I publicly call attention to excellent performance by students. I revise my courses to challenge students and encourage high performance. I work individually with students who are poor performers to encourage higher levels of performance. I encourage students not to focus on grades, but rather on putting for their best effort. There are many roads to learning.
People bring different talents and styles of learning to college.
Brilliant students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well in theory. Students need to opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learning in new ways that do not come so easily. I encourage students to speak up when they do not understand.