These days, when I walk into a classroom, I have tremendous confidence — probably too much. It’s bred from experience, as I’ve been teaching at Wharton since 2009 and have cumulatively lectured to thousands of students. But sometimes, unfortunately, my confidence has led me to under-prepare for a presentation, and I’ve been caught flat-footed when pressed on a topic outside my area of expertise. As an assistant professor, though, I had the opposite problem. I spent so much time prepping my slides, memorizing student names and anticipating questions that my delivery of material was often stiff. Strangely, I’ve spent the bulk of my teaching career miscalibrated — at first I was under-confident in my abilities, and now I’m over-confident. Why can’t I just get it right?
Thanks for this reflection, Katy. One thing that I’ve seen colleagues modulate to try and strike this balance between over/under confidence is to be continually revamping their courses in some way and tweaking them to change the material or try out new approaches. It strikes me that this “revamp” knob might be a way to help find the balance here. I’ve found that it has worked for me too once I’ve taught a class once or twice.
Thanks for this reflection, Katy. One thing that I’ve seen colleagues modulate to try and strike this balance between over/under confidence is to be continually revamping their courses in some way and tweaking them to change the material or try out new approaches. It strikes me that this “revamp” knob might be a way to help find the balance here. I’ve found that it has worked for me too once I’ve taught a class once or twice.