shelina, well done. Positive reinforcement helps to reduce the sting of discovering some of their work was less than perfect.
James Jackson
I instruct a Wine and Beverage class and many students bring to the class their self-doubt about the subject of Wine and their wine knowledge. Because many of the students have not been exposed to the topic beyond the basics one picks up from everyday living, the subject matter can be intimidating. I start off the course by allowing the students to write down for me, and then to discuss with fellow students, what about wine they would like to know? Many students put an unnecessary burden on themselves of feeling the need to already know "something" about a subject before they feel secure enough to take a course about it. Acknowledging what we don't know often times helps us feel secure and give us motivation to "find out" the answer(s).
It is good to help them with their weak points and to tell them that no one person is perfect. When I talk with them one on one about their weak areas I always try to point out on strong point that they bring to the table and help them to develop in that area more as well as the weak area.
Donna, well done in getting your students focusing on the positive and having positive thoughts before beginning your finals. Do you have any data you can compare final exam score before you began this practice to your results now? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Richard, sharing your personal experiences can be a good tool to getting students more comfortable with their own self-doubt. Could also be valuable for all students share their experiences so others can better appreciate they are not alone in their concerns.
James Jackson
Robert, great job setting the stage early for a roadmap to success. Adult learners like to know in advance how their education will get them where they want to go.
James Jackson
Sarah, providing encouragement is key and having faith in your students is critical to them overcoming their own perceptions of doubt versus confidence.
James Jackson
I had a student who took a class whose grade was solely based on class presentations, which scared her to death. In fact, the first time she took the class, she would intentionally miss class on presentation day to avoid having to do it.
Bit by bit, I encouraged her and worked with her to start presenting to just me. By the time she took the class again, she not only got up in front of others to present, but she also coached and mentored others on perfecting their presentations. It was an absolute joy to see her come out of her shell and see that while she is scared, she can do it and be successful!!!
As a teacher I take pride in also being a motivator. In my class I teach students that identifying strengths and weaknesses is key to success.
I had one student who had significant self-doubt issues. We were prepping for the licensing exams, she would always tell me why she will fail the exam. I would always reinforce, that if she studies hard, complete practice exams she should have no problem passing the exam. Making a long story short, after she passed her licensing exams, she was the unstoppable woman. She went on to pass multiple state licensing exams and now is a successful professional. Undoubtedly this brings to me quite the sense of accomplishment....
In our tutoring center, we see many students with a lack of self-confidence. It's amazing what can happen if these students keep their minds open, work hard, and begin to believe in themselves - they succeed every time. We have also seen one student in particular who remained self-defeating and very negative about her abilities, no matter how much we encouraged her on her efforts and hard work. Unfortunately she did not stay enrolled.
With any student, encouraging their efforts (no matter what grade they achieve) is really important. This will help them build confidence while embracing new challenges. There will always be new challenges and more hard work ahead, so encouragement is key.
It's amazing how many students come into a classroom with self-doubt. It is not only our responsability as instructors to teach the content of the course, but also to help the students build confidence. In my classes we talk positive. It's the law of attraction. If we talk positive we can start to believe in positive. Before every exam I tell all the students how smart they look. Students started expecting me to say it. Before one exam, I passed the test out to all the students and I noticed a few of them were looking at me. I was waiting for them to start their test, but they were waiting for me to say, "You all look very smart today" They needed that encouragement from me. When some of those students graduated, they gave me a shirt that they made that said, you all look very smart today. I now wear that shirt during finals.
I teach Design classes. In times its very difficult to direct them in a way to find their "flavor" in design and able to "own" their design. I believe its difficult to grade "creativity" since true talent is one in a million but I definitely able to put a grade on "passion" where I see their effort to learn and get better in what they are learning.
But my challenge is how I can encourage my students to keep on trying until they gain power over their design and not the other way around which leads them to discouragement and to give up the entire career.
I have taught oral communication classes in the past in which self-doubt is evident when students are required to speak in front of the class. I like to tell students about my own feelings of anxiety on the first day of class, despite having taught for many years. The best way to combat self-doubt is to plan, rehearse, and study.
I teach Math in a situation in which many of my students have not taken Math for a number of years. It is both challenging and rewarding to work with students in this situation and allay their fears for Math. It is especially rewarding when students experience themselves succeeding over time. My experience is that often there is a plateau of learning and confidence for students; it's an amazing experience to work with studnets when the proverbial "light goes on"; and it generally does for those who persevere.
I had to two students this last semester with self-doubt in class and in the clinical. I offered tutorial and more lab time. I have the problem of motivating them to read and prepare before class and clinical. I could tell that they not reading and were expecting that I do the work for them.
How do I motivate them to read and prepare?
On many occasions I have had students who expressed doubt about their ability to successfully finish recipes during class and, at the end of class, they had not only completed the required tasks but variations on that recipe that they created themselves. In those situations we always discuss their feelings of doubt at the beginning versus their feelings of accomplishment after the fact.
one of the biggest hurtles that i come accross is students have been out of school for several years and are concerned about reading,tests,and understanding the material. day 1 I try to set the tone of acheivement as being possible no matter the skill level. I set the stage of learning by letting the students know by weeks end that I will be addressing them by name on an individual bases, I also inquire from all my students what they expect to learn and receive from me. start by outlining my approuch to getting each student to their goals.
I have found that by doing these small steps that my adult students get more relaxed and less self doubt of their abilities.
My student was working with a special needs patient and felt that he would not cooperate. I then worked with him and he did fine, but was slighlty more challenging than an average patient. I told her to not feel overwhelmed and go ahead and try the procedure over again and that she can do it. She went ahead with more confidence and was able to complete the task. She doubted that she could treat him initially becuase he was slightly more difficult to work with than other patients. Her confidence was boosted after that.
I had a student that HATED the class. over the 6 weeks I was able to show him that he was really good at it and he actually went on to get A job in the indestry and has just recently got a job as an instructor
Dealing with students can oftentimes be rewarding when working with student's self doubt. I have learned to be objective when a student gets a less than desirable grade by helping them see the outcome for what it is, yet at the same time being compassionate in that I share the disappointment. It is then I am many times able to redirect their thoughts by helping them to discover the value of a low grade by encouraging them to see why it happened and how to do better next time. Encouragement is key because I can tell them repeatedly that I have less doubt in them than they do, yet until they see where they can go and what they are capable of, I can just talk. The next test grade they receive is often better and I keep up the encouragement by praising the accomplishment which in turn often helps to tear down self doubt one brick at a time. My own occasional self doubt then begins to subside as I see their confidence begin to strengthen. This has been the case several times in the past as an instructor.
