Building Confidence in Students: Balancing Competence and Challenge

As educators, we know that confidence plays a critical role in a child's learning and development. But what exactly gives us confidence? For many, it's the feeling we get when we do something well. Competence often leads to feelings of confidence. When we do things we know we can do and do them well, it makes us feel capable. But challenge is also crucial, as it keeps us driven and prevents us from becoming complacent or apathetic. Without challenge, we fail to develop grit, resilience, and a positive response to the idea of challenge.

However, too much challenge can leave us low in self-belief and confidence. So, where does the balance between competence and challenge lie? When teaching children to read, it's helpful to provide them with material to read that they can do independently about 80% of the time and that challenges them for the remaining 20%. This approach helps to build confidence while also developing and pushing their reading skills and ability.

As educators, we instinctively know to put our students in situations where we know they will flourish to help build their confidence and self-efficacy. This might include giving them activities that we know they can do with ease or allowing them to participate in a group where they are one of the most able. However, finding challenge moments for our students can sometimes be less obvious and harder to embrace as educators.

Here are some ways we can encourage our students to embrace challenge:

• Encourage students to try an activity that they anticipate will be challenging for them initially. This forces them to experience the feeling of ‘challenge’ and learn to be okay with it.
• When students resist change or an activity they're finding hard, encourage them to continue at least until a natural break point (end of the program/term) or until they've seen out their commitment.
• Embrace the opportunities when students find themselves the least able at an activity as opposed to the most able. Rather than resist this and engineer the situation to readdress this balance, be ready to accept it and model to students that this ‘discomfort’ is normal and not to be feared.
• Celebrate the times students embrace challenge and praise the attributes they demonstrate in their response, rather than focusing purely on the success of the outcome: ‘You clearly found that tricky in places and you didn’t let that put you off. Well done!’

You can use the Inverted U Model (Yerkes-Dodson Law) to help us understand the subtle relationship between pressure and performance. The right amount of challenge and pressure can often result in some of our students' best work. However, too much challenge can lead to stress and anxiety, ultimately undermining performance and confidence.

Using this insight, we can support our students during those 'challenge' moments to help them feel more in control. This could include very simple things, such as allowing them some element of choice or control about the activity or situation, asking them how or when to do it, or what they would like to do after.

As educators, let's strive to reflect on the balance we provide for our students both intentionally and unintentionally between feeling competent and feeling challenged. By doing so, we can help our students develop a growth mindset, resilience, and a healthy response to challenge.

This article was written by Louise Treherne, Director of Character Education at?Role Models. Louise has a degree in Psychology, 12 years experience as a teacher, including 5 years as a Senior Deputy Head at a London Prep school. She now works as a Professional Coach and Educational Consultant.

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