3 minute read
TRANSITIONING FROM COACH TO CHEERLEADER: HELPING YOUR STUDENT REACH NEW HEIGHTS
ROXANA SAMANIEGO, PH.D.
Director of Clinical Services
Each summer at the SALT Center student enrollment event, we discuss the challenge facing parents and supporters—how to move from coach to cheerleader. This change can be both exciting and daunting but for students to go beyond what they have known in the past, they must take the driver's seat in their own educational journey. For both families and students this transition can be difficult, but it can also foster immense growth allowing students to develop their sense of self-efficacy and build their confidence as capable college students.
A key aspect of this journey is supporting students' everyday self-advocacy skills. From disclosing learning needs to others, to speaking up in group projects, to navigating university housing – there are hundreds of small, everyday tasks that require persistence and self-advocacy. And these experiences may be just as valuable as advocating for their legal rights and accommodations. It is in these moments of everyday self-advocacy that students can truly go beyond their comfort level and own their educational experience.
While the research on self-advocacy is extensive, at the SALT Center we choose to focus on two core areas that our students often struggle with: self-awareness and communication. We help students develop these skills through practices that:
Build Self-Knowledge
We work closely with students to help them understand their strengths and needs, both personally and as learners. When students gain this awareness, they are much more likely to recognize the need for and practice self-advocacy.
Explore Learning Strategies
We help students identify and practice learning strategies that play to their unique cognitive profiles and learning styles. This empowers them to take charge of their academic success.
Cultivate a Growth Mindset
We try to instill a growth mindset in our students - the belief that their abilities are not fixed, but can be developed through effort and persistence. This mindset shift is transformative, enabling students to approach challenges as opportunities for growth.
Parents and other supporters can continue to play a crucial, though often less direct, role in fostering their student’s self-advocacy by implementing practices that:
Promote a Progress-Focused Attitude
Challenge negative beliefs that your student might have about themselves, such as not being “good" at certain subjects. Instead, encourage your student to not compare themselves to others, but rather acknowledge the improvement in their own performance.
Help Them Face Their Challenges
Help your student "avoid avoidance" of their challenges, cheering for them when they face their fears or difficulties. Encourage them to be brave and imperfectly try new things.
Encourage Them to Persist
Encourage students to persist through failures and offer to brainstorm with them when they don’t get the outcome they wanted. Remind them that our best learning often comes from struggle.
By adopting this pattern, supporters can be confident that their students don’t need saving because they are learning how to save themselves. This cheerleading approach helps students develop a clear understanding of their needs and the confidence to advocate for themselves. It is the foundation for students understanding that they too can go well beyond what they ever imagined they could do.
