To help students overcome their self doubt I try to insure that on the first day of class we start with something they should be a little familiar with to help build confidence. Success can only be build on success. By providing them with a lab or work sheet that they can do and jump start their brain they start out feeling like they have accomplished something and I get an idea of where to start, what their understanding of the class is.
Its a good feeling to see the students light turn on "oh I get it" and say it really wasnt as hard as I thought. As an instructor its nice for them to catch on and it also works with there class mates to help them along as well.
One of the my greatest rewards in teaching was when I talked to a Student who was ready to quit the Ford Program because he was struggling and didn't think he could make it. I talked him into staying in the program and when I saw him at graduation he thanked me for helping him to make the right decision.
I am fortunate to be in a position where I receive students with the book knowledge but not the hands on knowledge. I have the opportunity to see the confidence level rise when they can apply the book knowledge to a real world scenario. It is great to see the confidence building blocks in action.
Vincent, great point. It only take one part of an environment to be out of balance for the entire system to be placed out of sync. The more we as instructors are able to create a calm and safe learning environment the better our own experience. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Vincent, great point. It only take one part of an environment to be out of balance for the entire system to be placed out of sync. The more we as instructors are able to create a calm and safe learning environment the better our own experience. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
I have self-doubt myself at time with new classes. Getting through it together and finding common ground, I have found to be very helpful. By motivating the students and minimizing their self doubt, it encourages me to relax a bit also.
RAJINI, what conversations do you have with individual students to get the other 15% to 20% feeling more comfortable? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Debra, be careful using your introverts as examples. Part of being introverted is not drawing attention to themselves. If you have spoken with them and they are fine with your approach then keep doing what you are doing but I highly recommend you discuss this with each of them individually and make sure your methodology is agreeable.
James Jackson
At the start of term, after receiving the clinical expectation, i see students are quite with a fearful look. After explaining and encouraging to ask questions by saying "all questions are important", their fearful look seems to ease out. As days go by, most of the students feel comfortable in communicating their barrier to study and prepare before coming to clinical. I find individualist approach helps to improve or to strengthen their confidence. By end of term, 80-85% of students realize that knowledge with experience helps them to be proactive in their learning.
Tom, any ideas where the over confidence comes from? There may be some value in learning more about the root cause and using what you learn to experience even greater gains in the time you have with your students. I am interested in your thought process here so please fire back with some comments and ideas. Thanks in advance for anything you can share.
James Jackson
Charles, you may also want to take some time talking about good note taking techniques. For some students they simply have never had anyone take the time to teach them good note taking skills. Sounds funny but I see this more often than I like. There will always be a few students that feel it a waste of time but for those that benefit, they will thank you for your efforts.
James Jackson
Donna, another fact to remind your students is others that have taken your course pass these critical exams. Reassure your students they are in the right place and if some statistics are available, compare passing rates of those that take the exams on their own versus having participated in a classroom setting like the one you provide. It is always good to remind students they are not the first to attempt such exams and they too can experience success if they remain engaged and participate in your lesson plans.
James Jackson
DANIEL, mistakes are a large part of the learning process in higher education and a required part of the learning process. Never hesitate to explain this important fact to your students. The more they understand the process the more they will embrace it and learn from their mistakes.
James Jackson
Cole, you describe the true role of an quality instructor. The majority of those taking classes today in higher education have doubt about their ability to be successful. By connecting students with a quality instructor, the role of the institution is to bring the student to a new level of self awareness and self confidence. Looks like you have this skill down very well and I want to say thank you for your efforts.
James Jackson
For the introverts, instead of calling on them, I go over to them and use them as an example of what I'm teaching, and then I look at them and say, "right?" They usually agree. That gets them into the middle of the subject instead of keeping them on the outside. I continue using the introvert as the example, and then ask him/her a question based on their personal example. They answer, because now they know how to answer, because they were a part of the question.
I could not agree with you more that the greatest reward is helping a student to discover their potential in spite of their self-doubt. I had a student that was hanging around with the wrong group of people, and her failing grade proved it.
I took the student aside one day and told her that I could see a real good student inside, all they had to do was forget having fun with friends while in class. The student was afraid to take the challenge, but at mid term they had receive a notice of possible failure if they did not complete assignment in a timely manner. Again I spoke with the student and challenged them again.
By the time the end if the semester came the student had decided to take the challenge and do some improvement, by participating in class, even though the classmates ridiculed that person. The student has changed from day class to evening class to get away from the bad influences.
I have had the student form two other classes since the change and that person has had "A's" in both them class.
I always offer the student praise, to show them that it is well worth the challenges, and how you can move forward with the right challenges.
I always remind my student that on the day of graduation, make sure you are walking down the aisle, not just kicking yourself in the backside for making the wrong choices.
Sometimes self-doubt is shown in students by their over confidence . They come in the classroom thinking they know everything about the subject when they truly don't. It's the teacher's job to use that confidence to help the students teach themselves. Usually the overt self-doubt comes later in my classes. Then, I am there as someone who can build their confidence back up.
ive had a few cases where new students are feeling insecure about their technical skills for the esthetic industry, but through encouragement and positive reinforcement, they come out of their shells and begin to build their confidence, with the reassurance!
I think the biggest problem some of my students have is not taking notes.What I am going to use from this lesson is I am going to start each chapter with a good overview and write a learning objective on the board. And provide a lecture outline for them to use to take notes.
