6 Techniques To Instill Confidence In Your Students

One of the greatest things adults can help to foster in children is the gift of confidence. For some children, confidence is something that comes naturally and easily, but others may have some difficulty overcoming self-doubt or anxiety, especially in a classroom setting.

Educators spend a lot of time with children, so it’s worth learning techniques to instill confidence in your students and using tools for building student confidence. If you’re wondering how to develop confidence in students, then you’re in the right place. Read on to learn some key techniques to instill confidence in your students.

Confidence: What Is It And Why Is It Important?
When thinking about instilling confidence in students, what we mean is helping students to improve the attitude they have about themselves and their abilities and skills.

Students with great confidence trust and accept themselves, and also have a great sense that they’ve got everything under control because they believe in themselves. Students with good confidence also tend to be better at setting realistic expectations and goals, can better handle criticism, and can communicate effectively and assertively.

Students with low confidence typically doubt themselves and their abilities. They may also be more submissive or passive with great difficulty in trusting other people. They also tend to have a hard time taking criticism.

Why Should Teachers Instill A Sense Of Confidence In Their Students?
Before we can begin to learn how to build confidence in students, it’s important to understand why this is something teachers should do in the first place.

Students who have confidence and self-esteem are healthier and happier, both in and out of the classroom. When children have the confidence to believe in themselves, they’re better able to navigate the world around them in a healthy way. They can:

• Advocate for themselves effectively
• Make choices based on their own values
• Understand what they want and need, focusing on goals to attain it
• Become more effective leaders
• Be less likely to bend to peer pressure
• Dream big and work at their goals until they are achieved

As you can see, there are a lot of very positive things a student can take with them for life if they receive a little nudge in the direction of great self-confidence.

How Does Confidence Affect School Performance?
As you may be able to piece together at this point, confidence plays a big role in school. Students without a lot of confidence can be easy to spot because they are often self-disparaging. They may think they do nothing right, and you may hear them say things such as, “I can’t do it,” or “I’m dumb.”

It’s also not uncommon for students without a lot of confidence to give up on a lesson or avoid taking risks at school. They often disengage from tasks, too. Basically, they’re the students who turn off or turn away from the camera when you’re trying to complete a lesson virtually.

You may also notice that students with little confidence will do great for a while, and then may underperform quite suddenly. This is often because they are afraid the success they’re having is a fluke or that they’re building up others’ expectations way too high.

All of these factors have a big impact on a student’s performance in the classroom. That’s why recognizing that building confidence in students can lead to their success both in and out of school is so important for teachers.

How To Develop Confidence In Students
Confidence in students is easier to build than you may think. It doesn’t involve big, sweeping gestures, but is instead built through many small acts and achievements. Taking small steps in the classroom to help build up your students’ confidence can have a big payoff.

You can boost your students’ confidence in a variety of ways. Start by:

1. Modeling it – Teachers play an important role in children’s lives, as they often look to the adults around them to learn how they should behave. Present yourself confidently and your students will be sure to follow.
2. Being prepared – If you’re really wondering how teachers can increase their confidence in the classroom, one very important way is to always be prepared to teach. Have your lesson plans laid out so you can model that confidence every day.
3. Accepting mistakes – There are many great activities to build confidence in students, but one of the most important is to accept the mistakes your students make well. Never belittle your students or humiliate them; both are surefire ways to destroy confidence in kids.
4. Praising them – Praise feels good, so when your students do something well or you see them doing something positive, let them know they’re doing a good job. It’s sometimes just that simple.
5. Challenging them – Stretch your students on an intellectual level and force them to think deeply about a topic. Doing so lets them know you believe they can do it and will boost their confidence in the process.
6. Presenting opportunities – You need to give your students the chance to demonstrate success in the classroom. If they constantly feel like they’re not doing something well enough, they’ll never know what they truly can do. If they do poorly on a particular task, think about other ways to present the material to them and try again.

It can be easy to forget the impact you have on your students’ lives. For some children, you may be the only positive, confidence-boosting influence in their life – so step up and help give them the confidence they need to succeed both in and out of the classroom.

Featured image by Alexander Grey on Unsplash