Learning is a challenging process and a sense of confidence in one’s abilities to succeed is an important aspect of student engagement and success. Confidence can be challenging for any learner transitioning to university. For example:
- Students directly out of high school may be familiar with digitally enhanced learning but may feel overwhelmed with time management.
- First in family students may have no frame of reference to draw on and may be unfamiliar with the language and systems of a university.
- Students who are returning to study later in life or embarking on new careers may be juggling competing demands and struggle with new ways of learning – especially the online learning experience.
- Indigenous students may feel a sense of dislocation or impostership if they do not see their culture and ways of knowing reflected in the university and learning environment.
- International students may be adjusting to new ways of learning such as social and peer learning, online rather than in person learning and new language and cultural adjustments, including missing friends and family at home.
For all learners, being at university involves development of a new identity as a university student. Two important factors influencing the development of a student identity include self-efficacy and meta-learning.
- Self-efficacy theory is associated with a personal sense of being able to succeed at a given task or achieve a goal. Self-efficacy is related to skills as well as prior experiences. Higher self-efficacy is associated with higher levels of self-confidence, which are important for managing challenges and stresses within academic study. High self-efficacy has also been associated with a personal sense of agency, influence and control in attain successful outcomes. Conversely low self-esteem is associated with feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy, which may impact on further elements of academic identity such as motivation.
- Meta-learning: includes knowledge of self as a learner, knowledge of strategies to positively influence learning, and the ability to recognise when such strategies need to be used. Meta-learning includes time keeping, attending classes, organisation, taking notes, using effective research skills to gather information, managing academic workloads and assessment deadlines, and the prioritising of commitments. Meta-learning supports student agency and autonomy.
What can you do?
- Community of learners
Opportunities to engage with peers in an informal (non-assessed) way can help students to feel less isolated in their learning. Encouraging students to establish friendships, share lived experiences, goals and aspirations aids in the creation of a community of learners. Tools such as Padlet, Microsoft Teams, and learning groups in PebblePad may be worth considering to promote a sense of community.
- Teacher presence
Helping students feel connected can also be supported by ensuring that as unit coordinator you create a sense of presence in the online environment. This can start with a welcome video and then extend through providing regular times to have contact with students. This could be through the formal lecture time or additional zoom drop-in sessions. This does not mean you have to be available 24/7, but some regular time that students know you will be available can help ease anxiety and help students reach out if needed. You could even use Moodle Choice activity to identify a time that works for most students.
- Self-assessment opportunities
Low risk, informal opportunities to check understanding can easily be created using quizzes, discussion forums and H5P interactives. Moodle lesson adaptive activities can also redirect learners to revisit key information before moving onwards.
- Synchronous opportunities to connect
Taking time at the beginning of a lecture to find out what’s on the top of student’s minds can be a useful way to get to know your learners. You might also consider other ice breaker activities to create a more relaxed atmosphere and create a space for connection and build relationships. Zoom breakout rooms could be used for small group informal sharing or even zoom whiteboards for ice breaker activities. Even polls and ‘race’ style activities that can created using H5P can be based around fun social aspects to get students connecting within synchronous tutorials/lectures.
- Collaborative learning
Opportunities to share developing thinking, problem solve together and generate learning resources are valuable ways for students to build connection and also engage win peer learning. Padlet, forums and Zoom whiteboards are examples of some collaboration tools that can be embedded within the LMS.
- Promoting meta-learning
Helping students understand their own learning process can be a valuable part of the teaching process within a unit. Self-reflection opportunities provide students with an opportunity to touch base with their learning; finding out what works for them and what strategies they use that are not so helpful. For example, a SWOT analysis based on identifying personal learning strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats could be completed on a forum, Teams Form, PebblePad or using H5P text response activities.
- Pedagogical design
Pedagogical design of the unit can enhance student confidence if it provides opportunity for peer learning, utilising lived experiences and engagement in authentic learning experiences. For example, you could explore place-based pedagogies, experiential learning, team-based learning (TBL) or work-integrated learning. Systems such as PebblePad can be particularly useful with these different pedagogical approaches.
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If you would like to explore any of these ideas further contact a Learning Designer of Educational Support Officer: learningdesign@une.edu.au.
Share any what you already do to enhance learner confidence by adding a comment or contacting Dr Nic Dunham Digital Capability Builder ndunham@une.edu.au
Image credits: Photo by Brian Wangenheim on Unsplash