Question

Psychologist Robert Rosenthal (1973) reports about an experiment at the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School. One hundred airmen were randomly assigned to five different math classes. Each teacher was told that his or her students were placed in groups based on high or low ability when in reality the airmen were randomly assigned to each group. The outcome showed that students in classes labeled “high-ability” improved much more in math scores than those labeled as “low-ability.” Remember, the groups were randomly assigned and not based on high or low ability. What happened is that the teachers subtly communicated their expectations, and the students performed accordingly. What are some ways that teachers communicate their expectations about the ability of students to the class? Why is this study so important for all teachers? Students in kindergarten are placed into different reading groups based on ability. Do these beginning students know who is in the “smart” group and who is in a lower reading group? How does this affect each student’s self-opinion? Could this self-opinion affect the quality of work? If a student begins the education process as labeled in a group, do these labels last throughout elementary, middle, and high school?   

Answer 1

One of the most important challenges or on of the greatest dilemma of the teachers of 21^st century is the growing number of heterogeneous population of students who come from various family, economic and socio-political backgrounds. It becomes even hard to have different ability level students in a single classroom because designing and delivering lessons that would suit the slow learners and the fast learners becomes very challenging.

One of the ways through which the teacher could handle this issue is by explicitly inform the students of their different abilities and the importance of grouping them differently. One benefit of this method is that it doesn't provide a panacea, instead it delivers lessons and support according to the needs of the students. This would not only help those students but also the teacher by having the same material, delivery style and instructions for each group. Students who belong to the slow learner's category won't feel bad in learning slowly because there is no fast learners to compare thus developing more self-confidence.

Other side of the story is that students will learn better from their peers, so grouping will refuse that opportunity. If the class has mixed ability students, the fast learners can teach the slow learners and this would not only benefit the fast learners master their subject knowledge but also will ease the teacher's job. It would also help the students build good rapport with all the students in the class without discriminating or avoiding anyone for their learning abilities.