You studied, you know the material, and then a question comes up that looks a bit different from what you practised. Your mind goes blank, or you leave it empty. This is where self-confidence matters. In OMZA it is *Zelfvertrouwen*: trusting that you can have a go, even when you are not sure.[^1]
Quick check
- I leave questions blank when they look unfamiliar.
- I often ask the teacher to confirm that my answer is right before I commit.
- I want to know exactly what will be on the test, and feel uneasy when I do not.
- I joke around or act as if I do not care when I feel unsure.
If you recognised yourself, you are not alone, and it is common. Acting like you do not care is one of the usual ways people hide being unsure.[^2]
What confidence actually is
It is not feeling great about yourself in general. It is a belief about a specific task: «I can probably do this one.» That belief shapes what you choose, how hard you try and how long you keep going.[^3] This is useful news: you may be confident in Spanish and shaky in maths. You do not need to fix your whole personality. You need to build trust in one subject, one skill at a time.[^4]
Fix 1: Have a first step for unfamiliar questions
When a question looks new, do not stare at it. Run this routine:
- Rewrite the question in your own words.
- Write down what you know that might be related.
- Try the smallest first step, even if it might be wrong.
- If you are stuck, write what you would try next and move on.
A half-answer with a good idea often earns more than a blank page. More importantly, you practise not freezing.
Fix 2: Build confidence with proof
Confidence comes from experience, not from pep talks. Collect evidence:
- Keep a «done» list: things you solved, even small ones.
- Before a test, do practice questions from easy to a little harder. Notice that you can do them.
- Compare yourself with *your own* results from last month, not with the best student in class. Comparing with others sets a bar that keeps moving.[^5]
Fix 3: Reduce the checking habit
If you always ask «is this right?», try asking yourself first: «How could I check this?» Substitute the numbers back, re-read the question, test an example. Then ask for confirmation. You will often find out you were right, and that proof counts.
Fix 4: Change what you tell yourself about mistakes
Compare these two thoughts after a bad grade:
- «I’m just bad at this.»
- «My method did not work. What can I try instead?»
The first one stops you trying. The second one gives you something to do. Blaming your method keeps you motivated, because you can change a method.[^5]
A warning that is also good news
Being confident does not mean thinking you are perfect. Some students overestimate what they can do, particularly in writing. Aim for *accurate* confidence: knowing what you can already do, knowing what you cannot do yet, and being willing to try anyway.[^6]
This week
Choose one subject where you feel unsure. Do the four-step routine on three questions that look unfamiliar. Write down what happened.
[^1]: DocentPlus describes low self-confidence in class as uncertainty with new material, hesitating to answer, asking many questions, wanting to know exactly what to learn, needing a lot of confirmation, skipping questions that differ from what was practised, or clownish behaviour to hide the uncertainty. Source: DocentPlus, *Breng met OMZA de sociaal-emotionele ontwikkeling & welbevinden van je leerlingen in kaart*, https://docentplus.nl/breng-met-omza-de-sociaal-emotionele-ontwikkeling-welbevinden-van-je-leerlingen-in-kaart/
[^2]: In the RTTI model Zelfvertrouwen is related to a degree to Transfer (T2), applying what you know in a new situation. DocentPlus notes that a student who feels unsure when a question is not recognised may not dare to try anything on such questions.
[^3]: The research term is self-efficacy, from Bandura (1977). In Schunk’s review the idea is that self-efficacy «affects an individual’s choice of activities, effort» and persistence. Schunk, D. H. (1991). Self-efficacy and academic motivation. *Educational Psychologist, 26*(3-4), 207-231.
[^4]: Pajares (1996) reviewed self-efficacy in school and found that measures tied to a specific task predict outcomes better than general ones. Pajares, F. (1996). Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings. *Review of Educational Research, 66*(4), 543-578.
[^5]: Zimmerman (2002) reports that students who compare themselves with others face a constantly rising standard and tend to blame ability, while those who judge themselves against their own goals and blame strategies stay more motivated. He also notes that specific near-term goals raise both achievement and felt capability, and that confidence is part of a cycle in which dissatisfaction can lower confidence next time. Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. *Theory Into Practice, 41*(2), 64-70.
[^6]: Research on students with learning difficulties suggests that, for example in writing, some students may be over-optimistic about their abilities, hence the idea of calibration. See: *A question of calibration: A review of the self-efficacy beliefs of students with learning disabilities*, review article, SAGE Journals, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.2307/1511276