A Word On Student Self Efficacy
While researching an activity for an educational psychology course, I came across an issue that I felt was worth discussing. I think the self efficacy of students is extremely important when teaching students how to read and write. Self efficacy is how well one thinks that one can perform a certain task. Having researched this topic, I think it is a necessity when teaching students how to not only read, but to think critically about and explore what they have read. As teachers, we can have the best lesson plans, the best activities, and have students who are good readers. However, if the students don’t think that they are good readers, they may be less likely to dive as deeply into readings as we would like them to. If we are able to make students think that they are good at reading and writing, then it will make our jobs as educators easier. Hopefully the students would be more eager to read, and would be more willing to try new things if they believed in themselves. Though high self efficacy does not always correspond with higher grades and aptitude, it does help in some cases.
With all the above said: How do we instill self efficacy in students? I am especially interested in how educators can make upper grade level students believe in themselves as readers. I am hoping for any comments on this.
-Eric
p.s. the information which sparked my interest on self efficacy came from studies done by Albert Bandura. Though he gets into the psychological/scientific end of this, his ideas still helped me think about how to help students.
The English Inquisition 
Thanks for that post. One thing to be aware of is that self-esteem and self-efficacy has many advocates, though this issue has become controversial, and the opposing side thinks that concentrating on students’ self-esteem is anti-intellectual and a dilution of the curriculum. These battle lines have been around for twenty plus years, and sometimes the battle and rhetoric has gotten heated (see the “dumbing-down” rhetoric, for instance), generally along political fault lines, with the self-esteem bashers on the right.
Constant praise and positive remarks. Try to think back to when you were a student. Didn’t it make you feel good to have a teacher say, Wow, you’re an amazing reader! I forget where I read or saw this suggestion, but one thing I’ve learned that is good to do when complementing a student is to pick something specific. So instead of saying, “You’re a great writer,” you could say “You’re creativity really adds to the plot of the story.” By picking a specific characteristic, it shows the student that they are an individual and you truly mean what you’re saying.
Another way to build confidence is practice. If you practice, practice, practice, you’re going to eventually succeed and feel good about it. Encourage the students to read more or write more because the more they do it, the better they’ll become. You could use an example to help the students connect with what you’re saying. For example, using current events, you could ask who has been watching the Olympics. Go on by saying, these athletes are the best in the world, but do you think they still practice? (yes, of course) Why? …because the more you practice, the better you will become. And if you stop practicing, you will simply retrogress any progress you’ve made.
There’s a video on my blog from the Def Poetry jam and a major aspect of what a teacher can do is “make a C+ feel like a congressional honor and make an A- feel like a slap in the face– how dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best” There is definitely a way to make even a struggling student feel good about their accomplishments and I think it varies based on students. Everyone reacts to feedback, compliments, and constructive criticism differently– it’s part of at teacher’s job to understand which student can handle which form.