Fostering Confidence

A recent news item from National Geographic, "Evolution of Narcissism: Why We’re Overconfident, and Why It Works" has important implications for schools, educators and parents. Confidence is hardly a novel concept, particularly in education; many teachers are already aware of Bernard Weiner’s Attribution Theory. But, how many teachers make internalizing confidence explicit in their classrooms? And how many parents are aware of Attribution Theory, and discuss it at home?

Attribution Theory was one of the many psycho-educational models with which I became familiar in my early days in this profession. Yet, it is one of the few that has stuck with me and directly influences my choices in the classroom. Very, very rarely do I wish my students “luck” on a project or test, or any other endeavor, for that matter. Luck is not in their control, or mine. Why a hard working individual would ever credit their success with luck is beyond my comprehension, and students don’t meet and exceed standards based on luck either. Call me an optimist or a pragmatist; I believe one reaps what they sow. Because of this, I attempt to teach and model this belief for both my students, and my son.

To put it simply, if a student has prepared, practiced, asked questions, asked for more time, taken advantage of re-dos, and/or whatever else they need to do to make progress and learn, they eventually will. Though it may take some longer than others (hello, differentiation), students gain power in the process. They learn that they indeed have control over their learning and begin to internalize confidence. More confidence leads to greater intellectual risk taking, leads to more resilience, more success, and more recognition, which leads to more confidence... A classic reinforcing loop.


The bottom line is that research continues to prove that confidence breeds confidence. The more self-assurance we can help our students and children muster for themselves, the better off they will be.

Bald Eagle by Ryan McFarland @ flickr (CC-BY-2.0)

Conundrum

Whether you are 14 or 40, your identity is at once obvious and obscure - for most people, at least. When deciding on this year's curricular themes with colleagues, there was no inkling how close to home the "identity" theme would end up being for me. As I ask my students to examine and reflect on their own identity through stories, poems, political theories, discussions, human nature, societal influences, music, and many other lenses; little do they realize how much related introspection I do right alongside them, and because of them.

Blame it on the new 1:1 laptop program. I eat, sleep, teach, and talk technology, or so it feels some days. Armed with a dusted-off website, a brand new blog, lots of tenacity, and a healthy dose of naivety, I attempt to stay slightly ahead of my 8th graders, if on a completely different path - the slow lane, if you will. To this end, I recently shared my blog posts with students in a lesson about responsible blogging and commenting. With new rubrics in hand, they read and honestly evaluated my posts, scored each entry, and explained why I earned the score. They complimented some of my word choices and use of metaphors, though resoundingly concluded that the blog audience was not them.

Oh. Right. Audience. The same basic focus I try to instill in their writing day in and day out. Who is my audience? Why am I writing at all? The questions are pretty obvious, though frighteningly not as instinctual as they should be coming from a Language Arts and Social Studies teacher. So, my conundrum is directly related to the monumental shift in thinking about the ways we communicate, collaborate, and connect in the digital world. The options are truly as limitless and as inspiring as any cultural renaissance that has gone before.

The terrific Learning 2.011 technology and education conference held in Shanghai last weekend proved this point exactly, and added plenty of fire to my simmering consternation: Is there a way to be simultaneously protective and authentic online? Do I want my digital identity to be personal, professional, or some gratifying weave of all my life's elements? Wanting to reap the benefits of the educational potential only available by embracing digital connections force me to welcome the riddle and get out there on the digital map to make my humble mark, whatever it may be.

What are your thoughts about digital identity?

Identity TTT by Torie Leinbach @ Personal Collection (CC-BY-NC 2.0)

Pushing the Envelope

The start of the school year is way more thrilling than the start of a calendar year, even if the confetti and crystal balls are replaced with clean uniforms and bulging pencil cases.  Come August, there are always dozens of students to eagerly greet and meet, a multitude of strategies to perfect, lessons to tweak, colleagues to catch up with, and initiatives to implement.  The 2011-12 school year has been more exciting than usual because of the notable number of new projects taken on for the sake of changing times, and our amazing students.

The 1:1 laptop program is one of the noticeable changes in my classroom. My students are like the astronauts, happily exploring previously undiscovered resources and skills that are accessible in the wonderland wonder known as the internet. I am the commander they rely on for some direction. Truthfully, all I really provide is a nudge. The young teenagers are fearless in the vast space of the 2.0 world.

In the 20 or so days since walking in the door of our educational vessel, the students have taken off full blast with any task asked of them so far: blogging, commenting, making and uploading music videos, e-mail, citing, collaborating, completing forms, and note taking.  There have been some technical glitches and false starts, but none have outweighed our collective determination and curiosity.  In a moment of looking back with awe, I find myself especially eager to see what technological and academic adventures the next nine months will bring.


Laptop by Dan Barbus @ flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)