ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a special moment in the learning process—that place in the cognitive pool where the instructor has begun to lead the new swimmer out into deep water yet still treads within reach. Once students have confidence in their own abilities, the burden of instruction largely shifts from teacher to learner. Building students’ confidence so that they are prepared to learn independently involves several pedagogical moves. One is an increase in the difficulty level of academic tasks. Another is the bridging of in-school and out-of-school identities. Beyond openness and curiosity, then, students need habits of mind such as persistence, flexibility, and metacognition so that they become more than just briefly enthusiastic dabblers in a field. One way to nurture students’ academic identities is to encourage them to welcome rigor. This is not only a good practice but also a precondition for developing intellectual habits of mind.
