If you’ve taught chemistry long enough, you’ll notice a pattern: students often want to succeed, but they don’t always believe they can. And it often pops up when they realize that chemistry isn’t as easy as their previous science classes. Once they know they’ll have to put in a significant amount of work, they’ll begin to doubt themselves.
But one of the biggest barriers in your classroom isn’t a lack of ability. (Your students didn’t make it to chemistry with good luck alone.) It’s a lack of confidence. And confidence isn’t something that magically appears on test day. It’s built over time through intentional support, targeted practice, and encouragement. Here’s some ways you can help your students feel confident in chemistry.
Normalize the Struggle
Especially when their science scores were high last year, students often think learning chemistry should be simple. Very few adults realize that “science” isn’t really a subject – it’s made of other subjects. Being good at biology, doesn’t mean you’ll do just as well at chemistry with equal effort.
It’s important to teach your students that struggling is part of the process. Chemistry concepts build on each other. And the problem solving skills used through chemistry take time to develop. I often say that learning chemistry is like learning a language. There’s tons of vocab! Plus there’s plenty of new skills to learn, and old skills to develop. When students understand the huge undertaking, they can sympathize a bit and won’t be so hard on themselves. Vocabulary is the first key to building student confidence in chemistry.
I also like to share my personal struggles with chemistry. Specifically organic chemistry. Thank goodness, the small amount of organic that I do teach in high school is very manageable. I let my students know that I dropped organic the first time I took it because I was expected to fail. And then the second time I took it, I got a D. Then I transferred schools and the new school required me to have a C- at minimum. So I had to take it a third time. When my students hear that, they start to feel a bit better about their struggles.
Set Realistic Expectations
I let my students know, based on years of teaching chemistry and evaluating student data, what their expected grade can be. I’ve found that students who put it roughly the same amount of effort into chemistry as they did last year in biology can often see a full letter grade drop. And it’s not because they became any less intelligent. It’s that chemistry is harder. Plus if this student is going to start working, or take up a new sport or is taking other tough classes, it can drop a second letter grade.
This doesn’t only upset my students, but their parents as well. It’s a challenge every year to communicate how different chemistry is from the “soft sciences,” Biology and Earth Science. When these expectations are set early, with both parents and students, it can make the year a bit smoother. Plus students don’t feel so bad when their scores come in lower than they did last year. An A in biology translates to a B in chemistry. It’s only a B because chemistry is harder!
Build a Growth Mindset Culture
Confidence grows when students learn they’re capable of improvement. Encourage them to view challenges as puzzles to be solved rather than obstacles to avoid. Celebrate effort and progress, not just perfect answers. I do this in a variety of ways. First, I read one growth mindset picture book each quarter of the school year. It’s really nice to take 15 minutes to sit down with my students and remind them what they’re capable of. I also like to have just a few activity types. The first logic puzzle they do might be a bit tough, but as they get the hang of them, they get easier. Keeping just a small collection of types of activities can help to build confidence as students realize what they are capable of.
Use “I Can…” Statements and Self-Assessment
Before I really understood what a learning target should be used for and its true power, I thought it was just admin mumbo-jumbo. Turns out, this is a PERFECT confidence checklist for your students. By the end of the lesson, the idea is that they should either know something new or be able to do something new. A collection of these “I can” statements can make unit review and studying for tests a breeze. You give students a clear way to track their mastery, which in turn becomes a confidence boost.
I have a free list of all the learning targets you could need for every lesson in chemistry. Sometimes even multiple targets for each lesson. I like to use this list for my final exam, but you can cut it down and use it for each unit of study and reprint the whole thing for final exam review. Get it here. This freebie can help make building student confidence in chemistry a quick win for you! Did I mention it’s editable?!
Encourage Peer Learning and Feedback
I also like to incorporate a lot of group work in my class, so that my students can put their heads together. Two heads are better than one. When they work together, they learn better! Working with classmates can also help to alleviate anxiety. So many students are worried about how far behind they are compared to their classmates. When they work together, they get a real feel for where they “stack up” compared to the other kids. Now I don’t think you should be encouraging students to compare themselves to others, but YOU KNOW it’s going to happen. When the other kids are just as confused as they are, it can lift that anxiety.
Plus when they are working together and encouraging each other, and they are building their content knowledge. When they know more, they feel better. This is a two birds, one stone situation!
There are plenty of ways to get your students working together in chemistry class and most of them are super low-maintenance (because otherwise I wouldn’t do them ha!) Check out my recommendations here.
Teach Problem-Solving Strategies, Not Just Answers
Student confidence in chemistry comes from knowing how to think, not just what the answer is. Instead of only showing solutions, walk students through the reasoning:
- Identify givens and what the question is actually asking
- Find the RIGHT chemistry to support an answer (this pretty much ALWAYS starts with electrons)
- Justify each step with why it makes sense
Guided strategies like this help students understand how to approach new problems. Especially those that are chemistry questions hidden in real life applications. When they can do that on their own,their confidence skyrockets.
Make Success Visible
Small wins build big confidence. Give students frequent opportunities to succeed early and often:
- Start class with a warm-up that’s just within reach
- Use quick checks that give instant feedback
- Allow for test retakes so students can truly showcase their knowledge, even if they learned it a little late
- Showcase high test scores with a Wall of Fame
Evidence of progress, even in small doses like this, helps students to see their improvement and that can be incredibly motivating.
Create a Supportive, Judgment Free Classroom
Sometimes students are hesitant to ask questions or admit confusion because they worry about looking “bad.” Cultivate a classroom where questions are celebrated, curiosity is rewarded, and mistakes are treated as learning moments. Reinforce that every chemist (including you) has been puzzled by a topic before. When students feel safe, their willingness to engage and take risks increases and so does their confidence. Read more here about how I get my students to ask questions in class.
Confidence Isn’t a Gift. It’s Built
Like any skill, confidence in chemistry grows when students are supported, guided, and given chances to succeed with understanding. It’s a journey. Student confidence in chemistry is constantly waxing and waning based on the content in front of them. (Many of my students feel great about Organic, which is part of the reason I teach it after the confidence crushing Redox.) Your role isn’t to eliminate challenges, but to help students learn how to face them. And in the end? That confidence doesn’t just help them in chemistry class. It helps them in life. And if YOU need some help with your confidence teaching chemistry, check out this post for my tips.
