Who isn't looking to develop resilience in students, right?! It's a growing concern that even colleges and universities are starting to flag up. Some possible reasons for the gradual demise of resilience in our young people could be down to "helicopter parents", increase in mental health issues or perhaps a screwed up school system which doesn't give our students the opportunities to solve their own problems. Even though we might not be able to control the system in place, we can control our own classrooms and we can make an impact on those students we teach.
​Keep reading for 3 simple solutions to help you develop resilience in your own students!
​Keep reading for 3 simple solutions to help you develop resilience in your own students!
What is resilience first of all, and why do we want our students to have this value?
Resilience is the ability to manage difficulties and bounce back from the bumps of every day life. Not only is this a crucial quality when in school (oh the dramas!) but it's a life long skill that we all need to be developing.
Resilience is the ability to manage difficulties and bounce back from the bumps of every day life. Not only is this a crucial quality when in school (oh the dramas!) but it's a life long skill that we all need to be developing.
What are some ways we can help our students develop resilience?
​1) Allow to them solve problems independently.
Now, I'm not saying to abandon our students and leave them to it! Of course we can help, coach, guide and encourage them along the way, however we have to try and let them find their own solutions to problems (and this is both in class and in their personal lives!). We also need to normalise struggle and failure. So often students think just because they struggle or fail at something it "just isn't for them", but that couldn't be further from the truth! If it's challenging them it's changing them and we need to celebrate that struggle and growth. We need to encourage them to be the ones to take action and solve the problems independently as that's where growth is and that's where confidence comes from. Speaking of.... see the next point!
2) Help them develop confidence.
Get them to identify their strengths. One way to do it is with these achievement pennants below. You can find them in this "self-esteem" pack which also contains lots of other useful resources to help build your students' confidence, plus if you're a fan of my quote colouring pennants, I have some of them specifically for self-esteem too!
​1) Allow to them solve problems independently.
Now, I'm not saying to abandon our students and leave them to it! Of course we can help, coach, guide and encourage them along the way, however we have to try and let them find their own solutions to problems (and this is both in class and in their personal lives!). We also need to normalise struggle and failure. So often students think just because they struggle or fail at something it "just isn't for them", but that couldn't be further from the truth! If it's challenging them it's changing them and we need to celebrate that struggle and growth. We need to encourage them to be the ones to take action and solve the problems independently as that's where growth is and that's where confidence comes from. Speaking of.... see the next point!
2) Help them develop confidence.
Get them to identify their strengths. One way to do it is with these achievement pennants below. You can find them in this "self-esteem" pack which also contains lots of other useful resources to help build your students' confidence, plus if you're a fan of my quote colouring pennants, I have some of them specifically for self-esteem too!
So many times our students are quick to point out the negative within themselves. However, having them take the time to really think about their good qualities and skills and then put them on display somewhere (either in the classroom or somewhere personal) will really help build their confidence over time as they focus on the good!
Sometimes though, you may find you need to go back a step and be their personal cheerleader first before they can see the good within themselves. In cases like that, a great technique is to focus on their positive actions and mentality!
​One way to do this is to reward them when you notice them using a Growth Mindset - this will encourage them to be aware of their thinking and to choose their thoughts and responses to difficulties more carefully. These Growth Mindset reward table tents are an easy and effective way of helping your students recognise positive actions:
Sometimes though, you may find you need to go back a step and be their personal cheerleader first before they can see the good within themselves. In cases like that, a great technique is to focus on their positive actions and mentality!
​One way to do this is to reward them when you notice them using a Growth Mindset - this will encourage them to be aware of their thinking and to choose their thoughts and responses to difficulties more carefully. These Growth Mindset reward table tents are an easy and effective way of helping your students recognise positive actions:
3) Give them choice.
This ties in both allowing students to solve their own problems and building confidence. Our students are usually always having decisions made for them and constantly being told what to do - at home and at school! I personally like to help develop their independence and encourage them to take ownership over their choices. One simple way to do that is by giving them freedom with homework assignments and let them present work in any format they feel comfortable in (poem, art, essay, presentation etc). This helps build resiliency as they realise they can achieve when they are able to use their personal strengths to reach a goal.
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​I hope those 3 tips have been helpful in getting you on your way to help build resilience in your students! If you want even more support with developing resilience and want to take your students on the full journey, then you can download this pack which contains a ready made PowerPoint leading you through the course as well as some printable pages for students to complete and then display in class. These work particularly well for morning meetings / homeroom / tutor time / advisory classes where you have that free time to talk about important topics outside of curriculum! |
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And of course, my signature quote colouring pages are also available with quotes to do with resilience that are great for quiet mindful reflection time and also work great as classroom decor once completed!
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Thanks for reading! If you found this valuable leave a comment below or share it out!
Resilience is such an important value for our young people to have. We need to teach them how to develop resilience in order that are successful in school, but even more importantly, successful in life.
Feel free to download a free self esteem colouring pennant:
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