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Chapter 3: Exploring the Fundamental Components of the Classroom Environment

(Also Includes Previous Chapter 4)

From Transformative Classroom Management. By John Shindler. ©2008 Wiley Press

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In This Chapter

 

When we walk through any school and peer inside the many classrooms, we find that each exists as its own unique environment. It has its own feel, tone and “way things are done.” While much of the students’ overall experience comes as a result of our intended actions and plans, a substantial portion of what makes up the overall climate and experience of a class could be termed its implicit level or “hidden curriculum” (Eisner, 1984: Jackson, 1968).  Michael Haralambos (1991) defines the hidden curriculum as, “consisting of those things pupils learn through the experience of attending school rather than the stated educational objectives of such institutions.” The intentional or explicit level of schooling is made up of such factors as the stated rules and procedures, explicit expectations and the intended curriculum. By contrast, the implicit and commonly unconscious level is made up of such areas as the unwritten rules, implicit expectations, social systems, the way power is manifested and to a great degree the teacher simply “teaching who they are.”  In this chapter we will explore the nature and impact of this implicit and largely unconscious level of the classroom experience.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-a:

What is your reaction to the idea that there are implicit level factors operating in the classroom? “So what? So things happen that are not planned.” Or “I don’t understand them, so they can’t be very important.” As you proceed through the chapter you may better appreciate the power of this level of the classroom experience. And as it is with the laws of nature, they operate whether we understand them or not.

 

 

To begin to make sense of this dimension below the surface of any class, it might help to think about a trip down the hall of our local school. Let’s imagine that we choose to examine three comparable classrooms, once at the start of the school year, and then a couple months later. What are we likely to observe? If the classes are truly comparable (e.g., same grade and/or subject area) what we are likely to see are three classes that look very similar at the beginning of the term. As with any new group, the students will behave in a manner consistent with their experience and past expectations. But if we return in two months, it is very likely that we will observe three classes that look and feel dramatically different from one another.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-b: Do your own investigative research and observe a set of classes at the start of the year and then a few weeks later. What are the differences? How would you explain the causes? Is it the students, or the teacher?

 

 

 

What is the explanation for this difference? We could probably conclude the following:

 

1. In the long-term the experience of the students in any classroom (in most cases) will have more to do with implicit level factors than the explicitly stated wishes of the teacher. This experience is constructed and negotiated over time through the continuous interactions of the teacher and students.

2. The environment will be defined primarily by the teacher and only secondarily by the students. As Haim Ginott suggests, as the teacher “we create the weather” in the classroom.

3. The degree to which a class is more or less “intentional” as opposed to “accidental” is strongly related to the degree to which the teacher understands and is aware the implicitly operating aspects of the classroom environment.

Text Box: I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture, or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate, or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child is humanized or dehumanized. -Haim Ginott

 

If we were to classify the various factors within any class, there are those that are primarily explicit, such as the curriculum, the rules, and the explicit expectations, and those that are more implicit, such as the social frames, the way power is manifested, and to a great extent the teacher teaching “who they are.”  (see Figure 3.1).

 

Figure 3.1 Depicting the Explicit and Implicit levels of the Classroom Environment.

Degree to which area can be concretely evidenced.

Component of the Overall “Classroom Reality”

Relative Level of

Awareness

 

Explicit Level

The factors in our management that are obvious and concrete.

 

 

  • Explicitly expressed and promoted expectations
  • Intentional messages sent to students
  • Explicit rules and procedures (i.e., technical management)
  • Class Social Contract and/or Boundaries
  • Planned Curriculum

 

Sound

 

 


Mostly Deliberate and Overt. Processed and demonstrated on a conscious level*

 

 

 

 

Implicit Level

The “hidden curriculum” The factors in the class that are below the surface, but most often define the majority of the classroom environment.

 

 

§  Social Frames

§  How Power is manifested

§  Emotional Bank Account

§  Teacher Language

§  Teacher teaching “who they are” and what they value (e.g., default tendencies, self-image, parent tapes, world view)

§  Implicit Expectations

 

 

Potential above the level of awareness and managed intentionally

 

 

 

 

 

 


Potentially below the level of awareness and operating accidentally

* The methods practiced on this explicit level can also lead either up or down the effectiveness continuum depending on how sound they are (as discussed in the previous chapter).

 

Increasing the Degree to which Our Practices Promote an Intentional Classroom

The remaining chapters of the book will be devoted to examining how to successfully create an intentional classroom. Yet before we move into how to achieve results on a mostly explicit level, it will be valuable to explore how to be more effective and aware on the implicit level. While the typical class functions with a substantial lack of awareness of the underlying factors on this implicit level and how they operate, it does not necessarily have to be so. The more that we are able to develop an awareness of our classroom’s implicit level factors and take an intentional approach toward making them work to the benefit of the members of the class, the less accidental and more functional our class will be.


 

Examining the Implicit Level of the Overall Classroom Environment

Exploring the most fundamental components of the implicit level of the classroom environment it makes sense to begin where it all begins with us, the teacher – teaching “who we are.” This will be followed by how our words effect the class, the social “frames” that operate in the class, the principle of the emotional bank account, the way that power is manifested, and the many ways that social or indirect learning takes place in any learning environment.

 

We Teach Who We Are

It is said that, “we teach who we are.” If we recall our years of schooling and reflect on what we learned in each class, we would have to agree that as much of what we learned was related to “who” our teachers were, as it was to “what” we studied. Recall the array of teachers who you have had in the past. What do you recall about them? What stands out in your memory?  A reasonable guess is that what you remember is more related to who they were as a person than what they were trying to teach you. In fact, who they were taught you a lot. In some cases, it was how to be a good person or the kind of teacher you wish to be, or in some cases it was qualities that you have tried to avoid exhibiting, and/or what not to do as a teacher. Our teachers taught us something about being human. Some teachers we respected, some we felt sorry for. Some inspired us to learn, and some seemed to us to be bent on killing whatever interest we had in learning. In a very tangible way we are continuously teaching our values, culture, biases, politics, cognitive style, and a whole lifetime of mental conditioning in addition to our intended curriculum. No matter what we want our students to care about and what we want them to focus on, the truth is that they are continuously learning from “who we are.” Or more accurately, “what our conditioning expresses about us when we teach.”

 

Becoming Self-Aware of My “Default Tendencies” and “Unconscious Conditioning”

If I am unaware of my default preferences or mental conditioning or unconscious tendencies, then I am essentially engaging in teaching unaware of a whole host of things that I am teaching to my students. And in my own way, I am very predictable. I will have tendencies, biases, values, and patterns that will significantly influence my teaching. Is this a problem? The answer is usually yes. Commonly, unconsciousness leads to behavior we regret later. The more aware we are, the less predictable, and the less aware, the more predictable. What is the problem with being a product of our conditioning and hardwired preferences that lead to predictable and knee-jerk reactive tendencies?  The short answer is that our students are penalized.  The long answer will become increasingly apparent as you read further into the book. Most classroom management problem conditions are manufactured by the teacher. And that teacher usually has very good intentions.  So, if most of us have good intentions but still create endless problems for ourselves, good intentions must not be sufficient. Successful teaching that includes effective classroom management must require a substantial level of self-awareness. Moreover, the higher the quality of our self-awareness the more focused our intentions can become. There are countless domains of our thinking and behavior that are useful to become more aware of, and as you read on you may discover some, but in this section, we will focus on four of those areas – 1) self-concept, 2) cognitive style, 3) stored away parent tapes, and 4) world view.

 
1. Self-Concept: Why Would Students Want to Be Like Me or Care about the Subject that I am Teaching?

If I like myself, does that count for something? Conversely, if I don’t really like myself, what difference does that make to my teaching performance? The fact is that in many subtle and unconscious ways, we are perpetually teaching our self-concept and level of self-respect. Moreover, research shows that how we feel about (and ultimately treat) our students will inevitably be a reflection of how we feel about ourselves (Friedman & Farber, 1992). And simply put, we will be better teachers if we like our students.  If we feel good on the inside, it will show on the outside in a thousand ways that we may not even be aware of, but our students likely are.

 

In addition, if we like and demonstrate a love of learning and enthusiasm for the material we are teaching, it will rub off on students. Cabello & Terrell (1994) found that when teachers were more enthusiastic about what they were teaching, students learned more. 

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-c Recall the teachers who have engendered the highest amount of love and respect from you. Were they the teachers with the largest personalities? Or the teachers who thought they were the coolest? Or was it a teacher who expressed a care and/or respect for you as a person?

 

2. Cognitive Style: Examining Our Default Preferences

Research into Cognitive Preference (also called Personality Type, Learning Style, or Temperament Type) demonstrates that teachers’ values are strongly predicted by their type on various cognitive dimensions. In a very real way “we teach our cognitive type.” Myers, McCaulley, Quenk, and Hammer (1998) found that if teachers did nothing to alter their teaching – that is when they resorted to their “default” tendencies, the students who were less like them by cognitive preference were less successful, enjoyed the class less and actually received lower grades, while the student who were more like them felt more successful and received better grades. Conversely, if the teacher was aware of their cognitive style default tendencies and actively worked to be more responsive to the diversity of their students’ needs the students who differed from them in cognitive type approached the success and enjoyment of the students who were like them.  Simply put, this is another dimension of teaching in which unconsciousness leads to the penalization of students. And just as we penalize those students who are culturally different from us when we are not aware of our biases, we penalize those students who are cognitively different from us when our lack of awareness leads to our defaulting to our hardwired tendencies. Appendix X explores the relationship between learning style and classroom management in more detail.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-d: Recall a teacher in whose class you thrived. If you were to identify his/her cognitive style, would you say that you were similar? Do you think that had anything to do with the affinity and comfort you felt?

 

 

3. Accessing our Parent Tapes

It is common to be teaching and hear our own parent’s voice come out of us. For some of us this is mostly a positive experience, but for many of us, it can be disturbing.  We assumed that we would not make any of the mistakes our parents made. We need to first resist the temptation to feel guilty or resentful of our parents. Next, we need to simply recognize that what we might refer to as our “parent conditioning tapes” are in there, often in the form of mental scripts. Some of the most common negative parent conditioning tapes include the following:

 

As we become more familiar with these tapes in our heads, we need to learn to identify the triggers that lead us to react. Triggers include being worn down, feeling inadequate or insecure, or when our students bring the same problems to us that we brought to our parents. Finally we need to recognize that we are not determined by this past conditioning. Being aware of it and the triggers that set it off allow us to be more intentional rather than unconscious and reactive. The remainder of the book should give you ideas for how to be more intentional in your practice, and Chapter 16 explores pathways to creating greater levels of consciousness and self-awareness.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-e: What are some of the parent tapes that you find yourself reproducing in your class and/or relationships?

 

 

4. Examining our World View

What are my basic assumptions about young people? What motivates them? What do they need? What characterizes the world that they are entering?  Our answers to these questions will have a profound effect on how we teach. Moreover, it is likely that our “world view” will define how we approach classroom management. If we have a dark view of human nature, we will expect the worst from our students. If we have a hopeful view of human nature, we will maintain faith in our students. This book does not endeavor to answer the questions of human nature, but it is a certainty that what you believe to be true about the basic nature of your students will define your classroom. Many teachers maintain a hostile view of the world. And their classes take on those qualities of coldness, competitiveness, and antagonism. The idea behind their basic philosophy is that if it’s a cruel world out there, we might as well get used to it. Whether this is an accurate reflection of the world or not, the result is the penalization of the students in this type of class. If our job is to create high functioning students, we will not get there unless we create a school world that meets their personal and learning needs and fosters a psychology of success (see Chapter 7). Moreover, we need to recognize that “the real world” is made each day in our classroom. We are manufacturing the future by every act that we make as a teacher.

Text Box: Examining the Use of the Term the “Real World” of Schools Frequently, we hear teachers use the phrase, the “real world,” as in “that idea sounds nice, but it would not work in the real world.” On first listening, it sounds like it is coming from the voice of experience. They have been around the proverbial teaching “block” and can attest to how the “real world” works. But like the term “it works,” (discussed in Chapter 2) we need to listen carefully to the messages beneath the words. It may seem harmless on the surface, but in essence they are instructing us to adopt their world-view. And it is certainly a convincing rhetorical device. If someone states, “Boy, my students have a hard time being honest in class,” we might think, “Gosh, that teacher is struggling with that issue in their class. Good luck to them.” However, if one declares, “In the real world people will lie anytime they get the chance,” we can come away convinced that it is a fact, and moreover that we should stop trusting our current students and any of those that we teach in the future. The truth is that a) the real world is rarely defined by adages that include the phrase the “real world,” b) the use of the term the “real world” usually indicates a world-view that has been jaded and is fundamentally dysfunctional, and c) students are likely paying the price for it. We examine this term in detail in Appendix J.

 

Chapter Reflection 3-f: Recall the last time you heard a teacher make a suggestion to you that included the phrase “the real world.” What was the context? In your estimation, what did the suggestion assume about the nature of students?

 

 

Teacher Language and Message Sub-Text

It has been said that words define our reality (Devitt & Sterling, 1999).  We need words to explain what is.  Herbert Kohl (2002) suggests that everything that is said and how it is said is significant and that “small things – comments, questions, responses, phrases, tone- often make a big difference in students’ attitudes, not merely toward their teacher, but toward what their teacher teaches.”The use of language in the classroom is a powerful influence and defines the very nature of how we make meaning of what is going on.  This idea may sound very abstract, but examine the language in any classroom.  As you listen and observe, ask yourself these questions; “What is the purpose of the language used?” “What emotional climate is being created by the use of the language?” “Is the language used consistent with the non-verbal messages being sent?” In essence, “What is the sub-text of the speech?” When you examine the words spoken by each of the three teachers represented in exercise 3.1 below, assume that they all possess a desire for roughly the same explicit outcomes. Yet, as you read their words, would you predict that their language exchanges would produce similar classroom environments?

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise 3.1

First, examine the following teacher language patterns.  Second, classify and then develop a label for the types of language that are occurring in each case. Use any words you feel best for your labels. Next, as you reflect on each set of phrases attempt to characterize the classroom climate that would be manufactured by the use of each of these hypothetical language patterns.

 

Teacher A:

·         (After handing out an assignment) “I don’t want to see all the sloppy papers that I saw the last time.”

·         “Stop talking or I will . . .”

·         (After a wrong answer) “No, you guys aren’t getting this.”

·         (Sarcastic responses on a regular basis)

·         “I told you guys to get to work.”

·         “When are we ever going to learn?”

 

I’d label this language _________________

The effect on the classroom climate (and/or socially constructed reality) would be ___.

 

 

Teacher B:

·         (Gives directions and students are still talking) “Listen to me!”

·         “There is too much noise in the room.”

·         (After directions are given, and students were not paying attention, and they do not do what the teacher wants) “OK, I told you to keep the glue in the box until you get your paper ready,” (as students are still not listening). “Put the glue away I said!”

 

I’d label this language _________________

The effect on the classroom climate (and/or socially constructed reality) would be __.

 

 

 

Teacher C:

·         “Take a look at this group, see how they . . . that is a good example of the process we are looking for.”

·         “I know it is almost lunchtime, but I need you to stay with it for 15 more minutes.”

·         (After some students were not attentive to directions) “Someone was talking, I think I will start the directions over, I need 100% attention.”

·         (After an incorrect answer) “OK, you seemed to be doing . . . and that would be right for that process, but what we were looking for was . . ., given that do you want to try again?”

·         (After a poor effort) “We have got to do a better job with this than last time.  We need to get this stuff down by this week.  We will need to have it for the test next week and for your projects.”

 

I’d label this language _________________

The effect on the classroom climate (and/or socially constructed reality) would be___.

 

Reflecting on the Language of Each of the Three Teachers

Before we explore the language of each teacher, it is useful to recall that you did not know a great deal about any of these three teachers depicted in exercise 3.1. You only had a small number of words from each of their classes. What could possibly be inferred from such a small amount of information? First, I am guessing that you inferred a great deal. Second, I will wager that your assessment was on the mark.

 

When asked to characterize the words of Teacher A, I would guess that you used terms such as negative, hostile, condescending, antagonistic and threatening. I also bet that you described the climate with words such as combative, hostile, depressed, and non-motivational. If so, you would be correct. The climate in this actual class was quite antagonistic. Some students chose to withdraw, while others took the challenge and chose to engage the teacher in a power struggle. If we were to classify this teachers language on the management style matrix, it would fall into the category of a 4-Style.

 

If we examine some of the phrases more closely we can recognize why it was not difficult to see the eventual negative environment that was created by the teacher.

·         “Stop talking or I will . . .” – This is a classic example of a threat. In essence, a threat sends two very ineffective messages. First, “I am hostile and unsafe.” Second, “I am too weak or lazy to take any meaningful action.”

·         I don’t want to see all the sloppy papers that I saw the last time.” – We could refer to this phrase as an example of “chronicling failure.” This is when the teacher points out to the students their past inadequate performance in a weak attempt to promote positive behavior in the future.  While this is very common, like many other forms of negative recognition, as we will discuss in the next chapter, it has no positive value. It is past-oriented, does nothing to help support future behavior, is weak and hostile.

·         “When are we ever going to learn?” – This phrase is a put-down. Like threats, put-downs show that the teacher is hostile, yet too weak to take constructive action.  Even when said in jest, put-downs have a price. Humor can be a wonderful asset, but victimizing humor can work against building a safe emotional climate.

 

The descriptors that you used to characterize the language of Teacher B likely included words such as passive, timid, anxious, chaotic, frustrated and ineffective. Teacher B’s words reflected a distinct lack of a sense of legitimate authority. Like Teacher A, they put misguided faith in the use of negative recognition to achieve results. Yet, the passive nature of this teachers approach would best be classified as 3-Style. This passivity can be seen in teacher B’s words. The phrase “Listen to me!” could best be described as a plea. It implies a lack of an operating set of explicit boundaries or social contract. He/she is making the appeal, in so many words, of “listen to me if you respect me.” This teachers efforts demonstrated that relying on implied desire for respect rather than clear expectations typically results in frustration and disappointment.

 

It is likely that you had a much more favorable impression of the language used by Teacher C. You likely characterized her/his language with such descriptors as supportive, positive, respectful, effective, aware, nurturing and deliberate. And as you read the transcript you likely assumed a safe and sane climate in the class. If we examine the language of Teacher C, we can read a desire for clarity in the words. The words “we” and “need” reflect a class that is working together for positive goals. The sub-text of Teacher C’s words could characterized by the phrase “I know that you can do it.” We can get a clear sense that teacher C’s class operates at a high level on the effectiveness and function continuum.

 

If we were to sit at a table in the lunchroom with each of these teachers it is likely that we would hear them express similar goals. Each would certainly desire a high degree of learning. They would all suggest that they had some behavioral challenges with some students, and all would, if given enough time, offer a well-conceived explanation for why they do what they do. In other words, each would have a similar and very intentional plan for dealing with management on the explicit level. Yet, given the recognition that each class would, over time, have an exceedingly different character, it demonstrates the enormous power of our words to eventually define our classroom environment.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-g: The next time you are in a classroom, listen to the words of the teacher. How would you characterize the teacher’s language? What is the sub-text? What is the result on the students and the classroom climate?

 

 

Social Frames

At the core of any functional environment are implicitly operating social “frames.”

Social Frames are culturally embedded, socially developed, implicit roles and relationships that operate to help a society function (MacWhinney, 1999).  In our society, as well as most others, it is recognized that there are at least three primary frames that implicitly operate.  They involve the deference (behavior) shown by a young person, and the deportment (response) shown by a significant adult.  These 3 frames are outlined in Figure 3.2. 

 

Figure 3.2 Social Frame Development and Classroom Management

Deference (student) 

Deportment (teacher/parent)

Student shows RESPONSIBILITY...

 

They should receive corresponding FREEDOM

 

Student is SUCCESSFUL....     

 

They should be REGOGNIZED

 

Student shows LOYALTY and RESPECT....           

They should be shown WARMTH and CARING

                                   

           

 

Chapter Reflection 3-h

1.       What do you think would happen if in any of these three cases a student showed the appropriate deference and did not get the expected response from the teacher?

 

2.       What if the student was given the response without having shown the deference? For example, being given freedom without showing responsibility?

 

 

Collectively, these frames operate to provide a society (or classroom) that “makes sense” and nurtures the young person’s development. In a world that is governed by cause and effect, and the boundaries supported by these frames, the young person is able to move through it with confidence and security. Without functioning social frames, they are forced to adapt to a world of uncertainty and threat. They may grow in their ability to survive and cope, but will inevitably experience a limited amount of joy and satisfaction of their basic human needs. As we examine each of the three frames, we can see why they are all necessary for success and as well as good predictors of the socio-psychological health of any classroom.

 

Responsibility - Freedom

First, a healthy and functional classroom must promote a sound cause and effect relationship between freedom and responsibility.  This relationship is fundamental to the development of a functional social contract as we will discuss in Chapters 8, 9 and 10, and is at the core of how any of us develops responsibility. If this frame is operating successfully children/students are given greater opportunity to demonstrate their ability to use freedom to the extent that they have shown the capacity to use the freedom that they have been given. When a student does not demonstrate the ability to be responsible in certain situations, freedoms and choices are limited until such time as the student is able to show the maturity and discretion necessary to earn them in the future.

 

When this frame functions poorly, corresponding problematic behavior is inevitable. Imagine the student who has successfully demonstrated responsible and trustworthy behavior and is given no corresponding freedom or choices. The predictable result is resentment and a lessened interest in showing responsibility. In essence, the child will show us that if they are going to be treated like a child, they may as well act like a child. Conversely, those children that are given limitless freedoms without ever demonstrating how to use that freedom in a responsible manner learn to be selfish and irresponsible.

 

Success - Recognition

The second frame deals with the relationship between achievement and recognition.  Children should be given recognition when they try and/or are successful. When this frame is not functioning, we often find students who develop a “failure psychology,” (see Chapter 7), and a tendency to give up easily. In its most acute for this may appear as a negative identity pattern (see Chapter 14), or a bottomless need for praise and affirmation.  Many classroom management problems can be rooted back to students using what Driekurs (1974) calls “mistaken goals” in the attempt to gain love and affirmation in ways that are disruptive to the class.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-i: It may be useful at this point to reflect on our own experience, and how effectively these social frames functioned in our own lives. Would you say that your parents gave you a healthy amount of recognition? Or as in the case of many young people, did you feel like you never quite were able to measure up? Explore your present response to these “parent tapes.” Do they play out in your classroom r current relationships?

 

 

In the classroom, promoting this frame aids the students in learning about their own personal value and the value of their work. We also help the students make a positive cause-and-effect association between what they put into something and what they get out of it. However, when the student is given praise and rewarded for little or no effort, the student does not learn the intrinsic value of the task. The result is typically a “spoiled” student who views the situation with a sense of entitlement. 

 

Loyalty - Caring

Finally, a functional class needs to be characterized by mutual respect between teacher and student (Watson & Ecken, 2003). On the teacher’s side must be a display of respect and caring, and on the side of the student is a sense of loyalty and respect to the teacher and the class. Research tells us that students work harder for teachers they like and respect (Hendley, Stables & Stables, 1996). And common sense tells us that students “do not care what we know until they know that we care.” As we walk down the hallway of any school and identify the classrooms in which there is a high incidence of classroom management problems and/or a low level of motivation, typically we also observe a corresponding lack of respect between the teacher and the students?

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-j: In many schools, especially at the secondary level, we will find a number of students who have lost faith in this third frame and/or with adults in general. Somewhere in this student’s past he/she tried to show loyalty and respect, and what was returned was abuse and neglect.  As a result, the student is inclined to show little openness to engaging in a frame that has cost them in the past. This appears as a lack of respect and even hostility to us as the teacher. Therefore, if we want this frame to operate, we will not be able to simply respond – there will be no deportment to respond to. So we will have to initiate it. What strategies can you think of to help build this frame from your side of the equation?

 

 

 

Exploring the Principle of the Classroom Emotional Bank Account

Related to the social frames is the principle of the “emotional bank account” (Covey 1989). In essence, this principle suggests that we are either depositing or withdrawing emotional investments into our relationships.  This principle operates continuously in the classroom as well. When we satisfy students’ basic needs, demonstrate real care for them, promote their success, make them feel positive about themselves and what they can do, recognize their gifts and efforts, we make deposits. And since we can only withdraw what has been deposited, if there is nothing in the bank, we will be rather limited when we need make a withdrawal. For instance, when we need to ask students to make an exceptional effort, do something challenging, be unusually patient, take emotional risks, think beyond their self-interest, or be tolerant of annoyances that we feel will lead to their growth, we make withdrawals. The evidence of the amount of investment may never be explicitly discussed, but will be readily apparent in any class. On the positive side, it takes the form of students working hard because they feel like they “owe it to the teacher.” On the negative side, it takes the form of students doing the minimum and acting largely out of self-interest.

 

Figure 3.3: Depicting the Principle of the Classroom Emotional Bank Account

             

Cycle Diagram

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-k: Joy is a teacher who likes to get a lot done. She is demanding of her students. She is a no-nonsense kind of teacher.  She does a lot of lecturing and challenges them to listen and excel on her tests. Because she expects attention, she usually gets it, but as the period goes on, the level of side conversation and off task behavior increases. How could Joy use the principle of the “emotional bank account” to be more effective?

 

 

Social frames and the principle of the emotional bank account, operate whether we are aware of them or understand how they work. Therefore, they can operate either entirely accidentally or entirely largely intentionally – that is we can be very deliberate about cultivating them to the benefit of our students. Maintaining some conscious attention and intention related to how each area is functioning will lead to better outcomes.  In addition, it is useful to use each idea as a tool for periodic classroom climate self-assessment. When things in the class feel a bit off, we can ask ourselves, “Which of the frames is not functioning as well as it could?” And/or “What have I invested in the emotional bank account lately?”  As we reflect on our answers to these question, it will likely lead to an awareness of implications for possible adjustments we might want to make to our teaching practices or thinking. Social frames will be revisited in more detail in Chapter 7 as we assemble a recipe for what we will term “success psychology.”

 

How Power is Manifest in the Class

Inter-related to the use of language and social frames, the use of power will define the implicit level of the classroom reality to a great degree. Jackson (1968) highlighted the use of power as a fundamental component in his landmark analysis of the “hidden curriculum” in the book Life in the Classroom. Power is difficult to observed, but it can be seen in its effects. We might infer that on a fundamental level, power is the force that makes things happen. Moreover, feeling some degree of power is a basic human need. As we will discuss in more detail in Chapter 7, if the students’ individual or collective need for power is not met, they will exercise it in one form or another. The teacher too has a basic need for power as a human being, and is no less inclined to react if not experiencing healthy means to feeling control over their destiny. So in an operational sense, the more each member of the classroom society is getting their need for power met the more potential there will be for power to exist in the class.

 

Real Power and the “Paradox of Power”

As teachers, it is tempting for us to think in terms of “being powerful.” However, true power is internal – within us and within each of our students. Our real power lies in our ability to act consciously and intentionally rather than to give in to reactivity and unconsciousness. What many call “power” is usually just inner fear being projected outwardly in a manner that seeks to dominate and control. Therefore, in practice, trying to “be powerful” usually leads us toward a desire to force our students to surrender to our authority, which will eventually lead to either rebellion or conformity – neither of which is desirable.

 

It may be more useful to think of power as a force, rather than a trait. So if power is the force that makes things happen, what can we do to create more of it? We will want to first raise the level of power and awareness in our students, and second, channel that power toward positive and productive outcomes. So in a sense we could say that the more power we give away, the more power exists. This is the “paradox of power” (Fitzclarence & Giroux, 1984). Our use of our authority can help us gain the power to achieve desirable outcomes. But it is given to us by the students, and it will only exist to the degree that they see that it is leading to a greater good. If we ask ourselves the question, “what can I do to appear more powerful?” we will get lost, practically speaking. In most cases it will lead to unconsciousness, power struggles and resistance. If we ask ourselves such questions as, “what forms of power can I give to students (that they have shown that they are ready for, i.e., the responsibility – freedom frame) that will make the class more productive and functional?” and “how can I help raise the level of awareness and inner power in my students?” it will lead to seeking effective ways to empower our students and overall function and effectiveness.

 

Teacher Authority as Power

Due to the fact that the teacher is in the role of the manager of the class, they require power in another form, the authority to influence student behavior. This could be termed “teacher authority.” Teacher authority is, in a sense, “the right to ask others to do something.” As teachers we need to ask students to do many things in a day, and we need to make our requests out of some basis of authority.   Without it, we would have little efficacy. French and Raven (1974), as they examined classroom interactions, identified five basic forms of teacher authority. Each needs to operate to some degree, but some will be emphasized and utilized more than others for most of us.  These five types of authority are Attractive/Referent, Expert, Reward, Coercive and Position/Legitimate. Appendix G outlines each of them in more detail.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-h: What does real power look like in a classroom? Using the definition that real power is related to that which makes things happen – most importantly student motivation and learning . In your experience, what are those things? Also, have you seen evidence of this “paradox of power?

 

 

The Power of our Unspoken/implicit Expectations

Consider how your expectations affect your class as a collective and your students individually.  Do you treat boys differently than girls? Why? Do you have different expectations for students given what you perceive as differences in the socio-economic background? Most teachers would say that they do not, but as we examine the Anyon (1984) research, (explored in more depth later in Chapter 11), the reality of what is taking place in schools generally suggests that we have very different expectations for students depending their “class.” And as a result, we treat students of different groups very differently.

 

If we ask most teachers what their “explicit” level expectations are, we tend to get somewhat similar responses. But if we examine what expectations are experienced by students we see dramatic differences. So, how are expectations communicated? The answer is rather complicated, but involves verbal and non-verbal messages that are inferred by students.  As we noted earlier “we teach who we are.” And we can assume that who we are and what we value will be communicated one way or another. Our likes, dislikes, biases, world-views, culture, politics, assumptions about class, gender, ethnicity and the like will all influence how students experience our class.

 

Landmark Research Studies Related to Expectancy and Academic Performance:

The effects of implicit expectations can be seen clearly in the notable study, conducted by Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968), entitled “Pygmalion in the Classroom.” In the study teachers were given the list of their students for the term. On the list some students were identified as “rising stars.” The rising stars were said to be more gifted and were predicted to show a greater degree of progress and performance than the other students. In actuality, the students were randomly chosen from the class list. Can you guess what happened when the students were tested at the end of the term?

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-l: What did you predict happened? How can you explain what did happen? The students were never told that they were identified as rising stars, yet they outperformed their peers. How do you account for this difference?

 

 

If you guessed that over time the “rising stars” were shown to have significantly out-performed their classmates, you are correct. The researchers had demonstrated that the expectancy and subsequent differential treatment of the teachers had created a variable in the learning experience that produced a powerful outcome. 

 

What are the lessons of this research? First, examining the implicit level of the classroom reality--especially as it relates to expectations--helps us see that good intentions are often not enough to keep us from sending harmful or limiting messages to our students and children. The teachers in the previous study no doubt had good intentions for all of their students, yet their lack of self-awareness resulted in a dramatic difference in the way that they treated them. Second, we might want to consider how we could project the kinds of expectations that could promote the success and “success psychology” (see Chapter 7) of all of our students. In other words, we might want to treat all of our students as “rising stars.”

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-m: Given that the students in the study above were randomly sampled, and did not know that they were “rising stars,” and the teachers were not instructed to do anything differently with them, how can you explain such a dramatic difference in performance overtime? How did the teachers treat the students who were identified as rising stars differently?

 

 

student centered,teacher-centered,Intentional,Accidental,1,2,3,4
 

 

 

 

 

 


What is so problematic about the “accidental classroom?”

When we accept a high level of unconsciousness and an “accidental” quality in our classrooms, the typical result are a corresponding high degree of what could be termed classroom dramas, psychological games and implicit rules that our students will be forced to negotiate. When they have to spend a large amount of time trying to negotiate this underlying set of rules to the classroom environment, the typical result is that they remain stuck in “survival mode” and are not able to move into more fully functional states of mind. And as a class, the result is a group that stays in a rut of self-protectionism, never able to move toward greater levels of growth or function. Moving up the effectiveness continuum therefore requires exchanging the accidental quality of the class with one defined by intentionality.
 

 

Harnessing the Power of Social/Indirect Learning

 

The Social Learning Theory implies, among other things, that we can learn from situations by making inferences from what we observe (what happens to others) without having to be directly involved (Solomon & Perkins, 1998). For example, consider the following two situations below.

Text Box: Bandura and the Bobo Doll Albert Bandura has been a leader in the field of behavioral psychology and social learning (1971; 1986). One famous experiment by Bandura involved groups of children and a Bobo doll. In this experiment, he gave each group of children the same verbal directions – “don’t touch the doll and go play with the toys.” Behind the researcher was a video screen. On the screen students were shown various video scenarios. In one the children on the screen went past the doll and began playing with the toys. In another case, the children aggressively attacking the plastic clown called the Bobo doll. In the first case the children imitated the children on the video and walk past the doll to play with the toys. In the second case, the children disregarded the verbal directions, but followed the aggressive modeling. The researchers went on to show students various other kinds of modeling on the video screen and then observed the effects. Students who watched violence in any form were more likely to treat the doll aggressively than the students who watched non-violent material. In conclusion, the researchers concluded that the power of modeling (i.e., indirect or social learning) was in some cases more powerful than direct instruction.

1. As we drive down the freeway we observe a car on the side of the road that has been pulled over by the highway patrol. We make the decision to slow down as we deduce that this same fate could happen to us.

 

2. We observe Person A act in a way that impresses Person B (whose respect and admiration we desire).  We note that Person B responds positively when Person A talks about sports. The next time we interact with Person B, we find opportunities to bring up the topic of sports.

 

These two situations are examples of the principle of social or indirect learning.  Lessons were learned indirectly through observation rather than through direct experience. We can see this same principle being demonstrated in the classroom. In fact, it is happening almost continuously.  Most of what we learn about what is appropriate or what should be avoided is learned indirectly. For example, at some point in our time in school we have likely experienced being in a classroom situation in which a fellow student made a remark or answered a question that a teacher reacted to in a very publicly critical manner. Recall your thought process and subsequent behavior at the time. Along with most every student in the class, your reaction was likely to think something to the effect, “I am not going to let that happen to me.” And as a result, you may have determined  that it was not worth the risk of volunteering ideas in the class, and to be more careful about how you responded in the future.  Whatever the lesson that you took away from the incident, it is likely that you made a judgment based on what you observed that you used to guide your future behavior. The teacher did not directly criticize your answer, but your response to the event may have been nearly as profound as if it had happened to you personally.

 

 

This event illustrates the social learning mechanism in action.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-n: As you reflect on your experience as a student. Can you recall situations in which you changed your behavior as a result of something that you observed happening to someone else, but did not happen to you directly?

 

 

Figure 4.1 Diagram depicts the dynamics in a social learning situation

 

 

                                                                                                Student (S)

Teacher (T)

                                                                       

                                                            Other Students (O)

 

 

The interaction described in the example of the critical remark above characterizes a dynamic that could be described as (T) Teacher –> (S) Student interaction with an audience of others (O). As we examine all of the potential dynamics in Figure 4.1 a series of principles emerge. Here we examine what each of these principles looks like in the classroom. Throughout the coming chapters of the book, these principles will be highlighted in relation to their practical applications.

 

 

 

T,S,O
 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Principle One: The students as a collective learn lessons indirectly from the interactions between the teacher and particular students.

When we interact or intervene with one student or group of students, we have an audience eager to learn what we operate. What we do sends a message to the rest of the class. As the other students observe our treatment of one student, they make decisions related to how to act in the future based on what they observed. These lessons lead to the students’ judgments about many things. First, students learn to what degree that they feel we can be trusted. Do we keep our word? Do we act rationally? Are we approachable? Second, students learn about our level of reliability. It is rare to find a group of students who is not highly concerned (if not obsessed) with fairness. They want to know, are we consistent? Do we have favorites? Do we act unpredictably?

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-o: Recall a situation in which you felt that a teacher had “favorites.”  What information did you use to infer that this was the case? Did the teacher ever say directly that these students were his/her favorites? If not, what led you to the conclusion that they did?

 

 

Third, students learn about the soundness of the social contract (or rules, boundaries, expectations, code of conduct, etc.). The level of integrity of our social contract (as we will examine in detail in Chapters 8, 9 and 10) is based on whether it is administered without prejudice as perceived by our students. When students perceive their teacher treating each of them with the same level of regard, being equitable and fair, and being true to the tenets of the social contract, they learn to trust not only the teacher but the operating principles of the class. This trust leads to a sense of emotional safety and security. Without this foundation of trust, very little of what could be considered transformational (i.e., community, success psychology, responsibility) will be possible.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-p: Recall a class in which you felt there was a great deal of inconsistency, and perceived differential treatment. How did it make you feel? Did you feel emotionally safe? How did you and the other students compensate for the teacher’s inconsistency and the feelings that it engendered within you?

 

T S
O
 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Principle Two - A: Peer influences: The highly influenced student. 1) For some students peers may be a more significant source of influence than the teacher.  For many students, impressing peers may represent a larger need than meeting the expectations of the teacher, especially if the student has an unmet need for love/belonging.

 

We may have one or more students that seem to be fixated on peers as their reference group, and seem much less concerned about your expectations for their behavior.  This need for peer approval seems to be strongest in the middle school years. For some teachers this can even lead to an avoidance of students of this age. But while we cannot significantly change their needs or alter their cognitive developmental patterns, we can creatively work with the situation to the benefit of everyone.

 

1.    First, we need to stop taking offense at what appears to be a lack of respect for adults--you in this case. We should continue to model respect and expect it from all of their students.

 

2.    Second, we need to make a genuine connection with the student. We need to send the message to these students that they are a liked, needed and believed in. 

 

3.    Third, we need to help this student contribute. If the student is put in situations in which they are able to contribute to the welfare of others, they will be in a better position to meet the need for belonging and self-efficacy as well as meet the teacher’s need for a student who is responsible.  For instance, you might give them small leadership roles, such as passing out papers, or setting up an activity. And when they do, you need to make it clear to them that you appreciate what they are doing for the “good of the class.”

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-q: What is your first instinct with a student that seems to be disinterested in meeting your expectations, but is very attuned to what others in the class think? Is it to teach him/her a lesson by being emotionally distant in return? Or to be passive-aggressive toward him/her until they change their ways? What is the likely result of these responses? In your judgment, do they lead to things getting better of worse?

 

T,S,O 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Principle Two - B: Peer influences: The highly influential student. 2) We need to encourage our popular and influential students to support group goals.

Very often we will have students in our class who other student look to as model or to set the dispositional tone in the room.. For many of these students, power comes from popularity and their place at the top of the social hierarchy. For others, it comes from being a large and dynamic personality. For others, it comes from having persuasive skills and charisma beyond their years, and thus the ability to influence the opinions and decisions of the group. Each of us will find her or himself in a different situation, and therefore our relationships with these types of students will all be unique. However, it is likely that if these strong-personality students take on a sense of entitlement, or decide to work against the goals of the group, it will create a political problem that can have a divisive affect on our ability to teach and lead.

 

There are a few common ingredients that will help support these influential students being positive ingredients in the class as opposed to our political opponents. To support these ingredients, it will be useful to take the following steps:

1.    Let the students know that you like and respect them and recognize who they are and what they can do. But they need to know that they have influence. We know it. They know it. But there is no place for a sense of entitlement, and that in our class, influence comes with some responsibility.

2.    Help the student recognize how to be a positive leader in the class. It may help to point out cases in which you have already seen them do things that demonstrated positive leadership. Being concrete will make the idea of their position of responsibility less threatening if it is new to them.

3.    Remember that they are still kids--even if they are the center on the basketball team, or the prom queen, or if their father is the mayor. For some, this student will bring back memories of students who intimidated us, looked down on us, or irritated us when we were in school. However, do not blame the student or yourself for having these feelings. Simply recognize that you are the leader today, and let the past go.

4.    Help the student recognize that it feels better to be a positive leader than someone who has to play a game of defending their sense of entitlement. It may not be what popular culture is telling them, but when they look inside, they will see that it feels a lot better.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-r: Recall from your days as a student how the popular students acted. How would you characterize it? Were they leaders or did they project a sense of entitlement? What did the teachers in the school do to encourage their behavior in ether of these directions?

T,S,O
 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Principle Four: Reverse effect – Students also learn what behaviors have an effect on the teacher through indirect observation.

 

Students in a college-level psychology class once decided to discover how effective they could be at modifying the behavior of a guest instructor. They came up with a plan without giving away what they were doing or letting the instructor in on the experiment.  Through the use of either smiling and laughing or frowning and yawning as their forms of reinforcement, they were able to behaviorally modify the instructor’s actions. By the end of the period he had been conditioned to lecture from the far corner of the room with his arms folded.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-s: Recall a class in which a student or two learned that saying or doing certain things could “push the teacher’s buttons.” What was the response of the rest of the class? What did they consequently do, as a result of what they had observed?

 

 

Very quickly students learn what affects us. They learn what we like, what pushes our buttons, and what they can do to gain more power. For example, we may have been part of a class in which one or more students learned that if they asked the teacher questions about their personal life, latest vacation, or favorite athletic team, the teacher obliged them by going on about that subject and therefore spend less time on the material related to the course. This “teacher conditioning” process can be rather innocuous, or it can have substantially destructive effects. In an extreme but rather common case students can train the teacher to allow them to become apathetic, unmotivated and comfortable adopting a “failure psychology.” In this case they have conditioned the teacher to treat them as “falling stars,” rather than “rising stars” and the teacher has allowed the training to become a conditioned attitude.

 

Understanding this principle is necessary to maintain an adequate level of awareness related to the many influences that will want to condition us each day. Are we allowing students to push our buttons? Are we getting hooked into power struggles? Are we leading, or are we being led? A useful strategy for dealing with student manipulation is to raise it above the level of awareness and make it transparent. For example, in the case of the students asking spurious questions, we may want to respond, “I know you guys want to keep asking questions what I thought about the game to keep from getting started, but we need to start now and if we have time, we can talk about the game later.” In the case of the students wanting to quit on themselves, we may want to respond with, “I hear you telling me that you cannot do this, but I have seen you do it before, so let’s all do our best and make the effort and see if we can get it. I am betting you can.”

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-t: Recall Chapter 3, where we observed the notion that “we teach who we are.” Much of this is modeling social interactions. Choose one teacher that you have observed lately. What are students learning from this teacher’s modeling?

 

 

T,S,O
 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Principle Three: 1 x 1 can sometimes equal 30. Using the Social Learning Mechanism to Our advantage in Our Instruction.

Using indirect learning effectively can have a powerful effect on the quality and engagement level of our instruction. Our management will be more effective when we model skills, and consider indirect learning dynamics in discussions, questioning, and feedback. Two of the many powerful indirect learning strategies are the use of public positive recognitions and using questioning to keep students cognitively “on the hook.”

 

·         The Power of Positive Recognitions

When we give feedback to one student privately, we deliver information to that one student. When we give positive feedback to a student publicly, we have delivered indirect information to all the students in the class. This strategy provides both more concrete as well as more abundant feedback. We will follow-up on the idea of positive recognition in more detail in the next chapter.

 

·         Keeping Student Cognitively “On the Hook”

When we ask an individual student a question, we engage one at a time. If we do this on a regular basis, the students learn that they are “off the hook” when we are engaging someone else. No matter what we tell them, we send the message that they are a passive audience until it is their turn.  But if we simply alter our strategy somewhat, the dynamics will change dramatically. Part of the solution to keeping students cognitively on the hook is the purposeful use of asking questions. Evertson, Anderson, Anderson, & Brophy, 1980) demonstrated that more effective teachers asked more and more purposeful questions when compared to less effective teachers. For example instead of responding to a student with “Yes, that is correct, good job,” we could instead triangulate that answer to the whole class by asking, “Interesting, how do you think __ arrived at that answer.” We will explore this technique in more detail in chapter 11.

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-u: Recall a situation in which as a student, your teacher went around the room and called on students one at a time in a fixed pattern. What were you thinking about as other students responded? Was it related to the academic material? Did you feel accountable or engaged in the learning process?

 

 

Principle Five: Making tomorrow better as a result of what we do today. 

When we use the social learning model in our decision-making, it can often help us judge the benefits of any particular practice. It can be very useful to ask ourselves the question, “What indirect learning will result from my present actions?”What may seem like a good idea for today and/or for one student may in fact not be so effective in the long-term, and/or may result in the some undesirable indirect learning for the group. In fact, many strategies that prove to be effective in the long-term are based in counter-intuitive reasoning, and may even seem to have limited use on the surface. Therefore, we might want to ask ourselves the following questions when we consider a strategy, “What are students learning from the repeated use of this strategy that I am considering?” and “What am I liable to experience more of in the future as a result of the social learning that is going to take place?”

 

Many of the strategies described in this book may seem as though they are somewhat indirect and may involve more long-range focus than those to which most of us are accustomed. However, many of the strategies that we might find to have an instant impact actually have substantial negative side-effects when examined in light of their indirect and/or long-term effects. It is tempting to do “what works” today. Nevertheless, if we are committed to transformative results and not simply convenience, remaining intentional and maintaining a long-range view is essential. 

 

Below is a list of strategies that may seem on the surface, and in the short-term to be effective, but in the long run tend to teach unwanted lessons and as a result promote unwanted outcomes.

 

 

 

 

Chapter Reflection 3-v: How many of these strategies have you used? Do you still use them? Before reading the explanations for why they have undesirable effects in the coming chapters, predict what those effects might be.

 

 

Throughout the coming chapter of the book, we will need to revisit the social learning model often, as it helps bring a more complete perspective to any classroom event. Considering our actions within the perspective of indirect learning can help us be more effective as we navigate the many skills required to be an effective classroom leader. When you see the T-S-O triangular figure appearing in the remaining chapters, it will signal a social learning model reference

 

Conclusion

Practicing conscious awareness allows us to act more intentionally and less reactively. Awareness of the “hidden curriculum,” and the more implicit and aspects of the overall classroom environment lead to more of our teaching moving above the line of conscious recognition and into the intentional realm. In Chapter 16, we will revisit the idea of how our thinking and level of awareness affects our effectiveness and state of mind throughout the day. In the next chapter, we will explore how to promote effective, intentional classroom expectations.

 

Journal Reflections:

1.     Is the notion of a “hidden curriculum” new to you? What portion of the curriculum do you feel is implicit or hidden? Why?

2.     When you reflect on the idea of “teaching who you are,” what feelings does it evoke?

3.     Recall an event in your life that resulted in a profound life lesson that you learned indirectly. What implications does this event have for your teaching?

4.     Do you feel that most teachers adequately consider what the long-term and indirect/social learning effects of their management strategies will be? Why?

 

Classroom Activities:

1.       Sitting in your small groups, complete exercise 3.1 on your own and then discuss the labels you used for each teacher with the other members of your group. Did you find that you characterized the effects on the classroom reality in a similar way for each teacher?

 

2.       In Appendix ….. you will find the 5 forms of teacher authority. Rank each from 1-5, i.e., 1: I would use the most,  to  5- I would use the least. As you examine the rankings what do you think that says about you as a teacher? If you are part of a class, have a few students volunteer their rankings. Compare the rankings and what they imply.

 

3.       In groups, discuss the implications of the social learning theory. In the last class that you observed or taught, give an example of the indirect learning that you observed. Offer the others in the group one idea for a practice that seems useful, and one that you now recognize to be of limited value, given the social learning model implications of each practice?

 

 

References

Bandura, A. (1971). Social Learning Theory. New York: General Learning Press.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice-Hall.

Cabello, B. & Terrell, R. (1994) Making Students Feel Like Family. How teachers create warm and caring climates. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 29, 17-23.

Covey, S. (1989) Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster. New York

Devitt, M, & Sterelny, K. (1999) Language and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Language. MIT Press.

Dreikurs, R, Cassel, P. (1974) Discipline Without Tears. Hawthorn Books

Elliot. E. (1984) No Easy Answers: Joseph Schwab's Contributions to Curriculum. Curriculum Inquiry, Vol. 14, No. 2 pp. 201-210

Evertson, Anderson, Anderson, …………………..

Friedman, I.A., & Farber, B.A. (1992) Professional self-concept as a predictor of burn out. Journal of Educational Research., 86(1) 28-35.

Fitzclarence, L., Giroux, H. (1984) The Paradox of Power in Educational Theory and Practice. Language Arts, v61 n5 p462-77

Haralabos, M. (1991) Sociology: Themes and Perspectives.

Jackson (1968) Life in the Classroom.

Kohl, H. (2002) Topsy- turvies: Teacher talk and student talk. In L. Delpit & J. Dowdy (Eds), The Skin that we speak. (pp. 145-161). New York Press.

MacWhinney, B. (1999) The Emergence of Language. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Mischel, W (2007) Toward a Cognitive Social Learning Re-conceptualization of Personality. In  Building a Science of the Individual, Yuichi Shoda and, Daniel Cervone Editors, Guilford Press. 

Murray, C., Pianta, R. (2007) The Importance of Teacher-Student Relationships for Adolescents with High Incidence Disabilities. Theory Into Practice 46:2, 105-112

Myers, I., McCauley, M., Hammer, (1998) Manual for Use: Myers-Briggs Type Inventory. Consulting Psychologist Press, Palo Alto, CA.

Nicolini, D, Gherardi, S, & Yanow, D (2003) Knowing in Organizations: A Practice-Based Approach. M. E. Sharpe.

 Peters, W., Bentel, B., Elliot, J. (1970) Eye of the Storm. ABC Media Concepts: Xerox Files Distribution.

Rosenthal & Jacobson (1968) Pygmalion in the Classroom. The Urban Review. v.3 n.1 16-20.

Tolle, E. (2004) The Power of Now. Namaste Publishing.

Salomon, G and Perkins, D. (1998) Individual and Social Aspects of Learning
Gavriel Salomon, Review of Research in Education, Vol. 23, 1998 (1998), pp. 1-24

Valli, L. (1992) Reflective Teacher Education: Cases and Critiques. SUNY Press
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David Hendley a;  Sian Stables a; Andrew Stables b Pupils' Subject Preferences at Key Stage 3 in South Wales Educational Studies  Volume 22, Issue 2 June 1996 , pages 177 - 186