lasting impression on students. When I see low grades from students, I encourage them. Sometimes all students need is a little push along with words of motivation. Remind them of their values and abilities, dreams and aspirations, how smart they are, and assure them that there is always help in whatever they need. When students begin to improve, congratulate them and inspire them to do more.

Every academic is different, so professors may take the approaches they see are suited for their own underachieving students. This article highlights my own experience, from teaching STEM courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students in the United Kingdom and the United States for the past four years. I have used these six tips in both countries, and I have seen them positively impact my students.

This is not a one-size-fits-all guide, but incorporating these tips into your role as an educator, you can see the D’s change to C’s, B’s or even A’s.