I love ice breakers!
I'm not in the classroom. but I'm in the classroom in many other ways. I'm their coach, academic adivsor, I help them with life skills, resolving issues to keep them in class, decision making, we talk about fear & doubt. On and before the first day class. I ask students what are you going to do when you graduate? I use what they said to help them in a time of need. Were the college that cares about our students success. I refer to them as Butterflies and at Graduation I watch them spread their wings : )
When my students express self doubt in any specific situation, I try to give them a real world analogy of the same situation that I, personally, have gone through and the question of doubt that I too experienced. This definitely helps them relax and understand that they are not the first person to feel this way. We also explore the concept of 'slowing down', to think through whatever it is that is confounding us to cause the doubt and with a little thought, they will get through it. All the while, of course, walking them through the solution to the situation, step by step.
I had a student that studied hard and was really hard on herself. She was an older student that did not do well in High School. She always feel back on that I was never good in school when she did not do well on a test. I told her that no one is perfect, she was never going to be perfect and if that was her goal it was unrealistic. I instead asked her if she learned anything, she thought for a second and said she did. I asked her if she did her best, she thought for a second again and said yes. I explained to her that she sould allow her best to be good enough, she passed with flying colors with lots of correct answers but always focused on the ones that she got wrong. I helped her change that focus and the funny thing was, I was just like her, I knew what my instructors told me and I was able to help her. She still keeps in contact with me and is loving her career, it makes me happy to be able to assist students to obtain meaningful careers.
Thank you!
There have been cases where students lacked confidence because of external factors such as negativity from family, close friends or associates. They've been told they are no good, why they're going back to school, nothing good will come of it. Once they begin the program, usually the first five weeks i find is usually a challenge, students start questioning themselves; however once they've adapted to the new environment, familiarizing with other students and realizing there are others with similar drawbacks who are progressing, their confidence begin to bloom.
I work at a Massage Therapy school. We see the self-doubt situation on a daily basis. When the students start the progam one of their very first classes we have them talk about their visions. Where they see them selves after they have finished the program, where they would like to end up working, stuff like that. We use their visions through out their schooling anytime they lose modivation, or if they are doubting their abilities. The nice thing about are program is it is very hands on. Any time a students doubts their abilities as a massage therapist we have a staff member get a massage from that student. Alot of times students are afraid to give their peers construtive feed back because they are worried about hurting their feelings. But as staff we know the benefit of giving students constructive feed back spun a positive way. Any time we have staff get massages from students we almost immediatly see an increase in the students confidence and their self-doubt starts to disapper.
As a registrar, the biggest reward we can have is handing someone with self doubt theyre diploma. A certain student called me last year and said her parent had passed away in a tragic accident. She didnt know how she could return or if she did how she can focus. She did it and graduated and went on to complete more than one program. The instructors support and motivation is what helped her she said.
David, we as instructors never know what raw materials our students will have when they arrive. All we can do is assess each situation and use their raw talents to guide them in a direction that leads them to being successful. Each journey will be different but the process is typically the same in that we find a baseline and then continually move our students further towards an end goal. For some the difference between the base and end goal will be significant and require more of our time and effort. I have found these students to be the most rewarding in my career.
James Jackson
Linda, every student is different and some require more effort than others. In the end I cannot think of anything more fulfilling as an instructor than to witness one of your students being successful when they started out with confidence issues and were intimidated by the material. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work.
James Jackson
Edward, great post and provides a very important message. We all fail but what makes us different is our ability to learn from our mistakes and make corrections along the way. The classroom should be the place we learn how to make these corrections so we can be successful when we are working and mistakes can be more costly.
James Jackson
Jon , well stated. A little confidence can go a long way. For some students they are not exposed to a lot of positive energy so the more you are able to generate in the classroom the more your students will respond in a positive manner.
James Jackson
brittany, for some students motivation is not enough and they will experience barriers that can look like they lack motivation. By providing the one on one attention you provide a great opportunity for each student to show you their limitations and together you are able to work them out. Keep up the great work.
James Jackson
Scott, great point and good for students to be reminded that none of us were born with knowledge, we have to all acquire it. The journey is never the same for any two individuals but the process is very common. Through our struggles and failures we learn and get better until one day things finally begin to make sense. Learning is not always easy but everyone can learn.
James Jackson
Christopher, information and technology literacy is a common concern among faculty at many career colleges. Patience is key but also incorporating literacy skills into your lesson plan is always a good idea. Conduct early testing but do not allow students to know they are being evaluated. This can be done through games or even simple in-class assignments. The more you know your starting point the better you can reach your finish line.
James Jackson
Dawn, excellent story and shows that extra effort is needed and rewarded. If learning followed a specific formula then we could train anyone to be a teacher. In fact, good teaching is as much an art as it is a science and some can do it well while others struggle. Thank you for your efforts and taking the time to guide your students to success. Keep up the great work.
James Jackson
Angie, great post. Guidance is the key. As a guide you assist them as they navigate the curriculum but you also allow them to discover and stretch their comfort zone. It is this stretch that allows them to grow.
James Jackson
E., all institutions have their place and all students need to find an environment that is best for them. A degree is a degree. It is rare that your co-workers know which institution you earned your degree. The important factor is that you have the degree that allows you to interview for the job and allows you to meet the criteria of your chosen profession.
James Jackson
Clifton, great job building a safe and trusted learning environment for your students. The more safe they feel the more comfortable they will feel and the better they will learn.
James Jackson
Brandon, helping students gain confidence is such a critical part of the learning process. For some students they do not understand that failure is a key part of success. The more we are willing to learn from our mistakes the more success we can experience.
James Jackson
Lindsay, failure is they key to success and this is the best lesson your students can learn. If we never fail then we never strive enough to succeed. The trick is to take the time and effort to learn from our failures so we can turn failure into achievement.
James Jackson
Ryan, real world stories can be very useful. The more students can paint mental pictures and see themselves in those stories the better they can associate success for themselves.
James Jackson
