An Uncertainty Mindset is a stance that encourages embracing the unknown in order to remain responsive to needs and opportunities as they emerge.
Across fields and disciplines, there is new interest in questions of how we engage with, plan for, and respond to uncertainty. Sociologist Vaughn Tan promotes an "uncertainty mindset" as a way of injecting uncertainty into organizational design to spur innovation, as he documented in his work studying the culinary industry (2020). For this guide, which was developed independently of Tan's work, an uncertainty mindset focuses on responding to the shifting landscapes of schooling and mental health caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our work places mental wellness–both of students and educators–at the forefront of decision-making and action plans, asking educators to consider how their actions can positively impact students’ mental wellness; and, conversely, how their actions (or inaction) can unintentionally negatively impact student mental wellness.