Friday, May 4, 2018

Boosting Confidence


Confidence is optimistic belief in our chances for success.  When we are confident, we feel that our chances of success are high, that our efforts will result in a favorable outcome.  It is an optimistic self-belief.  Psychologists call this belief self-efficacy. 

Self-efficacy is important for teachers because, as Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t - - you’re right.”  Like the Little Engine, teachers who “think they can” accomplish remarkable things.  Albert Bandura, a cognitive psychologist, describes ways to boost self-efficacy that have special relevance for instructional coaches.  They are: vicarious experiences, mastery experiences, and verbal persuasion.

Vicarious Experiences

Observing successes of people we consider as role models builds self-efficacy.  Seeing people similar to ourselves succeed through sustained effort raises our belief that we, too, can have success in that area.  This is one of the reasons modeling new practices is an effective coaching move.  When teachers see students learning as we use a pedagogical practice in their classroom, they feel optimistic about using the strategy successfully as well.

Modeling transmits knowledge and teaches skills and strategies for managing the demands of teaching. These outcomes increase self-efficacy.

Mastery Experiences

The strongest source of self-efficacy is through mastery experiences.  Having a success will build confidence; however, a disappointing outcome will undermine self-belief.  This is one of the reasons why it is important for instructional coaches to gauge the recommendations they make.  Coaches should consider whether an approach is within a teacher’s zone of proximal development before recommending.  If a teacher can be successful with a new approach, through scaffolding by her coach, then the recommendation is appropriate and the teacher’s experience will likely boost self-efficacy. 

Teachers with self-efficacy approach difficult tasks as challenges to be solved. An efficacious outlook increases motivation. Successful teaching experiences build a robust belief that teachers can make a difference in student outcomes.

Verbal Persuasion

A third source for strengthening people’s confidence is verbal persuasion.  By this, Bandura means convincing people that they possess the capabilities to master an activity. It’s important that this “verbal persuasion” align with teachers’ actual competencies, since unrealistic boosts in efficacy are quickly disconfirmed by disappointing results of one’s efforts (Bandura, 1994).  When teachers don’t see the results they want, their self-efficacy is undermined, no matter how positively others speak of them.  

As instructional coaches affirm teachers’ instructional successes, they are providing verbal persuasion that can boost self-efficacy.  Affirming convinces teachers that they possess the capabilities to master activities so that they are more likely to sustain the practice, even when problems arise.

Boosting Student Achievement

Because teachers’ self-efficacy correlates directly with student achievement (Cantrell & Callaway, 2008), strengthening teachers’ confidence is an important coaching role.  Supporting success through modeling (vicarious experiences), making recommendations that lead to success (mastery experiences), and affirming instructional decisions (verbal persuasion) boosts confidence, improves teaching, and increases students’ learning.

Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press.

Cantrell, S. C., & Callaway, P. (2008). High and low implementers of content literacy instruction: Portraits of teacher efficacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 1739–1750.

This week, you might want to take a look at:

A mini-unit to get kids ready for summer reading:



Ending the school year on a high note:



Giving students choice about assessment:


Scaffolding to prepare for successful Socratic seminars:


Sharpen your coaching skills with this microcredential from NEA – designed for cooperating teachers, but helpful for supporting all adult teacher-learners (must  create a free account):

That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!

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2 comments:

  1. Thank you for these tips. I always look forward to your weekly newsletters and find them so helpful!

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