Where I am and Where I Want to Go

Topic:

Building students' self-efficacy regarding reading comprehension and writing production

My understanding:

  When scholars express self-efficacy, they believe in their abilities to contribute to and execute the task at hand. As an English educator, I must work to generate my students' confidence in their many independent abilities. Reading and writing literacies, such as filtering and applying information made available in a text, as well as producing writing that conveys intention are imperative to life beyond secondary ed. Often, frustrations formed over time contribute to a lack of confidence in reading and writing, so much so that many students learn to despise 'capital-E-'English altogether.  At the end of the day, none of us are ever free from this world-- after my class, my students will continue to navigate and define these literacies in many unique applications. The question stands: Will they have the confidence to support and defend their understanding? Will they be able to confidently share their claims with peers? Self-efficacy is rooted in intrinsic motivation as well as a nurturing class environment and is a vital aspect of forming the literacies necessary to navigate reading and writing throughout the rest of a person's life.

Further questions:

For future research, should I hone in on either reading or writing? 

How can I expand my confidence-building techniques? How can I make sure that these techniques are accessible to all learners?

What techniques are useful for supporting students with a very depleted sense of self-efficacy? How can I make these opportunities to build confidence motivating to students who feel that it is unimportant for their future?

Are there multimodal formats that I can utilize to promote reading and writing confidence in and out of the classroom? 

Sources for future research:

The Reading and Writing Self-efficacy Beliefs of Students with Discrepant Reading and Writing Performance

Examining High School Students’ Writing Self-efficacy Perceptions

Understanding Interest and Self-Efficacy in the Reading and Writing of Students with Persisting Specific Learning Disabilities during Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence

Understanding the Interplay Between Text Quality, Writing Self-efficacy and Writing Anxiety in Learners With and Without Migration Background

Self-Efficacy: A Key to Literacy Learning