6 Organic Ways to Grow Student Confidence
As a college instructor, one of the most important things I do is work to ensure that my students come out of my class confident in their ability to write and conquer their other classes. Confidence and self-efficacy work hand in hand on this.
I began my teaching career at Ball State University, and was blessed beyond belief to have incredible mentoring that really helped me figure out what my priorities are for my students. I almost immediately made fostering confidence a purposeful goal in my teaching partially because of my own experiences and partially because of what I saw in my students. Being confident in writing is a major pain point for so many people.
Every semester, without fail, at least 85% of my students answer their first day survey (one of the activities I use to begin creating open dialogue) that they are “not good” at writing or writing “isn’t their strong suit.” This was true at Ball State, and it continues to be true at Ivy Tech Community College where I teach now.
Instructors at four-year universities and community colleges alike genuinely care about student confidence, but no one seems to be sure how to discuss it or change what we all see. My colleague and I did a study on this in graduate school wherein a majority (57%) of our survey respondents did discuss confidence in some way in the classroom, but the other 45% did not. We didn’t know whether this came from it not being a major concern or not knowing how to begin that discussion.
Growing and discussing confidence in the classroom can be tricky for a number of reasons. In the beginning of the semester, I never know what experiences students have had with writing (good or bad), or anything about them academically. I don’t know what’s going on in their personal lives that could be affecting them in the classroom, or what changes throughout the semester unless they tell me.
Writing is also much more subjective than math or science where there often is only one truly correct answer. As English teachers, we tend to get a more personal look at our students because many submit writing based on experiences, which can be raw and emotional.
So how are you supposed to be able to grow student confidence in your classroom when you don’t know anything about them and there is more than one right way to write? Good question!
Below are 7 practices I actively utilize in my classes every semester that WORK.
Learn their names, and quickly
This is critical. I try to learn all of their names by the second week of classes; however, if you’re teaching a 4-5 class load, this might take you additional time. That’s a lot of names!
This helps for a couple of reasons.
You might be the only teacher that student has who knows their name & it shows you care.
Often in writing and composition classes, we hear some very personal information due to the nature of the beast. We ask students to write about things that matter to them, and sharing those things with a teacher is scary!
When you know their name quickly, it grows the relationship beyond “student and teacher” to “student and person who is my teacher.”
The major difference here is the person aspect. You were a person before you were a teacher, and that’s important because they are a person too. A person is more approachable than the title of teacher, so students are more likely to come to you for help when they need it.
Have a discussion about confidence
This seems to be the crux for a lot of instructors I’ve talked to about it. How does one talk about confidence without asking students to share out loud in class? That could be both unnerving and uncomfortable for students who are already worried about it.
I begin the “discussion” at the beginning of the semester in two ways.
I tell my students up front on the first day that I know that writing is hard and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. We are there to learn, first and foremost!
Nothing is perfect, and we need to start where we are at and build on it. Sometimes students have just come out of high school or sometimes they’re coming back after 10 years. You just never know where they are at, and that’s okay.
I have them fill out a survey asking them questions about their writing experiences and confidence level with writing.
I don’t grade these, but it gives me a way to tell where they are without them having to tell me out loud. They also get to look back at these surveys on the last day and reflect on how far they’ve come.
Be transparent about your goals
This might seem obvious, but sometimes students really don’t see past the syllabus. If I don’t tell them what I value for our class time, they won’t know! Everyone values things a little bit differently, and every class has a different set of official objectives, so this piece will be unique to you and your institution.
Your teaching methods and goals drive the class and atmosphere no matter what objectives you’re trying to achieve.
Students value this openness and tend to feel more comfortable asking a question or reaching out for help when they feel like they know what you want and expect of them.
It also makes your life easier when you don’t have to try to remember what you told your students. I believe, and have seen, that honesty and transparency are the best policy.
Be vulnerable & empathetic
This is probably the most important thing, for me, in building student confidence. I tell them some personal things when I introduce myself on the first day: I’m married and have an adorable, crazy little dog. I also tell them that I have another job and what it is.
Above all, I tell them that I was a student not long ago, and I know how hard it is. I really do get it.
My goal here is always to humanize myself and make myself approachable.
I don’t want there to be a time when any of my students can’t ask me a question because they are worried about how I will react! It’s literally my job to answer their questions, so I want to make that as comfortable as possible.
In terms of empathy, it is important (and sometimes very difficult) to try to step back and think like a student in order to gauge the situation.
If a student comes to me in a panic about not being able to get to his/her/their three page minimum, my first response is always to have them explain why they are worried and what their thoughts are.
Sometimes they just need to talk it out, or sometimes they just misunderstood the instructions. Either way, being empathetic to their panic is much more effective than brushing it off.
Always find something positive to say about their writing.
Have you ever gotten a paper where it’s obvious the student just phoned in the assignment? Or that they just completely missed the point of the entire project? I know I have! And sometimes it’s just not a very good paper.
But, here’s the thing.
You and the student both know it’s not the best paper, and the student probably expects a lot of “red ink” and criticism because that’s what has happened in the past.
I always lead any written comments I’m giving with a compliment. Always. Even if that’s about the fact that they remembered page numbers or have a creative title.
If you really want to build their confidence, you don’t want to be just like all the other English teachers who didn’t take a moment to find a compliment.
This isn’t to say that you should make up something or dig with a magnifying glass to find something fantastic; however, students do gain confidence when you recognize that they have done something right, even when you both know the paper wasn’t awesome.
Meet with your students one-on-one multiple times during the semester.
This is a hard goal, mainly because we only have a limited number of days in any given semester. We have 16 weeks to teach them what they need to learn, and we usually need every minute of that!
However hard it is for me, I make sure - every semester - to meet with my students one-on-one at least twice. One time I cancel the class(es) for the week & we do conferences for their research topics.
This is early enough in the semester that we are still new to each other, but after the first project so they know how I operate.
I check in about how their semester is going and just life in general.
The second time, we meet outside of class and I explain my comments on the first draft of their research paper. This way we are there, in person, and they can ask questions where something doesn’t make sense.
I practice all of these in my own classroom, and they have worked. I’ve seen students grow throughout the semester and become more confident in their writing (and as students). There are definitely differences from university to community college, but these practices have worked in both settings.
I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect and I still learn important lessons every semester, without fail. These are simply things I’ve implemented because of what I’ve seen in the classroom.
What do you see in your classroom? What have you noticed or tried? If you teach younger students, would these practices (modified, of course) benefit your classroom?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!