Instruction

Evidence-based Strategies - Examples, Research and Tools

Strategy h: Promote the development of students’ self-efficacy (i.e. beliefs about their ability to be successful students) by providing mastery experiences early on, inviting graduates or peers to share their strategies for success, etc.

Examples

We are the Three Musketeers
Hyacinth Bewry
This student author presents an account of her struggle to finish a Certified Nursing Assistant program and the fellow students who helped her through.

Research

Is Goal Setting Primary to Every Student?
Susan Bubp
In this practitioner research study, groups of current and former students were asked about what makes them stay and succeed in their studies. Findings show that supportive relationships with teachers and peers was the overriding factor and that up-front goal-setting is not effective for all students.

Self-Efficacy
Albert Bandura
An introduction to the topic of self-efficacy that addresses the meaning of the term, its role in helping people persist in their pursuits, and the ways it develops across the lifespan.

Self-efficacy
Silja Kallenbach
This two-pager defines self-efficacy and outlines the four key strategies for supporting its development.

Tools

Life Success for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Teacher Guide
The Frostig Center
This resource is based on a 20-year longitudinal research project to identify the factors that lead to positive life outcomes in persons with learning disabilities. A qualitative analysis revealed a set of “success attributes” that include: self-awareness/self-acceptance of the learning disability, proactivity, perseverance, emotional stability, appropriate goal setting, and the presence and use of effective social support systems. Though addressed to parents, the site includes activities that can be adapted to support these attributes in adults.