Self-Efficacy in Practice

Example: “Self-efficacy is your belief in your own capability to plan and organize your actions to attain what you want.”

Example: “One part of self-efficacy is to know that we can get better at things when we keep trying. What’s something you had to work at to be good at? Another part of self-efficacy is to know that you can have a goal or dream and have a good chance of making those come true. Do you know of anyone who had a dream and it came true? If you believe you are in control of situations and outcomes and nobody or nothing else is, then achieving goals is more likely.”

Example: “We all know people who think they can’t do something even before they try. Self-efficacy isn’t something we are born with and inside us. It’s an attitude we learn that helps us do well at sports, school, jobs, making friends, and other areas of our life. They don’t realize that it takes doing small steps not one big leap to get what they want.”

Example: Ask students to think of past accomplishments and how they felt about them. Tell them to think of those things they’ve done well when striving to achieve. Give students a series of small tasks to gain a series of successes and opportunities to view self-efficacy in action (e.g., movie clips, guest speakers).

Example: Encourage them to compare their achievements to themselves and not others.

Example: Counter negative mindsets with positive phrasing and explain how being optimistic can help get through difficult times. One research-based exercise is to tell students to write down reasons on a piece of paper about why they can’t be successful in the classroom and assure them that no one will see what they write. Then tell them to ceremoniously rip up the paper and put it in the trashcan. You could also ask students to write down reasons why they can be successful and tell them to keep those in their backpack, desk, or other close place.

Example: Use maxims, e.g., “Inch by inch, life’s a cinch” or quotes, “If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” (Mahatma Gandhi).

Example: Model self-efficacy and show the steps you took in accomplishment or problem solving, e.g., “To be a teacher, I had to take college classes. Then, I practice teaching in someone else’s classroom. When I came to this school, I studied the textbooks and came up with lesson plans. Then, I used those plans and made changes along the way because some things worked and some things didn’t work that well.”