Students who are self-starters can feel like a gift in and to our classroom. These students are motivated, proactive, and independent. They take initiative and seek ownership, including in their learning, and they typically have high expectations and clear goals for their achievement.
Unfortunately, self-starting behaviors are far from universal in most classrooms. Several factors may be influencing this reality. For many students, the school experience is one in which they are expected to wait until told what to do and when to do it. Starting early, not waiting for directions, or otherwise showing initiative may offer few rewards. Sometimes, our expectations and behaviors can inadvertently discourage self-starting behaviors.
Meanwhile, the absence of self-starting behaviors seems to be even more pronounced following the pandemic. Some people speculate that when students were at home, their parents or guardians may have provided extensive support, detailed direction, and close supervision that fostered over-dependence. Others propose that isolation during the pandemic may have undermined some students’ confidence. Still others wonder if the absence of urgency and expectations for immediate engagement may have left students less focused and organized, less able to prioritize, and more reluctant to immediately perform assigned tasks.
Regardless of what may be contributing circumstances, experts point to at least five common causes for a lack of self-starting behaviors:
- Absence of clear expectations. Students may be reluctant to begin a task because they lack a clear understanding of what to do, how to do it, and what defines success.
- Over-dependency on others. Students may be accustomed to waiting for someone to show them how perform a task, having someone constantly checking to ensure each step is correct, or regularly being reminded of their responsibilities.
- Low levels of confidence. Students may be afraid that starting without detailed directions and expectations will mean that they will misstep, embarrass themselves, or be perceived as not being capable.
- Feeling overwhelmed. The introduction of a new, complex, multi-step task may seem like too much to process. Students may not know where to begin or how to break the task into manageable steps and pieces.
- Lack of motivation. Some students may be reluctant to invest energy in a task because they see no relevance or value in the process or outcome.
So, how can we teach and encourage students to be self-starters? Here are ten tips to consider and try:
- Establish routines. Consistency and predictability can give students a level of comfort to move forward with familiar procedures without feeling the need to always check, confirm, and seek permission.
- Provide clear directions and expectations. Be certain that students have the learning skills and tools to succeed. Teach and have students practice organizing, prioritizing, and sequencing multi-part tasks so they can learn and work independently.
- Break tasks into manageable parts. Students can become overwhelmed with too much complexity. Breaking processes into clear, low-risk steps can give students clarity and comfort to move forward.
- Avoid distractions. When presenting projects and tasks to be completed, avoid unrelated information, disconnected examples, and distracting stories that can introduce confusion and paralyze students from getting started.
- Build learning ownership. Provide students with options and choices. Offer flexibility in how students may approach and complete tasks. Where practical, encourage creativity and experimentation.
- Normalize mistakes. Reinforce that mistakes are natural companions to learning. Focus on what can be learned from missteps rather than punish or shame in response to errors.
- Build confidence. Remind students of their skills and strengths. It can be helpful to note their past successes. Share with students your belief that they can do it and that you will be there to support them.
- Focus on process over product. Coach students to give their attention to how to accomplish a task or perform a skill to build their competence and confidence. Ultimately, if students get the process correct, the product will take care of itself.
- Encourage positive self-talk. Affirmations can be powerful confidence builders. Visualizing success can lower anxiety and counter reluctance.
- Tap intrinsic motivation. Tapping into student interests, goals, curiosity, and values can make getting started easier and the work more rewarding. Even better, emphasize with students the power they possess to motivate themselves. Once developed, the ability to self-motivate can quickly become a superpower.
Learning to be a self-starter not only offers a powerful advantage in school and with learning, but self-starting can also be a lifelong success generator. We may need to shift some of our practices. We may occasionally need to expand our patience. We may even need to tolerate occasional false starts. However, the long-term benefit of helping students to become self-starters will be more than worth the effort.
