Many struggling learners are not lacking ability—they are lacking confidence. Repeated academic challenges, frustration, fear of failure, and learned helplessness can cause students to disengage from learning, avoid academic risks, and question their own abilities. Educators play a critical role in helping students rebuild confidence, develop resilience, and experience meaningful success through intentional support, encouragement, and effective instructional practices.

This 10-hour CTLE course provides educators with practical, research-informed strategies for understanding student motivation and implementing instructional practices that promote confidence, perseverance, and engagement. Participants will explore the causes of student disengagement, recognize the signs of learned helplessness, examine growth mindset principles, encourage student ownership of learning, and develop systems that celebrate incremental success while fostering long-term resilience.

Throughout the course, participants will examine:

• Factors that influence student motivation and disengagement

• Recognizing learned helplessness and strategies for addressing it

• Growth mindset practices that encourage perseverance and resilience

• Creating meaningful opportunities for students to experience success

• Goal-setting and progress-monitoring strategies that increase motivation

• Building student ownership, responsibility, and self-advocacy

• Confidence-building strategies that encourage persistence

• Relationship-centered practices that strengthen engagement and motivation

• Long-term approaches for promoting resilience and academic success

• Developing intervention plans that support struggling learners across diverse educational settings

Participants will reflect on their current instructional practices and develop practical intervention strategies, motivational supports, and confidence-building resources that can be implemented immediately in their classrooms. Assignments are designed to be manageable, classroom-focused, and directly connected to real-world educational practice. Special attention is given to helping educators create supportive learning environments where students develop confidence, embrace challenges, celebrate growth, and experience success through meaningful learning opportunities.