Making Something Happen
Self-efficacy is a person's belief in their ability to cause, to bring about, or to make something happen. What do you do to to inspire your students or your co-workers to greater self-efficacy?
I tell them I have confidence in them and point out their competencies and positive points.
With my online classes, I post motivational and positive quotes and stories on the announcements and follow up with a "You were great!" email or feedback in a gradebook.
With classroom students, I tell them face to face whenever I can. I also post quotes and sayings to show on my slideshow before class.
Being positive and reminding students to believe in themselves does go a long way to success
Deborah,
Showing true confidence in our students is by far the best way to inspire them toward internalizing a level of confidence so that they are willing to take on almost anything we ask them to do. Setting the stage for learning through modeling attitudes and behaviors is just as important as the content of the lessons we plan.
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
I explain to my students and faculty that any of them are capable of being high perfomers if they want to be. The main thing is to have the desire to be a top achiever. Once the desire is present I encourage them to seek out high performers they know and ask them for advice and to follow their example. Eventually by following their role models they should start to develop their own behaviors and become in time role models for others.
Ronald,
Thank you for this post. One of the most effective ways to help students achieve self-efficacy is "to catch them doing something right." We need to set up our classes so that students can experience success. Following the advise of a mentor will certainly help.
Thanks again for all of your well-thought posts in this course.
Each week I post a motivational quote in the announcements to help students believe in themselves. Having this positive environment around them has seemed to impact many of my learners.
Carol,
You are right on track here. We never know what stories will inspire and motivate our students. The more opportunities we give them to see success, the better chance they have of internalizing the fact that they can be successful.
hing a student does I try to give positive feedback. Like if they answer a question incorrectly. I change the question so that they are right. They know they answer the question incorrectly but they were also right.
Mark,
It is great that you try to help students get things correct even when they do not answer the question you asked the way you would like them to. Another good technique when a student gets a question incorrect is to ask a series of questions that may lead the student to the correct answer to the original question.
I ask a few students to help other students who appear to have questions. I then follow up with all the studnets to see what outcomes are realized. This is especially jelpful when teaching "Critical Thinking" as it can be difficult for new studnts to grasp.
Thanks, Robert. Getting students involved with their peers is a great way to help struggling students be successful. The follow-up is a step some newer instructors miss. It is good to see that you do follow-up to reinforce learning.
In order to inspire my co-workers and employees to greater self-efficacy, I make sure to incorporate ideas they have for change. The problem often stems from employees who have ideas for change, present them to management and then never see them implemented.
Not all ideas from employees and students are able to be incorporated but they are more likely to continue wanting to bring about change if they feel they're being heard.
We've had students present ideas that seem small to the campus but when they see the idea being implemented they become excited, feel as though they are truly part of the campus and will spread that feeling to other students.
Kimberly,
Thank you for this post. You are correct. People want to be heard and want to feel like they are making a difference.
It is a good idea to publicize ideas and concepts that others have presented when those ideas are implemented. It is also important to thank folks for the ideas they submit that were not implemented, explaining why.
You must always stay positive. It is our job to find the good in everything that we encounter.
Thanks, Daniel.
How do we go about providing negative feedback to students who need it while still finding the good?
Stephen Covey had the right idea when he said, "seek first to understand and then tobe understood." I try on a daily basis to watch for cues of attitude and behavior of students and faculty and lift them up at every opportunity. Many times the ountains of life are mere bumps in the road and we must turn our thoughts toward the positive and leave the negative behind. This is easier said than done however, if embraced it spreads for the good of all who perceive it.
If I see a student is struggling with something, I'll have a conversation with them to figure out why. I keep the talk positive and upbeat. I feel that as a Mentor, my attitude will reflect into the student. Constant encouragement!!!!
By bringing in new ideas to stimulate the sudents and make my teaching methods more exiting and stimulating I am creating a positive energy and focus in the school. By students talking to each other about the exiting day they have had or there new experiances we are cresting a positive energetic evviorment.
Jason,
The positive energy is a good thing to build in your classes. Implementing a variety of effective teaching methods is another. Convincing the students that are responsible for what happens to them and that they can do this by "catching them doing some correctly" and praising them for it builds the self-efficacy that students need one they leave us.
I start by being a positive thinker, using the "my glass is half full not half empty" approach. I try to demonstrate to students and staff that people are sometimes like a mirror, in other words, a smile well usually be reflected back. Hopefully I demonstrate that situations move forward to a more positive end when you start on a more positive note.
