14 Confidence for working in on-line environments Despite the fact that most tutors and teachers have adapted to the new situation, a large number of them have faced a loss of self-confidence in their work. While some teachers are eagerly awaiting a return to normal, it is increasingly likely that in the future, from now on, blended learning will be used in most cases. The future lies in combination of classroom teaching with self-study materials, digital teaching resources and online lectures. The development of pedagogic skills and competencies for blended learning is no longer an option but a necessity for all teachers who do not want to face a lack of self-efficacy and self - confidence. Self-efficacy refers to one’s confidence in their ability to perform a task (Bandura, 1977). Selfefficacy is situation specific, so while we may have high self-efficacy when it comes to traditional pedagogical methods, we can have equally low self-efficacy for online or hybrid teaching. Our individual assessment of our competence to teach, and our confidence to overcome the barriers to doing so, represents our self-efficacy for new teaching styles. While faculty have all shown that they can teach online or hybrid, tutors don’t necessarily feel confident that they’re doing it well. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory suggests there are four major sources for building confidence to perform and persevere at a task: ● mastery experience ● vicarious experience ● verbal persuasion and ● emotional arousal. Based on these sources of self-efficacy, there are a few practical strategies that tutors can use to build confidence and competence for blended learning and on-line teaching. Mastery experiences Succeeding at specific tasks can boost our self-confidence and likelihood of achieving success at similar tasks. In other words, small changes can ultimately lead to big victories. This requires setting realistic, achievable goals and practicing resilience in the face of failures. Instead of trying every new technological strategy or feature that is available, try just one at a time. Today you might try to use Zoom breakout rooms. Make it a small part of class so that if it flops, the entire class doesn’t have to be scrapped. It may take you one or five class periods to achieve complete success with breakout rooms, but once you do, it can be fully integrated into your class and you can build on that success to try something else. With each small success you achieve a mastery experience that builds your confidence, until eventually, you feel totally competent and confident using a variety of technology-based teaching methods. You may experience failures along the way, but by setting reasonable goals, those small challenges do not ruin an entire class. Instead of becoming overwhelmed and feeling pressure to try every new app or technique that is suggested to improve online
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