SOC 463/663 (Social Psych of Education) - Teachers

1. Teachers
Melanie B. Tannenbaum, Ph.D.
SOC 463/663
Spring 2015

2. What is a teacher?
What is a mentor?
● What is the role of a mentor?
● What is good mentorship?
● Relationship between mentor & mentee?

3. Teacher Feedback

4. Back to Praise & Blame
● Praise enhances motivation & criticism stifles, but….
● Developmental trajectory
● At young age:
● Praise ! positive attributions
● Blame ! negative attributions
● Post-elementary paradoxical effects:
● Praise ! low ability, high effort
● Blame ! low effort, high ability
● Perceived task difficulty is important!
● Ability praise vs. effort praise

5. Self-efficacy
● How does feedback contribute to self-efficacy?
● Effort feedback
● Criticism often necessary to validate student effort & ability
● Praise alone is ambiguous
● Might reflect low expectations?

6. Feedback as Information
● About student’s academic work
● About instructor’s views of the students
● About instructor’s views of a student’s group
! Feedback giving is risky business!

7. ATTRIBUTIONAL AMBIGUITY
“Is this feedback a valid reply to my performance, or is it
driven by a response to my group membership?”
● The Crocker et al. (1991) feedback & blinds experiment
● When your group membership is NOT known…
● Take feedback/evaluations seriously
● When your group membership is known…
● Discounting of feedback/evaluations

8. ATTRIBUTIONAL AMBIGUITY

9. Experiences in Intergroup Relations
Member of a stereotyped group
● Uncertainty
● Does the other person see me the way I want to be seen?
● Does the other person see who I am or what I am?
● Anxiety
● Being judged?
● Not being viewed as a competent, full-fledged human being?
● Threat
● “I don’t know what to do”
● “I am sure the person is prejudiced against me”

10. Member of a potentially stereotyping group
● Uncertainty
● Am I behaving “correctly”?
● Does the other person see me the way I want to come across?
● Anxiety
● Fear of behaving incorrectly
● Fear of being judged
● Threat
● “I don’t know what to do”
● “I am sure the person thinks I am prejudiced against him/her.”
Experiences in Intergroup Relations

11. Positive biases toward minorities:
Harber (1998)Favorabilityscore
-0.6
-0.45
-0.3
-0.15
0
0.15
0.3
0.45
0.6
Black Essay Writer
White Essay Writer
RISK MANAGEMENT
Feedback givers more
concerned about their
own appearance than
adequacy of feedback
No differential feedback when
clear right-or-wrong standards
Differential feedback when
standards are in part subjective
Content
feedback
Mechanics
feedback

12. “False Self-Concept”
● Unjustified positive feedback
● Inflated student self-concept
● Criticism ! Opportunity for Improvement
● May undermine future effort!

13. Teaching Styles

14. Controllable Uncontrollable
Stable
Student is very smart.
Student is also very lazy.
Never does the homework.
Never pays attention in class.
Bright, but never puts in effort.
Did poorly on this exam.
Student is not very smart.
Has trouble doing well, no
matter how hard they study.
Put in a lot of effort.
Did poorly on this exam.
Unstable
Student is very smart.
Usually pays attention.
Can be flaky sometimes.
Didn’t try hard on this exam.
Did poorly on this exam.
Student transferred into class
right before the exam.
Missed some of the lectures
that were important for exam.
Tried hard, but didn’t have time
to master the material.
Did poorly on this exam.

15. Controllable Uncontrollable
Stable
Student is very smart.
Student is also very lazy.
Never does the homework.
Never pays attention in class.
Bright, but never puts in effort.
Did poorly on this exam.
Student is not very smart.
Has trouble doing well, no
matter how hard they study.
Put in a lot of effort.
Did poorly on this exam.
Unstable
Student is very smart.
Usually pays attention.
Can be flaky sometimes.
Didn’t try hard on this exam.
Did poorly on this exam.
Student transferred into class
right before the exam.
Missed some of the lectures
that were important for exam.
Tried hard, but didn’t have time
to master the material.
Did poorly on this exam.
What kinds of feedback do students get for failures?
Retribution: Punishment
Utilitarian: Trying to Help

16. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Stable Unstable
Controllable
Not Controllable
Retribution
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Stable Unstable
Controllable
Not Controllable
Utility

17. -3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Stable Unstable
Controllable Not Controllable
Feedback Positivity

18. Controlling Autonomy
Teachers pressure students to think,
feel, or behave in specific way
Teachers identify, nurture, and develop
students’ inner motivations
Focuses on teacher’s perspective Focuses on student’s perspective
Intrudes into students’ thoughts,
feelings, or actions
Welcomes students’ thoughts, feelings,
and actions
Extrinsic motivators Intrinsic motivators
Neglect explanatory rationales Provide explanatory rationales
Pressure-inducing language Noncontrolling, informational language
Impatience towards students Patience for self-paced learning
Use power to overcome complaints Acknowledge & accept complaints

19. Motivation Engagement Performance
Intrinsic Motivation Engagement Higher Grades
Competence Positive Emotions Better Performance
Relatedness Class Attendance Higher Test Scores
Mastery Goals Persistence Conceptual Understanding
Perceived Control/Self-Efficacy Lower Dropout Rates Deep Processing
Curiosity Self-Regulation Strategies
Internalized Values
Development & Well-Being
Self-Esteem/Self-Worth School/Life Satisfaction Vitality
Creativity Preference for Challenges Happiness
Benefits of Autonomy-Supportive Teaching

20. Why Be Controlling?
1. Power Differentials
• Normal for “higher power” people to take charge & talk first
2. Responsibility & Accountability
• Pressure to get students to hit test scores, standards, etc.
3. Cultural Values
• Controlling teachers seem more competent (even if they aren’t)
4. Structure
• (Misguided) idea that controlling classrooms seem more
organized/structured and less chaotic

21. Why Be Controlling?
5. Student Passivity
• Reaction to inattentive, disruptive, or noncompliant students
6. Maximal-Operant Principle
• Belief that high rewards can “turn on” motivation & work well
7. Control-Oriented Personalities
• Some people are…just controlling.

22. How To Be Autonomy-Supportive?
1. Build lessons around student interests
2. Personalize lessons
3. Allow students to make choices
4. Focus on intrinsic motivators
5. Opportunities to discuss/ask questions
6. Allow students to collaborate/share expertise
7. Give reasons for instructional/curriculum choices
8. Allow time/patience for self-paced learning
9. Acknowledge & accept negative emotions/complaints

23. DQ: Teaching Styles
How can we train and evaluate teachers’ methods to ensure that (a)
these teaching styles are utilized regularly and (b) each student gets
equal and fair treatment of their academic failures?
Outside of teaching styles, what else can be done in schools or within
the curriculum to foster motivation and autonomy in students?
I'm not saying control should be equated with structure, but what is an
autonomy-supportive teacher supposed to do if students refuse to do
assignments or follow rules? There has to be a balance of control and
autonomy support otherwise there would be some level of chaos, right?

24. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
● Rosenthal & Jacobson (1966/1968)
● Administered an ability (IQ) test to students classes 1-6
● Randomly selected student names
● Told teachers that these students would “bloom” that year
● Re-administered same ability test 8 months later
● How did the students perform?

25. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
0
7.5
15
22.5
30
Grades
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th
Controls
"Bloomers"
Why does this effect
occur only for
the youngest
students?
GainsinMeanIQPoints

26. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
● Expectancy effects occur primarily when…
● Teachers don’t know students very well
● Students do not yet have crystallized self-concepts
● Teachers rigidly cling to expectancies in the face of
expectancy-inconsistent behavior of the student
● Why/How Does This Happen?

27. Self-Fulfilling Prophecies:
Rosenthal’s “Four Factor” Theory
● Climate
● Emotional Support (Babad)
● Feedback
● Input
● Learning Support (Babad)
● Output

28. Are teacher expectancies avoidable?
● “No — but that’s not a problem.”
● Teacher expectancy effects = “student effects on teachers”
● Expectancies are based in actual student performance
● Accurate, reality based
● Correctable
Teachers’ expectations
may accurately reflect
what they can expect
from a student.

29. Are the effects of teacher
expectancies avoidable?
● “Yes — they’re weak and fragile anyway.”
● “No — and that’s a problem for equal education.”
● “No — but that’s not a problem because that’s often what
we want in order to allocate extra help.”
● Costs to students, teachers, classrooms?
● Role in tracking/ability grouping?

30. DQ: Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
What do you think is the biggest reason why
teachers project self-fulfilling prophecies? What can
we do so that we stop projecting these
expectations? Does it have to do with all the
stereotyping we do in todays society?

31. Teacher-Student
Relationships

32. DQ: “The Line”
How involved is too involved? How do we reconcile the contrasting images of the a)
real teacher who knows his/her boundaries with their students, and b) the ever-
popular "father/mother figure" teacher in the movies who makes a huge impact on his/
her kids? Is one of these more "right" than the other?
For teachers who don’t want to be involved, is it their to job to be, whether they want
to or not? What does a personal relationship with a teacher do for a child’s education?
How important is it that a new teacher be aware of the types of boundaries that exist?
What training do teachers get exactly? What happens if a teacher creates an
emotional bond with a student? Can teachers get into trouble if another student finds
out and assumes they get special treatment?

33. Teaching Evaluations

34. Teaching Evaluations:
What Are They?
● Controversial Topic
● Validity?
● Power?
● Importance?

35. DQ: Evals
What do you think the professor reviews really mean
in college? (What are they really measuring?)

36. Pros & Cons
Pros Cons
Quality Control
Students as “clients”/consumers
Can students really judge quality?
Separate “teacher” from “teaching”
Student Empowerment Undermines academic standards
Improves Practice of Teaching Often based on student’s grades

37. Teaching Evaluations:
GOOD
● Student ratings are multifaceted and complex
● Mirrors the complexity of teaching
● Student ratings often correlated with…
● Expert judgments
● Learning outcomes
● BUT only when evals are taken before students know final grade

38. Teaching Evaluations:
NOT SO GOOD
● “Half a Minute” Study (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1993)
● 30 second video, professor teaching at semester start
● Nonverbal behavior; no sound on the video
● End of semester evaluations highly correlated with…
● Nonverbal behavior (Expressiveness)
● Initial ratings of the 30 second clip
● Limited room for skill to influence evaluations

39. Teaching Evaluations:
NOT SO GOOD
● Nonverbal behaviors
● Smiling
● Eye contact
● Relaxed face
● Expressive hands & body
● Moving around in space
● Orientation toward audience
● Changes in posture
● Changes in intensity
● Expressive, modulated voice

40. Teaching Evaluations:
NOT SO GOOD
● Student evaluations are partly driven by grades
● Higher expected grade → Better evaluations
● Grade Inflation?
● Do higher grades cause better teaching ratings?
● Do higher grades and higher teaching ratings
reflect objectively better teaching?

41. Grade Inflation
● Why is grade inflation a problem?
● Undermines academic standards
● Students may work less for same grade
● Reduced expectations
● Lower levels of learning and achievement
● Creates ambiguity in the meaning of grades

42. Politics & Evaluations?
“If you are like me, I love you!”

43. DQ: Partisan Teachers
Woessner mainly uses these findings to discuss student
evaluations, but I think this study has interesting
implications for student attributions, too. Perhaps a
student who is at odds with a professor's political views
negatively attributes a poor mark or an instructor's
comment to their liberal or conservative status?
Is it important for a professor to keep their personal
beliefs out of the classroom?

44. The Present

45. The Future?