Module 5, Blog 5

 

 This is a catchy little phrase but apparently, when Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson did a study over 40 years ago, they produced data to give credit to this very quote.

They randomly picked students from several different schools and told the teachers that these students would make significant intellectual gains during the year.  The study caused quit a ruckus because the students succeeded in larger achievements than normal, that year. 

In chapter 14, Woolfolk explains this as a self-fulfilling prophecy where “a teacher’s beliefs about the students’ abilities have no basis in fact, but student behavior comes to match the initially inaccurate expectation.” (p. 538).  There is also a sustaining expectation where teachers respond on the basis of their existing expectations for students.  If a teacher has low expectations, these students are not given the opportunity to try more challenging work.  High expectation students are asked harder questions, given more chances to answer along with more time to respond.  Studies show that teachers also give these students cues and prompts which communicates their belief in the student’s capabilities.  They smile more at these students and show more warmth.  In contrast, teachers with low-expectations give easier questions with less time to answer.  The students receive less praise than high expectation students when answering questions correctly. Incorrectly answered questions were either ignored, or criticized. 

I think teacher expectations play a huge role on a student’s performance academically and psychologically.  I can recall taking a below level algebra class a couple years ago that I swore, would be my last.  I was done; I was not going to go through another class feeling like such a failure.  But since I had stayed up all night studying, I figured I might as well go take it.  I remember on my drive over to the college that it didn't matter if I failed or not.  I was quitting.   As I walked out the door after placing that test on the desk half done, my teacher called me back in.  “Oh boy”, I thought, here we go.  But, I turned around, walked back in, and looked my teacher straight in the eye.  She put her arms around me, squeezed me tight, and said “Beth, don’t you ever quit!”  Now how did she know that, I wondered, as I walked toward my car, how extraordinary.  And I began to cry, I knew it was God putting me back in place. And here I am, writing on a blog, still going to college, and going after my dream!

Teachers do have influence, and I know that when I become a teacher, I will create a classroom that shows assurance to all of my students in my confidence of their ability to succeed.  And I will tell them this over, and over, and over again.