Practices to Bolster Self-Efficacy

Feeling self-efficacy - which involves having confidence in and estimation of one's abilities - is important for persistence and success in academic fields. Research indicates that students from different groups can have different levels of self-efficacy when it comes to their abilities, and that the experience of identity threat can contribute to low-levels of self-efficacy among students.

The Classroom Practices Library contains practice recommendations that instructors can use in their courses to bolster student engagement and increase equity in academic outcomes. The following practice recommendations can help bolster students' self-efficacy. To view the practices organized by other social-psychological constructs, click here.

Supporting Self-Efficacy by Integrating Self-Relevance and a Sense of Purpose into Your Course: Approaches to help students see their coursework as relevant to their own experiences and their future goals

Establishing Expectations: A Growth Mindset Approach: Approaches for communicating about academic standards and course expectations in a way that promotes student engagement, learning, and academic success

Creating a Belonging Story: Guidance on developing and adapting a brief exercise to help students understand that belonging concerns in college are normal, and not a signal that they do not belong or cannot succeed

Encouraging Connections in the Classroom: Approaches for encouraging connections between students and the instructional team, and among students

Creating a Wise Feedback Framing Statement: Guidance on delivering critical feedback in a way that engenders trust, increases academic engagement, and helps close academic outcome gaps

Creating an Attuned Assessment Wrapper: Resources for developing a practice that helps students prepare for, and debrief, key assessments in a way that emphasizes potential for growth, connects to resources, and does not inspire identity threat

Supporting Financially Stressed Students: Recommendations for practices that can help support financially stressed students' learning, sense that they belong in college, and belief in their ability to succeed


 

The Classroom Practices Library was developed by CTC, with feedback and collaboration from university partners, for the Student Experience Project.
(© 2022) Copying, reproducing, or monetizing this resource without express permission from the College Transition Collaborative is prohibited.

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