was discussing interpretation of data with yanni this morning, and we came upon a quote that touches on 信心 confidence. but where does it belong? a quick search placed it under beliefs, specifically self-beliefs.
and how is confidence related to learning? chanced upon Saga Briggs’ article, where she cited Kansas State U’s Professor Candice Shoemaker:
“Confidence is a measure of one’s belief in one’s own abilities and is considered a psychological trait that is related to, but distinct from, both personality and ability traits,” she says. “An interrelated construct is ‘self-efficacy,’ which refers to a person’s belief in one’s capabilities to learn or perform behaviors. Research shows that self-efficacy influences academic motivation, learning, and achievement. “
Briggs added, “Although confidence and self-efficacy are interrelated, she says, a defining aspect of self-efficacy, which distinguishes it from the more general construct of confidence, is its domain-specific nature.”
so in summary, confidence is a one’s belief in oneself without a specific domain, and self-efficacy treats confidence in the learning domain. and since self-efficacy may affect learner’s motivation, the act of learning, and achievement in learning, it shows how important a learner gains confidence 信心 while s/he learn. yes, a related qn would be how do we build/increase confidence of a learner? this is something important to explore, next (：
(acknowledgement: geralt)