College Educator Workshops & Conferences

Student Success, Retention & Engagement | On Course

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • Educator
    Workshops
    • Campus Workshops
    • National Workshops
  • On Course
    Textbook
  • Educator
    Resources
    • New Book! Engaging Learners through Zoom
    • Best Practices
    • Video Gallery
    • Workshop Strategies
    • OC Syllabus Collection
    • OC Campus Innovations
    • Articles
  • Clients
    & Testimonials
    • Clients
    • Testimonials
  • Evidence
    • Institutional Studies
    • Research Citations
    • Bibliography for On Course
  • About
    • History
    • Principles
    • Facilitators
    • Ambassadors
  • Contact

Revising Negative Self-Images

I am a huge supporter of the On Course text and use it frequently when advising and giving workshops to freshmen and new transfers. I have an activity, used often by counseling psychologists, that I use quite often in one-on-one advising sessions but would also be applicable in groups as well. As we all well know, a student’s academic performance can often hampered by a lack of self-confidence or poor self-esteem. These forces, powerful enough to weaken even the most academically gifted student’s performance, are capable of distorting one’s core beliefs and self-image to the point that a permanent Victim role is created in the mind of the student. The following activity is helpful in making students aware that the creation of this negative self-image is often of their own doing, and, as such, must be overcome in order to develop academic and personal confidence. The exercise goes as follows:

1. Have students list their negative characteristics (5-10).
2. Have students list their positive characteristics (5-10).
3. On the list of negative characteristics, have students place a check next to those that they perceived themselves and did not hear attributed to them by someone else.
4. On the list of positive characteristics, have students place a check next to those that are attributed to them by other people (parents, teachers, friends).

For students with low self-esteem, it is most often the case that negative characteristics are their own perception and positive characteristics are those heard from someone else. Students now have a tangible accounting on paper of the fact they are quite often their own worst enemy, and, if so many other people have positive things to say about them, then there must be some credibility to it. The goal is then to have students re-evaluate their self perceptions and recognize the positive qualities that others see in them. This activity is often best used as a springboard to a discussion of the rationality of one’s core beliefs about themselves and to the process of reframing one’s own impressions to a more positive model. It works very well with discussions of the Inner Defender, Inner Critic, and Creator versus Victim language. As the old adage goes….some things have to be seen to be believed. Quite often though, things have to be believed to be seen.

–Bill Elliott, Academic Advisor, University of Maryland Baltimore County, MD

Institutional Studies

Read compelling data from twenty seven colleges and universities using the On Course textbook.

 

These studies demonstrate increases in retention, success and persistence rates as high as 27%.

Book a Workshop!

We have 12 engaging campus workshops and keynote offerings addressing a wide range of student success topics.

 

Contact us for more information!

On Campus Workshops

Bring On Course Professional Development to Your Campus
Workshops can be held virtually or in person!

Interactive Workshops are Ideal
for All Educators

On Course Logo

Workshop Testimonials

In my 31 years of teaching this was the best and most critically needed of any workshop I have ever attended.
Susan Duncan
Faculty, Humanities
El Camino College, CA
I am so impressed with how well thought out and integrated every aspect of the workshop is!
Kendal Friedman
Director, Student Success
Rider University, NJ
I am going back to campus more empowered and energized.
Tyrone Davidson
Director, Undergraduate Advising
Missouri U of Science & Technology, MO
Since first attending one of the summer retreats in 1997, I’ve held nine On Course workshops for our college, and I plan to offer more.
Philip Rodriquez
Director, Student Affairs
Cerritos College, CA
Thank you for making me a better teacher.
Gregory Walker
Faculty, Anatomy and Physiology
El Camino College Compton Center, CA
I arrived as a skeptic, but by the end of the first day I was converted. These strategies are practical and timely. I am looking forward to implementing them in my courses.
Rodney R. Brooks
Faculty, Accounting
Glendale Community College, AZ
This workshop should be required for all faculty, staff, and administrators.
Lamar McWaine
Student Life Coordinator
San Jacinto College, TX
Our college needs to offer this workshop for all faculty, full and part-time.
John McGill
Associate Dean, Biology
York Technical College, SC
I have attended a lot of workshops and conferences–On Course is by far the best!
Debbie Alford,
Director, Title III and Success Center
Southwestern Illinois College, IL
This was an awesome experience for an educator who was burning out!
Shay Jones
Faculty, Foundational Studies
Harrisburg Area Community College, PA

Copyright © 2025 On Course Workshop | All Rights Reserved