Pygmalion Effect (self fullfilling prophecy)
How do you use the Pygmalion Effect (self fulfilling prophecy) in you class?
Clifton,
great point made here. I will tell a student they have the potential, but if they are not willing to try that is another case.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I also have seen it applied with beneficial effects upon output. Nonetheless, when I feel that I know someone well enough who is a poor student who doesn't possess the ability or desire to improve,I will not tell them that they will most assuredly do well. The truism to myself & fairness to them will not permit me to deceive them...
I have not used the Pygmalion effect in my classes yet.
Great idea. I think another thing is helping students to define their own measures of success. Too often they are using another person's measure (parent, spouse, friend, etc) & they need to define success for themselves based on their abilities.
Ryan
I like to use positive reinforcement with the students. If I hear them talking negatively, I like to help them build confidence by showing them they are activities in this class that they will be good at. This gives them a positive outlook on the class.
I want the student to get all that he can get out of this class and pertain it to life. We can relate hydraulics to many different things; example: Brakes, electrical, and air systems. They can apply the troubleshooting features of hydraulics to Automotive diesels, gas, brakes, agriculture, industrial, and marine applications.
I agree - works with my students!
Low esteem stems from a life of challeneges that might not of ended the way we all expected.So helping build confidence with self assurance and positive feed back even during failure, seems to help with the building of low esteem.
I keep my discussions in a positive light. I avoid speaking in negative terms, such as 'this test has a 25% failure rate' because it puts undue stress on the student. The numbers might not lie, but I wont pre-load the student with that before hand. By encouraging the students, offering praise when they do good,positive reinforcement when they make mistakes,they start to believe in themselves,finally success can happen.
i teach a graduate course, so the students come to me with a vast knowledge and positive mental attitude. so i remind them of that and keep them focused, and we dont use failure language in my classroom. they came to me with goals and i keep them pointed in that direction!
I have always made it a point to never think Bad of a class no matter what I have heard.
I always have great expectations of a class and let the class know that they will work hard
But they can be proud of what they have accomplished and learned at the end of the class.
And I have been known to give my students permission to get 100% on their test. This always
Brings laughter but there is a meaning behind the humor!
Interesting stuff. I need to pay more attention to this, although I always strive to motivate my students and empower them to do well. I feel that this is very important and that they need to HEAR it from somebody else when they do well.
On the first day of class I inform my students that academic failure is not an option. I’m available both before and after class along with other instructors who are available for individual help as necessary. Feel free to request an appointed time for additional help.
Making a student confident in the ability to perform a task that you just taught him is part of your job. If you act as if the student will never be able to perform a certain task or a certain duty. That is exactly what he or she will try to do. You must build their confidence that they will perform this duty properly. If they do fail at the task you then explained to them it's much better to fail in the learning environment then it would be in the field. My motto is You Never Fail Until You Quit Trying.
I always try to keep the learning environment positive and fun. The concepts that I teach are not easy for some people. I think they already know where their weaknesses are and don’t need any further negative reinforcement. I like to use myself as an example. I tell me students that we all started somewhere and if I can do it you can do it. I let them know that they don’t need to go through this class as an individual but as a team. If one fails we all failed.
I start off by giving a positive attitude about the work they will be doing.Then try to give examples of what they will gain by enloying what they do.
In the course that I teach, Basic Electricity can be difficult to learn. Buy the time the first lab comes around some students will get the feeling that they will not do well or even fail the course. I will pare up the student with a student that has a positive attitude as this works well for me. The students will learn from each other and have found that the student that had a negative feeling is now has a positive one.
I like to tell the students how neat a certain subject is and how much they are going to learn.
I try to find time to talk with students in a one on one basis, and take their feedback on how to address the lecture and lab times.
