Ron, working with live patients for the first time can be intimidating and your students are lucky to have you with respect to your obvious calm demeanor and your prior experience. Students need to be reassured that at one time everyone started in the same place and everyone has their first patient. By providing them the confidence that their training has prepared them well and your ability to let them know you are there for them you are providing a great, safe, and encouraging environment for them to learn and grow.
James Jackson
Jennifer, great to see your institution offers additional resources. Every student has a different need and one size rarely fits all so job well done recognizing this need and ensuring there are options available for those that need them.
James Jackson
Jennifer, how do your students first become aware of these resources? Does your institution collect any data to assist them in knowing which tools are utilized and which ones work better than others? Thanks for any information you can share.
James Jackson
Self-doubt usually is related to a new challenge with most people. After time and practice, students start having less self-doubt and begin feeling better about trying new things.
At the beginning clinical labs
(dental hygiene students) with live patients, many students are nervous (doubt) there ability of actually completing patients that present with tenacious tartar(calculus) build up and are extremely periodontally involved. This was clearly evident when the student will pull me aside with no confidence at all in there ability to actually complete the patient. Times like these, reassurance and security became important. I would have to give the student reassurance that these are the cases that they should want to have so that they can develop their clinical skills with treating very involved perio. patients. I would tell them that this type of patients is what they will be seeing in practice and while I was in school it was perio. patients that gave me the best experience in becoming a dental hygienist.
Our school offers many complementary resources for learning for our students. I may suggest one or more resources, such as flashcards, texts, and tutors. If they continue to have trouble, I'll offer study tools, such as working in a group or with a study buddy, taking audio notes, and such. They find what works best and this builds confidence as well as provides connection and significance.
I have had the pleasure of witnessing when students have an "aha" moment which feeds their motivation to excel. I am patient and accepting of students. I realize that they are also family members, employees, with other roles and responsibilities in their daily lives. I treat them as fellow human beings and am supportive and find value in their efforts. A sincere smile and recognition for a their efforts and/or a job well done, goes a long way too. :)
Our school offers many resources for learning, free to our students. I suggest one or more resources, such as flashcards, texts, and tutors. If they continue to have trouble, I'd offer study tools, such as working in a group or with a study buddy, audio notes, and such. They find what works best and this builds confidence as well as provides connection and significance to our students. I have had the pleasure of witnessing when students have an "aha" moment which feeds their motivation to excel. I am patient and accepting of students. I realize that they are also family members, employees, and have other roles and responsibilities in their daily lives. I treat them as fellow human beings. I am supportive and manage to find value in their efforts. A sincere smile and recognition for a sincere effort and/or a job well done, goes a long way too. :)
Stephen, the projects themselves may be new but are the problem solving and thinking skills totally new as well? A student may not know how to use Microsoft Word but they may be familiar with another document processing program so their skills can be re-utilized but they need to be guided how their old skills can be applied to a new technology. If the skills they need are totally new I am very interested how you go about developing the new skills they will need. Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Peggy, great post and 100% accurate. We as instructors need to be incredibly mindful of the power our words hold. This is why we need to focus on the positive and always find ways to positively motivate our students versus breaking them down. For some students they are around negative talk and negative experiences the majority of their day, their time in the classroom should always be positive and uplifting.
James Jackson
Mark, math is a common subject that students just always seem to assume they will not do well. I think it has something to do with thinking that math is only for smart people and some students do not think of themselves in that light. Looks like you have developed a good methodology that allows students to see the joy and importance of math and that it can be for anyone willing to learn. No different than learning a language or a technology, just need to take one day at a time, ask questions, and apply what you learn as often as possible. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Lev, what an interesting topic. Does everyone have the ability to learn the tastes of different wines? I had always thought there were just those individuals that had such a good set of taste buds that they could develop the skill but for others they may not have sensitive enough taste buds. Just goes to show we all learn something new everyday. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Steven, great post and includes a very common issue - how to build confidence in students. Looks like you have the hardest part figured out in that you need to formerly develop the small victories and build upon those success opportunities. This is part of scaffolding and is also a formal part of the curriculum development process. Keep up the great work.
James Jackson
In the field I teach self doubt is a big de-motivator for my students. When it comes to working on the general public they become nervous and doubt themselves and their technique. I reassure them that they do have the skills and working here at the school is their opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them.
I can say that almost 50% of students in the class have doubts about their abilities to learn and apply in practice acquired knowledge. I could see frustrations, lack of motivation, and low performance. I tried to use my own experience of being a student to beat that self-doubt and increase self-believe and assertion along with feeling of security and autonomy. After reading of students evaluation of my course, I see that personal positive feeling and passion about the subject I teach can dramatically decrease self-doubt. Students love to be supported and encouraged by their instructor, and they like to see that the instructor does not expect an immediate result from them. Students have to know that we instructors know that students came to school to learn and faculty is dedicated to help them in this long journey.
In the classes I teach, many projects a student has to accomplish are not covered in any previous courses. Many times students will look at a project as a very daunting task and will literally give up before they attempt it. I have to not only encourage the student to give it a try, but I also have to break it down to smaller portions and walk each student through individually so as to instill confidence in their own ability.
Juliet, how much of this information do you share with your students on the first day of class? Students need to know early on what success will look like so best to let them know on day one the "Best Practices" for success within your classroom. When students hear the results based on your teaching experience and prior student outcomes, they are more likely to engage and follow your lead.
James Jackson
I had told a student that I liked her thinking process, she reminded of me, and she could take care of me or my family anytime. I later got a nice letter from her, thanking me for those compliments and that they had gotten her through some tough times and self doubt. As instructors, we have the power to build up or tear down with just a few words.
When I teach Math, many of the students do not like this subject and often comment that "they cannot do math". My response is always along the lines of yes you can do it, you choose not to do it. At the end of the course, a majority of the students who make these comments thank me for being confident in their skills and allowing them the opportunity to improve.
In a recent class, I called on a student to answer a question. The student stated she didn't want to participate. I again asked her respectfully to participate. She then shook her head. I moved on to another student to reply to my question. After that class, the student came up to me and apologized for not participating. She was very anxious about a medical test and felt if she had responded to the question she would start crying. I thanked her for her explanation and offered my support.
As instructors we need to give students the autonomy but also the freedom to decline to participate if they feel unable to so.
I had a student that had always second guess herself and had testing anxiety. She told me her source of self doubt and shared with me that she wanted to make a change. That she was going to make getting an A grade her goal. It was a honor to watch her grow, and challenge herself as the terms went by, and at the end of her time at school she had accomplished her goal.
