I thought I'd get an entry going on the "Confidence and Well-being" session. I couldn't make it, so I'm interested to know some more about this. Maybe we could use this space to exchange our thoughts on it.
I feel that when I explain to people who don't work in FE what I do (when I say I teach English or Communication they often have some fantastical idea of me holding court around a small group of bookish, eager and able students) that I use the phrase "confidence-building" a lot. And yes, when I think about it, I spend a lot of time encouraging and supporting students who often have low self-esteem. Of course, my degree or, to be honest, my PGCE, didn't provide me with any in-depth training in this. Like a lot of what we do in FE, it seems to be something what we pick up along the way.
So, yes, confidence and well-being are, without doubt, important (would we argue otherwise?). What I'd like to know more about is how, on a very practical level, we can work on these skills with students in a more structured, conscious and, of course, meaningful way.
What would a confidence and well-being programme of study look like? Would there even be a programme of study? What kind of activities would it involve? Would it be integrated across all points of delivery (this seems, at a gut level, to make sense)? Or would it be a stand-alone programme? What CPD do we need to take this forward if we want to?
These questions may all have been dealt with at the meeting, but the blog might be a good place to archive folk's ideas by replying to my entry by clicking on "comment" below.
Here's the link that Karen provided: http://www.centreforconfidence.co.uk/projects.php?p=cGlkPTM4
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I think one of the interesting things here , that according to the research it is counter-productive to focus on students' self-esteem . Indicators are that teachers can not improve self-esteem but can damage it further. The focus from the seminar was on the ways in which we can help students challenge their mindsets and move from a fixed notion of their capabilities to a growth mindset.
The research from Glasgow University focussed on 4 ten minutes sessions with students which challenged their mindsets . We could do this in induction and through tutorials. The lecturers changed the format of their feedback: including reminders that learning takes time and effort, students who put time and effort in get there eventually, and making use of the feedback is eessential in helping them develop their skills. We could definately adapt our feedback sheets to incorporate similair comments.
The focus is definately on giving good, critical feedback and emphasising that learning at times is a struggle , but with effort and support you cam make progress.
I think there is a lot we can do without increasing our workload. It could mean changing induction a bit, perhaps running a series of workshops on mindets , motivation, goal setting etc. and altering our feedback slightly.
I think it's worth investigating further, particularly as Napier has been running a piot scheme with their students over the last couple of years. Maybe we could get some feedback from them ?
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