One important aspect of growing emotional capacity is the personal knowledge each learner has about what they find motivating, be it intrinsic or extrinsic. To accomplish this, learners can set personal goals that can be realistically reached, as well as foster positive beliefs that their goals can be met. However, learners also need to be supported to deal with frustration and anxiety when they are in the process of meeting their goals. Multiple options can be embedded into the learning environment to support learners to find inspiration in the learning process and to develop confidence in themselves as learners.

• Use prompts, reminders, guides, rubrics, and checklists that focus on:

  • Setting regulatory goals like managing anxiety in response to challenge
  • Increasing the length of on-task orientation in the face of distractions
  • Elevating the frequency of self-reflection

• Provide coaches, mentors, or agents that model the process of setting personally appropriate goals that take into account both strengths and weaknesses.

• Support activities that encourage self-reflection and appreciation of one’s strengths in order to build confidence.

• Examine the explicit and implicit expectations set by the environment and consider how bias may create barriers, such as low expectations or expecting every learner to demonstrate engagement in the same way.