Breaking through Imposter Syndrome In Academia

“Any questions? No question is too small…No? Alright, let’s move on.”

It’s not enough for professors to simply ask students for general questions at the end of each lecture, particularly in an online environment. In a live class, we can see nonverbal communication that indicates confusion or frustration and that is completely lost in an online modality. We, therefore, have to be even more intentional to structure ways to address student understanding safely.

Undergraduate and graduate students experiencing imposter syndrome feel like they are intellectually inferior, and that everyone else understands the assignments except them. This feeling of phoniness can have a significant impact on their mental health, productivity, and overall sense of well-being. Over time, these feelings can sabotage a student’s confidence and even stop them from pursuing their career ambition.

In my classes, I’ve found that imposter syndrome disproportionately affects minority students of color. The research supports my experience and in this article, I will explain how I broke through to reach my students who were silently suffering.

Create a culture where questions are normalized

Creating an environment where students can easily ask and answer questions takes a little extra time but is well worth the effort. In an online environment, you can effectively create a question-based culture in both synchronous and asynchronous environments using polls, discussion boards, low-stakes quizzes, and surveys throughout a module. You should create a mix of both simple and complex questions while also addressing common misconceptions.

One of the easiest and most effective ways to address common misconceptions is an FAQ section and an open Q&A board where anyone can answer a question. It’s important to remember that students are often working alone without support and it’s hard to get their questions answered at the moment when they are doing the work.

The most successful technique I’ve found to foster understanding is called “The Muddiest Point”. After sharing a challenging topic, I ask all of my students to write a 1-minute response to a prompt around what is most unclear or confusing to them. This is an ungraded assignment that allows me to take action in the areas that students need further clarification. It’s important to take the time to really analyze the results from these exercises and perhaps find a different way to explain the topic that is confusing the students.

In a synchronous environment, you can gauge understanding by waiting at least 10 seconds after asking a question instead of calling on the first person who raises their hand. This is a technique I always use in my classes and I explain to the students why I do it. This gives students who are shy or need a minute to reflect before answering. If I see that too few hands are being raised it’s an indication that I might want to revisit the material or rephrase the question. Or, try asking all students to reply in the chat and then pick out a few answers to share. But don’t stop there. Try asking the student who answers to share more about how they got to that answer so that all students can better understand and learn from the response. As a side-note, I tend to get much more thoughtful responses with this technique versus calling on the first student to raise their hand.

Invite Students to Learn More

Hosting office hours is required for most professors but students are often too intimidated to attend. We have to do a better job of intentionally inviting students to learn more to help overcome their imposter syndrome.

Starting last fall, I began taking additional time during my classes to talk about why students should attend my office hours. I also started talking about imposter syndrome to debunk the thoughts that students are alone in their misunderstanding. Also, I use valuable class time to make real attempts to reach my silently suffering students:

“This material is hard. It’s not too late to catch up….”

“you can do hard things….I’m here to help you.”

In addition to drop-in office hours, host optional online clinics to review material and answer questions. I’ve found that some students simply want to be a fly on the wall and not engage directly with a professor.

Sounds like a lot of Work?

A colleague recently observed one of my classes where I reviewed feedback from a student survey and addressed student misunderstandings. Afterwards, my colleague remarked that she would never want to do a student survey because students would have too much to say. I believe this is an outdated way of thinking and if we are teaching for impact and outcomes we have to listen to our students and adjust our approach. It may take some additional work but isn’t that our job?

My Outcomes

The results from implementing the changes outlined in this article astounded me; more than 20 students came to my office hours that first week. This was shocking to me not only because it was a 700% increase in office hour attendance but also because the students who attended were 95% minority students of color.

The changes in the student’s background environment also surprised me. My ‘typical’ office hours attendee would zoom into office hours from their quiet, empty bedrooms but these students were zooming in from crowded hallways, their cars, and cramped homes with multiple people behind them talking at the same time. It hadn’t crossed my mind before that maybe these students didn’t come to office hours because it was harder for them to attend due to physical constraints. Reaching these students really excites me!

I began seeing immediate results. All of a sudden, because of a few words I said in class my students were suddenly real and vulnerable with me:

“I know that I should understand this but I’ve watched all the lectures and I still don’t get it.”

“I’m really lost.”

“I have no idea what I’m doing and I want to contribute to my team but I don’t know how.”

It felt like I unlocked something big. In ten years of teaching college, I’d never heard this level of vulnerability from my students before. I watched in wonder as the lightbulbs turned on as I tried different ways to reach each student. The pride on their faces as they absorbed the material was the best! I felt more like a teacher in those moments than I ever had in my life. I was closing the gap!

Wrap-up

Imposter syndrome in academia is all too common. Professors can help students shed their imposter syndrome by implementing intentional practices to identify areas of confusion and address them. It’s not hard, but you will have to spend some time and perhaps adjust your approach. The impact and outcomes are worth it.

Joy Griffin is an award-winning entrepreneur educator dedicated to helping Gen Y and Z Succeed.