Because how you feel about your teaching matters just as much as how you teach.
Did you know that how you feel about your teaching matters just as much as how you teach?
Let’s be completely transparent for a moment.
Have you ever stood in front of a classroom—virtual or in-person—feeling like the confidence tank was running low and the “I-actually-know-what-I’m-doing” meter was blinking red?
If so, you’re not alone.
Confidence and competence aren’t just nice-to-haves in this academic life—they’re critical. They shape how we teach, how we feel when we teach, and how our students receive and respond to what we’re offering. And let’s be real—when your confidence is shaky and your competence feels questionable, teaching feels more like surviving than thriving.
I want to help you change that.
But first, let’s rewind a little. I need to take you on a brief stroll down memory lane.
Where It All Started: Teaching Dolls and French Poodles
Long before I earned degrees and designed instructional frameworks, I was that little girl who made her dolls and stuffed animals sit still for class in my bedroom. I explained things—everything—to them with passion. My French poodles (yes, two of them!) even had lesson plans.
I loved to teach.
It didn’t matter if I was teaching my cousin a song I wrote so that we could harmonize, or tutoring my cousin in math, or even forcing my little cousin (who ended up being a teacher, principal, and associate superintendent) to learn what I had deemed she needed to know–teaching made me feel alive.
Later, as a first- and second-grade teacher fresh out of college, I was on fire for the classroom. I poured over lesson plans long after the school day ended, not because I had to—but because I wanted to. I wanted my students to wake up excited to learn, and I wanted to create a classroom that felt like family: safe, loving, and alive with curiosity.
But do you know what made those early years so good? I had something that many academics go without today: a mentor and a real, present, powerful community.
Dr. Dorothy “Dottie” Hall—my curriculum coordinator and my literacy mentor—trained me in The Four Blocks framework, modeled lessons in my classroom, answered my questions after school, and scheduled observation days so I could learn from others while she taught my students.
And then there was the sister circle: four wise, wonderful Black women—two teachers, my assistant principal, and a veteran teacher assistant—who became my lifeline. They gave me feedback, encouragement, and the kind of support that reminded me daily, “You belong here.”
Looking back, it’s clear that those two forces—mentorship and community—worked overtime to build what I now know is called teaching self-efficacy.
Wait, What Is Teaching Self-Efficacy?
Glad you asked. 🙂
Self-efficacy, as defined by psychologist Albert Bandura, is the belief in your ability to influence events and accomplish tasks that matter to you. It’s your inner voice saying, “I got this.”
Teaching self-efficacy is that same confidence but applied to your role as an educator. It’s the belief that you can teach effectively and reach your students—all of them.
According to The Education Hub (2019), “Teachers with a high sense of efficacy create mastery experiences for their students, whereas teachers with low instructional self-efficacy undermine students’ cognitive development as well as students’ judgments of their own capabilities.”
So yes, your confidence and competence directly influence how your students think about their own abilities.
Four Factors That Influence Teaching Self-Efficacy
According to The Education Hub and Frontiers in Psychology, there are four primary sources that shape your teaching self-efficacy:
1. Mastery Experiences
These are the real wins in your teaching life—those moments when you tried something new and it worked. In higher ed, that might be redesigning a course module and watching students engage like never before.
2. Vicarious Experiences
This is when you observe others succeed and think, “If they can do it, so can I.” For example, watching a colleague run a dynamic, discussion-based seminar can inspire and inform how you lead your next class.
3. Social or Verbal Persuasion
This involves receiving encouragement, constructive feedback, or simply being told, “You’re doing a great job.” When a department chair, student, or peer affirms your efforts, it boosts your confidence more than you may realize.
4. Physiological and Emotional States
Your physical and emotional well-being play a huge role. If you’re overwhelmed, exhausted, or doubting your place in the academy, your self-efficacy suffers. But when you feel supported, calm, and mentally clear, you teach better. Period.
How Can You Strengthen Your Teaching Self-Efficacy?
The good news? Self-efficacy can be developed—and sustained—with intention. Here’s how:
Engage in Reflective Practice
Reflection helps you identify what’s working and what needs support. Journaling each week about your teaching experiences—your wins, your worries, your aha moments—keeps you connected to your purpose and progress.
Seek Out Mentors and Role Models
Find people in your department (or online) who do what you want to do well. Watch them. Ask questions. Let their success encourage yours.
Build or Join a Supportive Community
Isolation is an academic epidemic. Fight it. Join a circle, a faculty group, or a community of practice where you can share openly, receive feedback, and celebrate growth.
Prioritize Your Emotional Well-Being
Burnout is real, and it’s a self-efficacy killer. Take care of your mind and body. Set boundaries. Say no when needed. Sleep. Eat. Journal. Walk. Breathe. You deserve peace.
(References: The Education Hub, 2019; Frontiers in Psychology, 2021)
Let’s Do This Together: Join The Mindful Academic Challenge
If all of this is resonating with you, I want to invite you to join me and a community of thoughtful, committed educators in something special: The Mindful Academic Challenge.
This free 16-week experience combines reflective practice with the power of community—two essential ingredients for building your teaching self-efficacy. Using The Professor’s Week in Review, my guided journal designed specifically for academics, you’ll reflect weekly on your teaching life with prompts that help you process, plan, and grow.
You’ll get:
- Weekly reminders sprinkled with inspiration
- A nurturing online community
- Encouragement to stay consistent
- And the chance to rediscover your confidence and competence
You can choose from:
Sign up for the challenge by joining the mailing list.
Final Word
Don’t leave your teaching self-efficacy to chance.
In the world of higher ed, where formal mentoring is often missing and community can be hard to find, it’s easy to feel like you have to figure it out alone.
But you don’t.
You can rebuild confidence. You can grow your competence. And you can feel good—really good—about what you bring to the classroom.
Let’s do this together, mindfully, one week at a time.
You in?