Ways to help learners believe in themselves

An extensive range of research over the past few decades has overwhelmingly found that student’s self-efficacy has a deep influence on their academic achievement. The study tell that a student’s perception of their abilities is more important than their actual abilities.

If a pupil believes they can do something, they’ll strive harder to do it and achieve greater academic success. Students with a low self-efficacy for academic success tend to underachieve as their perceptions of their academic capabilities cause them to choose lower aspirations; they also have very little motivation to act or persevere when faced with challenges.

This is illustrated perfectly in an OECD PISA in Focus report,which found that maths self-efficacy is associated with a difference of 49 score points – the equivalent of one year of school.

It happens that the job of the school is to find ways to build students’ belief in themselves and their efficacy. Often this means small tweaks to how we teach and reframing how we view success and achievement.

Here are tips to help you build children’s self-belief.

Ways to create the right environment

At the outset teachers need to create environments that allow all children to experience success – not just the high achievers. No matter how one way to do this is to effectively differentiate work and set individual goals that children feel they are capable of achieving. The important part is that when they do achieve these goals, this feeling of success will boost their self-efficacy, which in turn will allow them to work towards their next goal.

Adopting the right mindset for learning

Also teaching students how to manage their stress and emotions helps them improve their cognition in pressure situations, such as exams, which increases confidence, academic achievement and self-efficacy. Furthermore, advocating mistakes as learning opportunities and encouraging students to try new ways of working and search for advice from others to solve problems when they are ‘stuck’ facilitates a Growth Mindset which improves resilience, self-efficacy and academic success.

The power of positive meaningful feedback on student success

Researchers believe that many underachievers are used to only negative feedback, which over time will lower their self-efficacy. Therefore while learning it is important for these children to receive positive feedback too.

Rather than centring on effort – feedback should direct on how much progress has been made, as well as what steps can be taken to improve. Important thing to know is that children will not be put down, but their self-belief will be improved and the children will feel encouraged to continue progressing.

Fostering independence

Though not so useful out of context, if self-directed learning strategies and skills are taught explicitly, children will be able to practise these on their own – both in and outside the classroom.

Make it directed and manageable

Argument is that setting goals is a pointless exercise unless the student feels they will be able to achieve them. For this reason, it’s important to show children informative examples of what others with similar abilities to them have achieved. Okay so this will enable them to realise that they can achieve their goals, therefore encouraging them to work harder towards these goals.

It may sound nice that mastering these skills will allow the children a better chance at academic success, increasing both their self-efficacy and the likelihood of them remaining in education for longer.

More specifically these measures are especially important as children grow older and schoolwork becomes more challenging to enable them to keep trying their best and achieving – no matter what their academic ability is.

Patience, Perseverance, Positive Affirmation to use in class.

As a teacher we know that students are capable of growth and development if they are well nurtured and supported also certainly involves a huge deal of patience and perseverance because learning capacities among students differ and can never be the same. 

Studies have shown that teacher should help them get back on track and support their responses with positive affirmations till they get the right answer and make them repeat the right answer to the entire class, this works like magic in building their confidence.

Oh I can’t believe I am saying this but when students seek help with a particular question, boost their confidence by showing that they understand at least something about the concept rather than show that they know nothing about it, and build their comprehension of the topic by building on the already understood concept. 

This way, they gain confidence in solving similar tasks and can be assured and confident to approach you for guidance in the future.

Give Rewards, Fulfill Promises to motivate

Times without number, when good deeds go unrewarded or unnoticed, students are made to think that they’ve done nothing worthy and their efforts are unappreciated.

This doesn’t teach confidence in any way and even might cause students to believe less in themselves. 

Your little rewards, benefits, encomiums, and even acts like saying a remarkable act by a student to the applause of other students can help them to forge forward and get stabilized especially if they are from backgrounds where they are either not given the opportunity or are naturally disadvantaged.

As wonderful as you are making promises of rewards and keeping them can allow students get eager and very encouraged to follow the path that leads to success, build their self confidence, and help them live in the actualization of their potentials in full which is the essence of believing in themselves.

Teachers are effective if little acts when done deliberately every day can help students believe in themselves, maximize their potentials and live in self actualization. These acts are most effective when done by the idols which students look up to and those that directly influence them.

• Assign classroom roles. Let the students explore roles that give them a sense of responsibility and meaning in the classroom such as messenger, pet-carer, tutor or buddy to younger students. A good idea is to arrange roles outside the classroom for example, weeding the veggie patch, or reading to a Prep or Kinder class for 10 minutes each day.
• Reinforce effort rather than the end result, for some tasks. With guidance encourage students to give tasks a go rather than always focusing on getting right answers. I should mention here that this can assist the student to feel they can safely try new or previously threatening tasks, such as public speaking. Give marks for effort, as well as the end result.
• Implicitly incorporate activities around school values and rules. It happens that classroom values such as tolerance and acceptance, a love of learning, along with respect, harmony, honesty and responsibility help instill a clear set of guiding principles.
• Positive feeling reward and promote prosocial behavior. In general it is important that the school code of conduct provides positive reinforcement as well as consequences that are fair and logical. For example give positive reinforcement for good behavior through specific praise, house points, a special lunch with the principal, or additional free time.