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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2009 > February > 09 > Entry
Student achivement: all in their minds?
There is an interesting opinion piece in today’s New York Times that argues that psychological suggestion can have a big impact on student achievement. For instance, just telling kids they are smart before they take a test can raise their scores enough to be measured. At the same time, saying or doing things that put students in a bad frame of mind will push scores down.
I’ve thought often about this question. Don’t we send subtle messages to our kids all the time about what we think of them that could easily be translated in their minds to suggest that perhaps we expect less of them? The first time this thought occurred to me was when I was covering schools in Springfield, Ohio, a decade ago, standing in a dreadful, crumbling inner-city school with among the city’s lowest test scores.
I looked around and wondered — would there be a measurable improvement in scores if this terrible school building was just replaced with a nice new school? Would that alone reinforce something positive to the kids about how the adults value them that might translate into even a small boost in confidence?
Since then Springfield, Dayton and many other communities have replaced dilapidated buildings with new ones, so we may indeed get to study that question here one day. At least some other studies out there do show positive effects from the opening of a new school building.
These issues also remind me of a fascinating study about the effect of racial bias on students who attended schools with very small minority populations compared to those with more diverse enrollments. The story I wrote about that research also harkens back to my days at the Springfield News Sun.
What do you think of these findings and how could they be applied in the classroom in a way that would boost achievement for more students?
Permalink | Comments (9) | Post your comment | Categories: Teaching and Learning
Comments
By Oldprof
February 19, 2009 9:19 PM | Link to this
School Supporter, I’m past the point where I think anything will ever be perfect—but I do have my own place in Columbus to put my ear to the ground, and my impression is that Strickland, Delisle, and Fingerhut are all on board, all savvy, all aiming for a unified, efficient, intelligent system of K-gradschool education in Ohio. This old skeptical curmudgeon is cautiously optimistic. I’ll be more so if the previous education reform failures—Fordham Foundation, John Husted, etc.—will admit their failures and be quiet for a while.By School Supporter
February 14, 2009 9:43 AM | Link to this
Oldprof writes, “we’re using unproven instructional methods, and our university educational curricula do not focus on giving teachers a ‘Rosenthal-effective’ attitude.” Will the extra fees we all pay to support the Governor’s education “reforms” be used to fix that? How ought ed school reform be prioitized among the new (fee-subsidized) initiatives?By Oldprof
February 11, 2009 8:13 AM | Link to this
I agree, Mary, we ought to have more self-directed instruction for the most gifted. But we squelch many students’ potential because we’re using unproven instructional methods, and our university educational curricula do not focus on giving teachers a “Rosenthal-effective” attitude.By wise mom
February 11, 2009 2:20 AM | Link to this
all children are smart, all children are curious, and all of them get bored fast. for the best scores, teachers should keep the children alert and motivated. that can be done by adapting a fun way of teaching, or throwing unexpected quizzes, or by only having intresting themes. after testing many systems all over the world, i believe that schools should deal with the students in a very objective way, teachers should not interfear with the child psychology or his self esteem ( neither in a good or bad way)…it should keep it’s distance from the student. it is becoming a playground for kids, where they can do whatever they like , unstressful, gentil and caring… they even don’t hold the child responsible of his behavior or his achievements…than the child grow up, to find that life is not at all what he expected, and he falls down in the first trap ( drugs, sexual deviation, violence) raising kids should be the parents job only. the school’s job is to prepare his brain for the progressing future.By Mary
February 10, 2009 4:39 PM | Link to this
old prof, not sure I totally understand your comment, but there is significant underachievement for high ability students. There seem to be no reasonable expectations for them except to constantly do busy work below their level - hence, significant underachievement and low initiative conditioned into them long before they graduate or drop out. Some estimates are 50% of gifted students are underachievers. I forget the percentage of dropouts who are actually gifted, but it is relatively high - maybe 25%. Many of their teachers are not trained or equipped to deal with their educational needs.By Skeptic
February 10, 2009 11:25 AM | Link to this
It’s also known as the Pygmalion Effect, from a classic 1950’s era study of classroom behavior.By Dave
February 10, 2009 8:58 AM | Link to this
Re-read about the “Hawthorne Effect” at Western Electric. Any change (such as a new building, better lighting, etc.) will bring a temporary improvement. But to get a long-term improvement, you need to fix (not just a band-aid) problems and show the students (on a regular basis) that someone truly CARES.By Mary
February 10, 2009 7:35 AM | Link to this
While I could believe better surroundings and some positive reinforcement would help learning, attitude and scores, there comes a point where students and teachers need to be focused on real substantive learning, and not just mind games and “self-esteem” psychobabble. We are already a nation of all fluff and no substance. Quiet, focus, and personal attention would help learning, too.By Oldprof
February 9, 2009 10:00 PM | Link to this
Research shows, for one thing, that if a student thinks the teacher has a reputation for excellence, the student learns more. This is just the old Rosenthal effect; students perform up to the expectations we communicate (intentionally or subconsciously) for them. This also means that those who make their living by suggesting that teachers by and large are incompetent and deserving of dismissal are, in fact, irresponsibly and egotistically interfering with educational achievement.