Janet looks at the make-up of the lowest group. She believes that the two African-American boys and the Latina girls will require a lot of her patience and behavioral management skill, as they often become distracted and rambunctious when together. This triggers the memory of a workshop that she attended recently. The workshop leader underscored the idea that African-American children often do poorly in school. The leader went on to make the case that if teachers were cognizant of the "typical characteristics" of African-American boys, including their need for movement and their tendency to be loud, that they would be more successful with this under-achieving population. This made sense to Janet. She also remembers reading somewhere that Latina girls tend to talk a lot and like to help each other.
When she approached the literacy coach about this, he reminded her that her benchmark data from the beginning of the year is “the best information you can have about your readers. Stick with this and you will find that even your worst readers will make the kind of progress you want to see. Trust the process.”
What else should Janet consider?
Teacher beliefs and expectations influence student learning
In what ways might Janet’s knowledge of her students’ “typical characteristics” make her job more difficult?
Jackie Jordan Irvine, Professor of Urban Education at Emory University, discusses some of the complexity surrounding the practice of stereotyping Jacqueline Jordan Irvine identifies the fundamental premises of culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy:
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Why are teacher expectations important for improving student performance? And how does stereotypical thinking affect a teacher's expectations?
Read about Lisa Weinbaum, a teacher that supports students who break stereotypes and defy the odds.
How can stereotypes threaten a student's academic performance?
Mica Pollock defines stereotype threat and describes its potential negative impact on students.
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What is the difference between “deficit” and “asset” views of learners?
Sonia Nieto points out that too often educators have a deficit view of the experiences students bring with them to school. Instead, they need to build on students’ strengths.
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Grouping decisions are complex and require careful analysis
How might particular grouping practices prove to be counter-productive?
Robert Slavin describes how excessive grouping has persisted despite evidence that it doesn’t produce the desired results.
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Is there ever a "right way" to group students?
Jeannie Oakes explains that there is little evidence to support the fundamental theories underlying ability grouping that is not limited and tightly focused.
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John O’Flahavan makes the case that heterogeneous grouping is crucial in racially, culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms.
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Next Step >Revisit the case
