Table Of ContentBecoming a High Expectation Teacher
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 researcher,
trainee 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, 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 emphasized, whereby both the instructional and psychosocial
aspects of the classroom are to be considered, if teachers are to increase student
achievement. There is a focus on high expectation teachers, and a close
examination of what it is that these teachers do in their classrooms that means
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 goal setting to motivate students, to
promote student autonomy and to promote mastery learning.
Areas covered include:
■ formation of teacher expectations
■ teacher beliefs and expectations
■ ability grouping and goal setting
■ enhancing class climate
■ sustaining high expectations for students.
Becoming a High Expectation Teacheris an essential read for any researcher, student,
trainee or practising teacher who cares passionately about the teacher–student
relationship and about raising expectations and student achievement.
Christine Rubie-Davies is Associate Professor and Head of School Learning,
Development and Professional Practice at the University of Auckland in New
Zealand. Her primary research area is in teacher expectations. She was a primary
school teacher for around 20 years, before moving into a university environment.
Becoming a High
Expectation Teacher
Raising the bar
Christine Rubie-Davies
RO Routledge
U
TLED Taylor & Francis Group
G
E
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Christine Rubie-Davies
The right of Christine Rubie-Davies to be identified as author of
this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Rubie-Davies, Christine M.
Becoming a high expectation teacher: raising the bar/Christine
Rubie-Davies.
pages cm
1. Effective teaching. 2. Academic achievement. 3. Motivation in
education. I. Title.
LB1025.3.R78 2014
371.102 – dc23
2014005976
ISBN: 978-0-415-71336-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-71337-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-76125-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo and Helvetica Neue
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
To Jeff, without whose undying love and support
this book would never have come to fruition.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of figures ix
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction xiii
PART I A history of teacher expectancy research 1
1 Retracing the steps in teacher expectation research 3
2 Formation of teacher expectations 18
3 Teacher differential behaviour and student outcomes 34
4 Teacher difference and expectations 48
PART II High and low expectation teachers 65
5 Introducing high and low expectation teachers 67
6 The beliefs and practices of high and low expectation
teachers 81
7 A teacher expectation intervention 97
PART III A teacher expectation intervention:
theoretical and practical perspectives 119
8 High expectation teachers and flexible grouping:
a theoretical discussion 121
vii
Contents
9 High expectation teachers and flexible grouping:
practical applications 133
10 High expectation teachers and class climate:
a theoretical discussion 149
11 High expectation teachers and class climate:
practical applications 165
12 High expectation teachers and goal setting:
a theoretical discussion 183
13 High expectation teachers and goal setting:
practical applications 201
14 High expectations for all students: an achievable goal 218
Appendix 231
References 233
Index 251
viii
Figures
1.1 A contextual model of teacher expectations 14
5.1 Effect size gain in achievement in reading for students with
high and low expectation teachers 73
5.2 Self-perceptions of students with high and low expectation
teachers in reading and mathematics over one year 75
7.1 Promoting relationships in the classroom 105
7.2 Ensuring students understand what they are learning and
how to succeed 106
7.3 Unlocking the joy of reading: brief book reviews from all
students 107
7.4 Newspaper created by a group of mixed achievers 108
7.5 Schematic overview of Bayesian latent growth curve model
testing the effect of the intervention on test performance 112
9.1 Clock buddies as a means of grouping students 135
9.2 Setting up a reading corner 138
9.3 Tic-tac-toe reading activities chart: The Lion and the Mouse 141
9.4 Creating a knowledge web 143
9.5 Whole-class display of an author and one of his works 145
9.6 Fun with words: whole-class display of Shakespeare’s life
and language 145
9.7 Hanging display of the Roman gods from whom planet
names were derived 146
9.8 Display of the planets of our solar system 146
9.9 Example of a chart of daily reading activities 147
11.1 Illustration of the student connections represented in a
sociogram 168
11.2 Promoting the class climate: class charter and treaty developed
and signed by the students 177
11.3 Promoting the class climate: class standards developed by the
students displayed at the top; chart for each child about
themselves, including photos, drawings and statements;
and each child’s ambitions included on their paddle 178
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