The influence of teacher expectations on student outcomes is routinely explored by professors, administrators, teachers, researchers, journalists, and scholars. Written by a leading expert on teacher expectations, this book situates the topic within the broader context of educational psychology research and theory, and brings it to a wider audience. With chapters on the history of the teacher expectation field, student perceptions of teacher expectations, and implications for practice, this concise volume is designed for use in educational psychology courses and any education course that includes social-psychological aspects of classrooms in the curriculum. It will be indispensable for student researchers and both pre- and in-service teachers alike.
We constantly hear cries from politicians for teachers to have high expectations. But what this means in practical terms is never spelled out. Simply deciding that as a teacher you will expect all your students to achieve more than other classes you have taught in the same school, is not going to translate automatically into enhanced achievement for students. Becoming a High Expectation Teacher is a book that every education student, training or practising teacher, should read. It details the beliefs and practices of high expectation teachers – teachers who have high expectations for all their students – and provides practical examples for teachers of how to change classrooms into ones in which all students are expected to learn at much higher levels than teachers may previously have thought possible. It shows how student achievement can be raised by providing both research evidence and practical examples. This book is based on the first ever intervention study in the teacher expectation area, designed to change teachers’ expectations through introducing them to the beliefs and practices of high expectation teachers. A holistic view of the classroom is emphasised whereby both the instructional and socio-emotional aspects of the classroom are considered if teachers are to increase student achievement. There is a focus on high expectation teachers, those who have high expectations for all students, and a close examination of what it is that these teachers do in their classrooms that mean that their students make very large learning gains each year. Becoming a High Expectation Teacher explores three key areas in which what high expectation teachers do differs substantially from what other teachers do: the way they group students for learning, the way they create a caring classroom community, and the way in which they use goalsetting to motivate students, to promote student autonomy and to promote mastery learning. Areas covered include:- Formation of teacher expectations Teacher personality and expectation Ability grouping and goal setting Enhancing class climate Sustaining high expectations for students Becoming a High Expectation Teacher is an essential read for any researcher, student, trainee or practicing teacher who cares passionately about the teacher-student relationship and about raising expectations and student achievement.
The International Handbook of Research on Teachers and Teaching provides a fresh look at the ever changing nature of the teaching profession throughout the world. This collection of over 70 articles addresses a wide range of issues relevant for understanding the present educational climate in which the accountability of teachers and the standardized testing of students have become dominant.
The myth of fixed intelligence debunked For all the productive conversation around “mindsets,” what’s missing are the details of how to convince our discouraged and underperforming students that “smart is something you can get.” Until now. With the publication of High-Expectations Teaching, Jon Saphier reveals once and for all evidence that the bell curve of ability is plain wrong—that ability is something that can be grown significantly if we can first help students to believe in themselves. In drill-down detail, Saphier provides an instructional playbook for increasing student confidence and agency in the daily flow of classroom life: Powerful strategies for attribution retraining, organized around 50 Ways to Get Students to Believe in Themselves Concrete examples, scripts, and classroom structures and routines for empowering student agency and choice Dozens of accompanying videos showing high-expectations strategies in action All children in all schools, regardless of income or social class, will benefit from the strategies in this book. But for children of poverty and children of color, our proficiency with these skills is essential . . . in many ways life saving. Jon Saphier challenges us all—educators, students, and parents—to get started today. About Jon Saphier The author of nine books, including The Skillful Teacher, Jon Saphier is founder and president of Research for Better Teaching, Inc. (RBT), a professional development organization dedicated since 1979 to improving classroom teaching and school leadership throughout the United States and internationally.
Teachers play a critical role in the success of their students, both academically and in regard to long term outcomes such as higher education participation and economic attainment. Expectations for teachers are increasing due to changing learning standards and a rapidly diversifying student population. At the same time, there are perceptions that the teaching workforce may be shifting toward a younger and less experienced demographic. These actual and perceived changes raise important questions about the ways teacher education may need to evolve in order to ensure that educators are able to meet the needs of students and provide them with classroom experiences that will put them on the path to future success. Changing Expectations for the K-12 Teacher Workforce: Policies, Preservice Education, Professional Development, and the Workplace explores the impact of the changing landscape of K-12 education and the potential for expansion of effective models, programs, and practices for teacher education. This report explores factors that contribute to understanding the current teacher workforce, changing expectations for teaching and learning, trends and developments in the teacher labor market, preservice teacher education, and opportunities for learning in the workplace and in-service professional development.
" The test score gap between blacks and whites—on vocabulary, reading, and math tests, as well as on tests that claim to measure scholastic aptitude and intelligence--is large enough to have far-reaching social and economic consequences. In their introduction to this book, Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips argue that eliminating the disparity would dramatically reduce economic and educational inequality between blacks and whites. Indeed, they think that closing the gap would do more to promote racial equality than any other strategy now under serious discussion. The book offers a comprehensive look at the factors that contribute to the test score gap and discusses options for substantially reducing it. Although significant attempts have been made over the past three decades to shrink the test score gap, including increased funding for predominantly black schools, desegregation of southern schools, and programs to alleviate poverty, the median black American still scores below 75 percent of American whites on most standardized tests. The book brings together recent evidence on some of the most controversial and puzzling aspects of the test score debate, including the role of test bias, heredity, and family background. It also looks at how and why the gap has changed over the past generation, reviews the educational, psychological, and cultural explanations for the gap, and analyzes its educational and economic consequences. The authors demonstrate that traditional explanations account for only a small part of the black-white test score gap. They argue that this is partly because traditional explanations have put too much emphasis on racial disparities in economic resources, both in homes and in schools, and on demographic factors like family structure. They say that successful theories will put more emphasis on psychological and cultural factors, such as the way black and white parents teach their children to deal with things they do not know or understand, and the way black and white children respond to the same classroom experiences. Finally, they call for large-scale experiments to determine the effects of schools' racial mix, class size, ability grouping, and other policies. In addition to the editors, the contributors include Claude Steele, Ronald Ferguson, William G. Bowen, Philip Cook, and William Julius Wilson. "
This reissue of a classic book (the first edition of which sold 50,000 copies) explores the 'Pygmalion phenomenon', the self-fulfilling prophecy embedded in teachers' expectations.
Student learning communities (SLCs) are more than just a different way of doing group work. Like the professional learning communities they resemble, SLCs provide students with a structured way to solve problems, share insight, and help one another continually develop new skills and expertise. With the right planning and support, dynamic collaborative learning can thrive everywhere. In this book, educators Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Almarode explain how to create and sustain student learning communities by - Designing group experiences and tasks that encourage dialogue; - Fostering the relational conditions that advance academic, social, and emotional development; - Providing explicit instruction on goal setting and opportunities to practice progress monitoring; - Using thoughtful teaming practices to build cognitive, metacognitive, and emotional regulation skills; - Teaching students to seek, give, and receive feedback that amplifies their own and others' learning; and - Developing the specific leadership skills and strategies that promote individual and group success. Examples from face-to-face and virtual K–12 classrooms help to illustrate what SLCs are, and teacher voices testify to what they can achieve. No more hoping the group work you're assigning will be good enough—or that collaboration will be its own reward. No more crossing your fingers for productive outcomes or struggling to keep order, assess individual student contributions, and ensure fairness. Student Learning Communities shows you how to equip your students with what they need to learn in a way that is truly collective, makes them smarter together than they would be alone, creates a more positive classroom culture, and enables continuous academic and social-emotional growth.
What are the secrets to unlocking student success? And what can teachers do to get better at helping students develop deep understanding of content, attain higher-order thinking skills, and become secure, confident, and capable learners? In this book, teacher and professor Jeff Marshall showcases how teaching with intentionality answers these questions. Specifically, he introduces the Teacher Intentionality Practice Scale (TIPS), a framework for both supporting and measuring effective teaching. Taken together, the framework’s seven TIPs provide a research-based, classroom-tested guide to help teachers * create coherent, connected lessons; * use strategies and resources, including technology, that truly enhance learning; * organize a safe, respectful learning environment; * develop challenging and rigorous learning experiences; * promote interactive, thoughtful learning; * nurture a creative, problem-solving classroom culture; and * deliver feedback and formative assessment that inform teaching and learning. Marshall’s needs-assessment instrument can help teachers, working independently or in a cohort, determine the best starting point for improving their practice. Practical, straightforward rubrics for each TIP describe the various levels of teacher proficiency. Based on his own teaching experience and observations in hundreds of classrooms, Marshall also offers action tips for each framework component and a list of resources for further study. Written for teachers and leaders at all levels and in all content areas, The Highly Effective Teacher is a guidebook for thoughtful, intentional teaching with one goal: success for all students, in every classroom.
“She has a funny way of looking at you,” a fourth-grader told Rhona Weinstein about his teacher. “She gets that look and says ‘I am very disappointed in you.’ I hate it when she does that. It makes me feel like I’m stupid. Just crazy, stupid, dumb.” Even young children know what adults think of them. All too often, they live down to expectations, as well as up to them. This book is about the context in which expectations play themselves out. Drawing upon a generation of research on self-fulfilling prophecies in education, including the author’s own extensive fieldwork in schools, Reaching Higher argues that our expectations of children are often too low. With compelling case studies, Weinstein shows that children typed early as “not very smart” can go on to accomplish far more than is expected of them by an educational system with too narrow a definition of ability and the way abilities should be nurtured. Weinstein faults the system, pointing out that teachers themselves are harnessed by policies that do not enable them to reach higher for all children. Her analysis takes us beyond current reforms that focus on accountability for test results. With rich descriptions of effective classrooms and schools, Weinstein makes a case for a changed system that will make the most of every child and enable students and teachers to engage more meaningfully in learning.
