Creating High Expectation Schools

Professor Christine Rubie-Davies from the University of Auckland presented to the Manaiakalani Te Hiku cluster on 'Creating high expectation schools.' Teaching practices were outlined, that could improve the self-esteem of students. A main focus was finding alternatives to ability groupings within classroom programmes.  Student self-belief is affected by teacher expectations therefore what a teacher values and how a teacher interacts through non-verbal and verbal signals sends messages to students about their abilities.

Key reflections for teachers

1. How do you form your expectations?
2. What influences your expectations?
3. What forms of evidence influence your expectations?

What have I learned that increased my understanding of high expectation learning?

1. Teacher expectations may influence learning support and emotional support.

      Examples:

• differential learning support
• differential emotional support
• verbal behaviours
• non-verbal behaviours
• the leakage heirachy

2. Expectations may influence stereotyping and bias. The consequences can be:

• reduced opportunity to learn
• warm and supportive interactions
• increased learning support
• positive emotional support
• challenging learning activities
• expectations of success

3. Many factors contribute to the way teachers behave towards their students and the expectations they have for individual student achievement.

How will this  pedagogy EMPOWER me professionally with my teaching practice?

I want to ensure that ALL of my students feel empowered and have a positive self-belief that they are successful learners. I want to ensure I know what is going on for my learners and provide them with the opportunities to overcome any barriers to learning that are identified. 

Key messages about grouping

1. Ability grouping may have limited or detrimental effect on student learning.
2. Ability grouping may have limited or detrimental effect on student achievement.

Planning for change

How will you set up a high expectation classroom?

Demonstrate through my interactions with students that my expectations are high for all of them. My words, gestures, body language and flexible grouping/activities will reflect that my expectations are high for all students.

What differences will you make to the way in which your syndicate/department sets up instruction for reading/writing/maths? 

I will  intentionally have more mixed and flexible grouping across all curriculum areas to encourage self-belief, student agency and collaboration.

How will you ensure maximum opportunity to learn for all students in your syndicate/department? 

Provide the opportunities mentioned above and the necessary support for students to be able to do what is required.

What learning experiences will you include so all children are challenged?

Provide a variety of learning tasks that are scaffolded with different degrees of challenge [independent, some support required, step-by-step support]. Students will have choice about which learning tasks they complete. 

Link to the day's presentation:

Creating high expectation schools