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How does the scientific approach help the students to perform better in class?

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It is well known that people are often influenced by the expectations built upon them. The same is the case with the students and the teachers also. It is a combined effort of both the teachers and students to give their best in class.  

Teachers can be a big challenge for the students, similarly, some students are also a challenge for the teachers. A classroom is a place filled with students each of different nature and style. 

A diverse student body possesses each individual with different needs. And practically a teacher can’t fulfill the needs of each student differently. Thus many a time the teachers look for some well-researched hacks to tackle such situations. 

These hacks help the student to perform better in class. One such well-researched hack or method is the pygmalion method, making the students productive and enthusiastic in class.

 

The pygmalion effect.

The pygmalion effect or the Rosenthal effect is a psychological aspect in which a higher expectation in a particular field gives rise to a better result. The name pygmalion is named after a Greek myth of a sculptor, who carved the exact statue he was in love with. 

Two psychologists Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson together mentioned this research in a book and applied it in a student-teacher relationship. They strongly believed that a higher expectation from the students by teachers gave a better outcome and the least outcome was obtained when the expectations were low. 

According to the pygmalion effect, when a student is given a certain age or a label, they introspect those tags and try to build or maintain for better performance. Thus when the students receive positive reviews then there is a positive change in them and similarly, a negative review will have a negative effect. 

Positive and negative effects play an important role in the overall development of the student and affect their performance drastically. So for better performance in class, the teachers should always try to give positive reviews and set up higher expectations so that the student’s performance shows a positive result. 

 

How are teachers viewed by the students?

As I said before that it is a combined effort of both the teachers and the students in the overall performance in class. The Pygmalion effect is therefore applied by the students on the teacher’s performance also. A teacher’s performance is affected by the positive and negative reviews of the students. 

For example, a teacher who receives negative feedback from the student, then this performance is affected negatively. Similarly, if a student has a positive perception about any teachers then their performance in class is enhanced or shows positive growth

These positive and negative effects also modify the personal relationship of the student- teachers and their interaction is also affected. A negative perception will lead to an unwanted or unfavorable interaction. It is found that a teacher who makes use of the instructional technology tools has a positive impact on the students.

 

Giving students the freedom to make a decision.

Another way to promote better performance in class is by giving the freedom of choice to the students. When the students willingly select things, they develop a sense of responsibility towards it. When a teacher assigns duty according to the will of the students, they perform much better in class, and the duty which is given to them is fulfilled with much enthusiasm and loyalty. 

They also feel positivity towards the teacher and a healthy bond is created. They also believe that a teacher has shown trust toward them that they are capable of performing best in class. When the learning is in control of the students, they feel more motivated and productive. The teacher should give the full charge of the learning to the student so that they can bring out the best of them. 

By decreasing the written workload from the students, they can perform better in class. Giving more importance to the practical or the real-life experience is the new trend that is being followed by the teachers for effective learning and a good performance in class.

Freedom of choice allows the students to learn a very important characteristic of decision-making. We know that the authority of the class is in the hands of the teachers, but the teacher can use this opportunity and include the students in making the day to day small decisions about the class. 

The decisions about the class can be to decide the day-to-day extracurricular activities, the goal for the entire week, allotment of duties to different students, and many more like these. In this way, the students feel included in the class with the teachers. The students in charge are more responsible than ordinary students who have not been given any duty. 

The academic performance of the student is enhanced after getting a responsibility in hand. They feel more for the school and its betterment, thus their upcoming decisions or steps are for creating a positive environment in the class as well as in the school.

 

What is a flipped classroom method?

The flipped classroom as the name suggests is a method where the responsibility is flipped which means the student is given the full charge of the learning to them only. Students can indulge in studies and explore different concepts in their homes, and the class can be used by them for critical thinking. 

This method creates diversity as the student can learn things at their convenient speed. They don’t have to wait for the entire class to start or end a particular topic, they can go at their pace. Because every student’s ability to understand a particular topic is different. It might be possible that one student requires 2 days for a particular topic and the other student just requires a day. 

In this way, they get a chance to discover more and share those new things in the class and can have a valuable discussion on it. This not only helps the students to gain extra knowledge but also lessens their burden of studies because they can easily manage to have an ample amount of time to relax and play also. 

 

Conclusion

A diverse classroom is always a good option for catering to all the needs of the students and creating a better environment in class. Positivity in a classroom is a must for a good performance. A positive school experience is a crucial part of effective learning. 

 

Photo by Max Fischer from Pexels.

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Mayuresh S. Shilotri writes on Product, EdTech, UX, Customer Development & Early Stage Growth. 2,000-Word posts only. You can discover more about me here

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