Students know when a teacher especially a new one, feels uncertain and lacking confidence because

Índice Show

What Low Self-Esteem Looks Like
Why Self-Confidence is So Important
Self-Confidence Impacted by Bullying
What You Can Do
Small Steps
Recognize Small Victories
Monitor Your Responses
The Power of Positivity
Reward System
Recognize Learning Differences and Offer Support
Separate Behavior from Academic Performance
Encourage Learning From Mistakes
Be Specific
In Conclusion

Helping students feel confident when they face uncertainty in the classroom

I did an experiment with a group of adult educators. I gave them very vague instructions on how to arrange groups. The goal was that each educator would participate in four different groups. I told them that the composition of each group had to be different. Some of the adults were willing to work it out, trial and error even. Others would get to a point and then realize that they did not understand completely what to do and then would ask questions.

A few even began getting upset at the lack of directions and were resistant. I was hoping that the adults would be able to work together to negotiate the groups, but the project failed entirely. One adult asked me, "Why didn't you just ask us to count off by numbers and be done with it?" The reason I did not do this was that this little experiment informed me of the flexibility of thinking of the group and helped me to customize the instruction I would be giving them.

From this simple illustration we can infer that our students in the classroom probably belong in one of these three groups: being comfortable with uncertainty, being uncomfortable with uncertainty, and being irritated with uncertainty. Some have tied this idea to resiliency but I view resiliency as the ability to bounce back or endure stressful situations. Uncertainty is different: It is messy, it is disorganized, it is unstructured, and it is organic. When doubt exists and the answer or path is not known beforehand, that is the essence of uncertainty.

One of the main goals of the educational approach known as constructivism is to prepare learners for uncertainty by helping them feel comfortable in postulating, guessing, hypothesizing, conjecturing, and testing their theories.

Unfortunately, we have socialized our students into the believing that not being certain is a bad thing, and as a result, few students are willing to take a risk and demonstrate their vulnerability.

Teachers need to inject a little uncertainty into their lessons every day because it engages students at the "analysis and above" levels. It forces the students to evaluate what they know and what they do not know and make a decision about what to do about it. For instance, let's borrow an example from author Steven R. Covey, where he uses a bucketful of rocks, then fills the bucket with sand, and then tops it off with water. Similarly, a math teacher could demonstrate the following problem,

"Here we have a 100 ml beaker that is filled with sand and it weighs 16 ounces. What is the volume of the sand? Now, I will add water to the beaker, right up to the hundred-milliliter mark. How has the volume changed? What is the volume of the water and the sand? What else can you tell me about this situation?"

This problem challenges students to think about what they know about volume and what assumptions they had made about the sand, mathematically, and scientifically. Depending on the age, various interesting student activities can be initiated to investigate how the true volume of the sand could be measured, or discovering other instances where the assumed dry volume is different or similar than liquid volume.

In reality, the uncertainty principle is an inextricable part of math, statistics and especially science. Matter of fact, it is accepted as fact that any research involves a certain amount of uncertainty. There is no such thing as an exact science, why would teaching and learning be any different? Students who feel confident in the face of uncertainty are better prepared to look at all the possibilities before choosing the best answer. These students are less concerned about being told what to know, and are more concerned with understanding why it should be known and how to know it.

How do you prepare your students for handling uncertainty?

Confidence is a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgment. Without it, children would struggle to develop the skills they need to embrace their full potential in and out of school. Children with self-confidence feel good about themselves and know they deserve respect from others, even their teacher. But they also can recognize their faults and overcome mistakes.

It's all about having a balanced view of oneself and taking pride in abilities while recognizing flaws. But what do we do when our students lack self-confidence? How can we even tell?

What Low Self-Esteem Looks Like

Low self-esteem makes a child feel like their goals and dreams are impossible to reach. This makes it difficult to maintain motivation and dedication to learning. Students of any age can display low self-esteem in several ways.

They use phrases like, "I'm stupid" or "No one likes me."
They give up easily.
Students may experience Imposter Syndrome.
Academic performance may drastically fluctuate.
They may have a low frustration tolerance or avoid new things.
They may blame themselves.
Students may avoid activities that temporarily put them in the spotlight.

Low self-esteem may also be accompanied by problematic behavior in the classroom, projections of anger towards other people, depressive symptoms, and isolation from groups.

Why Self-Confidence is So Important

Self-confidence helps students handle setbacks easily. It builds resilience. And when a child is resilient, they are more apt to accept the normalcy of failure and take more chances.

When your students feel confident in their own strengths, they can maintain self-worth despite setbacks or perceived weaknesses. They can actualize their full potential and develop the best version of themselves.

Self-Confidence Impacted by Bullying

If you notice that your student's self-confidence is being impacted by bullying, don't ignore it. Building a "thick skin" does not have to come at the cost of a student's confidence and safety. Stop bullying when you see it and offer support to the bullied student.

At the same time, the bully may be taking out a lack of self-confidence in an aggressive and abusive manner. Do not ignore this student as punishment for bullying. Don't let them off the hook for unacceptable behavior, but recognize there may be factors contributing to it.

What You Can Do

You may not be in full control of your student's self-confidence, but you can certainly teach behaviors that may prove helpful to them as they continue their education. As an authority figure, your impact on a student's self-confidence is stronger than you may think. This is definitely a case of, "It's not just what you say, it's also how you say it."

Let's take a look at what you can do when your students lack self-confidence.

Small Steps

Teach your students how to take small steps towards a goal. It will foster a sense of accomplishment. This will keep them moving forward even when challenges arise.

Self-Worth

Encourage your students to observe their strengths and weaknesses through the lens of self-worth. Help to free them from the prison of self-criticism. Deconstruct the myth that worth is measured by success or failure.

Recognize Small Victories

Teach your students how to make a list of their small victories in life. Watch as their self-esteem blossoms with a sense of pride in achievement. Their personal setbacks will not have the power to derail their positive progress.

Monitor Your Responses

A classroom environment rife with judgment and criticism affects how your students feel about themselves. Closely examine the ways you respond to your students struggling with low self-esteem. Make it your daily habit to construct thoughtful and positive affirmations. Step up your vocabulary by choosing helpful words.

The Power of Positivity

Lead by example, without cynicism or sarcasm. You can boost self-esteem by modeling the power of being upbeat and positive versus being the teacher who fills their students with hopelessness, frustration, and dread.

Reward System

Create a system that rewards your students for progress. A reward can make a challenging project seem worthwhile and add an element of enjoyment to the process. Heaping ample praise on your students is an effective self-esteem-boosting reward with instant positive results.

Recognize Learning Differences and Offer Support

Learning difficulties present themselves as a variety of specific challenges in the classroom. As a leader, you can bolster confidence in your students by recognizing these differences.

Encouraging independence and privately acknowledging the student struggling by providing the proper support will have a wonderful ripple effect. When your students are taught to value themselves, they will feel loved, respected, appreciated, and understood even though they struggle.

Separate Behavior from Academic Performance

A child should not hear exclamations from their teacher of how "bad" they are. Rather it is the behavior that should be called into question. In this manner, the child's self-image is kept separate from the threat of feeling shamed, an incredibly destructive tool that obliterates self-esteem at any age.

Encourage Learning From Mistakes

Allow a student to learn from their mistakes. As a teacher and mentor, do not be overly harsh when your students fail. By providing positive support when your students make a mistake, they're more motivated to try again. This reinforces in the child that they are capable of learning and growing. The student comes to understand and trust their capabilities. Your students will understand that learning is a process in and of itself and that problem solving can be its own reward.

Be Specific

When using praise as a reward, be specific and sincere. For example: "Excellent job preparing for class today." "You have been studying, and it shows. Keep up the good work!" Conversely, praise as a reward when not warranted erodes self-esteem and trust. Students are painfully aware of their shortcomings in the classroom and the lack of effort put into their work.

In Conclusion

When a child can exist in the moment, free of self-judgment and critical comparison, they are free to observe the world around them. They can better step outside of themselves and become cognizant of the needs of others. It's never too early to teach healthy self-confidence; it's part of our job as teachers.

Written by Susan Bryce

Education World Contributor