Pygmalion effect
This is very true..From the start of the class the students that I think will not do well..don't do well and the students that I believe will be the most successful are...This really makes me think about my perception and attitude towards students!!
I agree. We have to practice at all time thinking positive of all our students. So many times we want to work harder with the students who display a positive attitude toward coming to school every day never missing, completing their homework on time, those who sit in front of the class while those students who display a less poditive attitude tend to do the very opposite. I have personally witness these types of students. It is our job not to treat our students differently. They are all here for the same reasons. To learn. Our job is to be aware of each of them individually regardless of their differences and to make all of them feel important. We must focus on our behavior and the messages we are sending to our students. Students should be individually given as much one-to-one time as humanly possible. We should t have the same expectations for each of them and do our jobs better and remember why we are teachers.
Julie ,
great point you make here about possibly even convincing ourselves that our students can improve.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have talked to students who are performing poorly and used positive words to describe their (real) positive qualities, the results in improvment are often amazing. I can see how this Pygmalion effect works- maybe I am also convincing myself that they can improve....
it is very true that you will try and live up to expectations. i always have very high expectations of my students and so far i have been let down very few times. having low expectations will not challenge the students to do well and in turn the student's performance will probably go down.
Students will seek to "live up" to your expectation of them.
In the nursing program, I try to tell the students that there are challenges. I try to be realistic, that their free time etc will be limited and that they need to keep up on assignments and may need to limit outside job time. I also let them know they can do it, after all hey have passed the entrance exam and have been accepted into the program. Some of the tougher courses can be a challenge, but we are there to assist them. they need to put in the work, not get behind, and use the available resources as well as each other. Time to work with your nursing team. Take care of your patient, take care of yourself. Great time to learn these behaviors. I try to mentor and demonstrate them.
In the nursing program, I try to tell the students that there are challenges. I try to be realistic, that their free time etc will be limited and that they need to keep up on assignments and may need to limit outside job time. I also let them know they can do it, after all hey have passed the entrance exam and have been accepted into the program. Some of the tougher courses can be a challenge, but we are there to assist them. they need to put in the work, not get behind, and use the available resources as well as each other. Time to work with your nursing team. Take care of your patient, take care of yourself. Great time to learn these behaviors. I try to mentor and demonstrate them.
Rhonda,
I think you summarized the discussion very well with your statement that many instructors do not expect much & they don't get much. Keep being that cheerleader.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I applaud the discussion of this topic. I have seen some instructors that do not expect much and they do not get much. I am a natural born cheerleader when it comes to personal success, whatever that may be. It does not take much effort to be positive. In fact, I think it takes less energy than being negative.
Kimberly,
Yes, it's easy to judge our students based on first impressions, but we need to refrain & get to know them better so we can best help them.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Not making snap judgments about a student's interest can also help. I tend to invest more effort when I think a student is also invested, but that can be hard to decide on the spot.
keelan,
Do you think there is a way to make sure they understand the program is challenging while still encouraging them with the strong possibility of success?
Ryan
Dr. Ryan Meers
LaTonya,
This is a significant challenge for all of us as instructors. I think the key is to be aware of these thoughts in our own minds & get rid of them as quickly as possible. Then we need to portray a positive "can-do" attitude toward all of our students.
Ryan
Dr. Ryan Meers
on the first day of class, i always tell my students that the length of the pogram can be overwhelming and stressfull to complete, and that it is very common for some students to not make it .
This is something I feel I'm going to have to process over time.
I'd like to dig into the subject further.
