Changing Fear into Courage: Using a Classroom Coaching Mindset

Description: Community college students frequently navigate anxiety, impostor syndrome, and the fear of failure. These barriers can trigger a "fear-based learning" dynamic, where students fail to effectively engage with course learning. This professional development workshop equips educators to dismantle this cycle. Participants will learn to foster student courage while transitioning their own instructional approach from traditional lecturing to an active coaching mindset. This PD will identify the symptoms of fear-based learning, define coaching practices to decrease these barriers, and focus on building a classroom atmosphere where students have the tools they need to cultivate courage and increase resiliency.

Presenter Bio: John Kenneth Muir is an Associate Professor of Communication and Humanities at South Piedmont Community College. He is the author of 37 books (including Horror Films of the 1980s) and is the creator of the award-winning web series, Abnormal Fixation (currently streaming on Plex, Fawesome, and YouTube).