Stereotypes are a common topic of discussion, but this piece introduces some interesting examples of the effects of stereotypes. I was presented with some cases of scientific research on the Obama Effect. By thinking about terms such as “mental chatting”----“distraction”----“performance goes down”, I truly believe that this kind of relationship makes sense. It’s true that, during less stressful periods, the brain functions well, leading to a higher performance. Thus, distractions can impact cognitive ability and critical thinking skills, as well as decision making skills. I have a close connection with this research. For example, Asian American students are often stereotyped by the popular press as hardworking and high-achieving. However, it is not always true. I am a slightly older student and ESL student. I struggle when confronted with the English language. During my tests, the pressure from this stereotype distracts me from making progress. Also, I prefer using “puzzle” instead of “IQ test” and using nice words or a nice simple sentence before the assessment to encourage students to perform better on the “puzzle”. Therefore, to engage students effectively in the learning process, teachers must know their students and their academic abilities individually, rather than relying on racial or ethnic stereotypes or prior experience with other students of similar backgrounds. Educators should treat everyone equally.
I like using the term puzzle instead of test because puzzles are fun, in my opinion. I think that you bring up a great point about the Asian stereotype. I wonder if the same study was conducted, if we would see Asian test takers, do better, or even worse.
This was a pretty interesting podcast! When they started talking about the test administered to various participants (where they had to mark what race they were) during Barrack Obama's presidential race in 2008, the results were quite surprising and I immediately thought about the end of the podcast after hearing the whole thing and made the connection with stereotyping. It was interesting to learn there was an increase in performance after Barrack Obama became president but it also aligns greatly with the information later talked about in the podcast with the effects of stereotyping and using different language when administering a test. The election of Barrack Obama as president could have offered a boost of confidence to the African American participants since he did in fact change history and break many stereotypes people have. That boost of moral did truly show a great performance increase. Instead of falling behind Caucasian participants with an 8.5/20 score (before Barrack Obama took office), the African American participants boosted that to the same as the Caucasian participants (12/20 score) after Barrack Obama took office.
It was also super interesting to listen about how just simply changing the language when administering a test can have major changes in performance. This is great advice for us as teachers. Maybe rather than introducing a test as having so much weight on our students shoulders, if we introduce it in a different way this could make out students less stressed and more comfortable while taking the assessment so that they be better able to perform on it and we can get more accurate readings from our teaching.
I think that Obama inspired African American students to overcome the anxiety from the test. Thus, African American students look at Obama as a role model. This inspiration might have contributed to a higher performance on the test. As a future teacher, I will encourage my students to try their best on assessments. I will provide positive reinforcement when they improve.
You bring up some interesting points. Students definitely get nervous before tests and if we were able to lessen the stress of the assessments, they would perform so much better.
I think that I remember hearing this podcast before. I think that I had seen how much language makes a difference in student perception. My students have told me how much more stressful tests are than quizzes. There is also a particular student that I have that has fallen into a hole of learned helplessness when it comes to math. It is so difficult to get students from fighting those distractions caused by their self-doubt. If there is a way for our society to eliminate the causes of the doubt in the first place, our students would be better off. Unfortunately, we cannot just turn off behaviors that people have learned for centuries. We need to make sure that we make a conscious effort to keep our students in a frame of mind that fosters growth. Tests are difficult enough, the students don't need to make it harder with the distractions in their confidence.
I agree that wording has a big impact on a student’s performance. Perhaps, instead of having “tests” and “quizzes”, we can have “progress checks”. These checks might be done more routinely than tests and quizzes, giving students less stress and having a smaller impact on their grade (which students worry about a lot).
The Obama Effect
ReplyDeleteStereotypes are a common topic of discussion, but this piece introduces some interesting examples of the effects of stereotypes. I was presented with some cases of scientific research on the Obama Effect. By thinking about terms such as “mental chatting”----“distraction”----“performance goes down”, I truly believe that this kind of relationship makes sense. It’s true that, during less stressful periods, the brain functions well, leading to a higher performance. Thus, distractions can impact cognitive ability and critical thinking skills, as well as decision making skills. I have a close connection with this research. For example, Asian American students are often stereotyped by the popular press as hardworking and high-achieving. However, it is not always true. I am a slightly older student and ESL student. I struggle when confronted with the English language. During my tests, the pressure from this stereotype distracts me from making progress. Also, I prefer using “puzzle” instead of “IQ test” and using nice words or a nice simple sentence before the assessment to encourage students to perform better on the “puzzle”. Therefore, to engage students effectively in the learning process, teachers must know their students and their academic abilities individually, rather than relying on racial or ethnic stereotypes or prior experience with other students of similar backgrounds. Educators should treat everyone equally.
I like using the term puzzle instead of test because puzzles are fun, in my opinion. I think that you bring up a great point about the Asian stereotype. I wonder if the same study was conducted, if we would see Asian test takers, do better, or even worse.
DeleteThis was a pretty interesting podcast! When they started talking about the test administered to various participants (where they had to mark what race they were) during Barrack Obama's presidential race in 2008, the results were quite surprising and I immediately thought about the end of the podcast after hearing the whole thing and made the connection with stereotyping. It was interesting to learn there was an increase in performance after Barrack Obama became president but it also aligns greatly with the information later talked about in the podcast with the effects of stereotyping and using different language when administering a test. The election of Barrack Obama as president could have offered a boost of confidence to the African American participants since he did in fact change history and break many stereotypes people have. That boost of moral did truly show a great performance increase. Instead of falling behind Caucasian participants with an 8.5/20 score (before Barrack Obama took office), the African American participants boosted that to the same as the Caucasian participants (12/20 score) after Barrack Obama took office.
ReplyDeleteIt was also super interesting to listen about how just simply changing the language when administering a test can have major changes in performance. This is great advice for us as teachers. Maybe rather than introducing a test as having so much weight on our students shoulders, if we introduce it in a different way this could make out students less stressed and more comfortable while taking the assessment so that they be better able to perform on it and we can get more accurate readings from our teaching.
I think that Obama inspired African American students to overcome the anxiety from the test. Thus, African American students look at Obama as a role model. This inspiration might have contributed to a higher performance on the test. As a future teacher, I will encourage my students to try their best on assessments. I will provide positive reinforcement when they improve.
DeleteYou bring up some interesting points. Students definitely get nervous before tests and if we were able to lessen the stress of the assessments, they would perform so much better.
DeleteI think that I remember hearing this podcast before. I think that I had seen how much language makes a difference in student perception. My students have told me how much more stressful tests are than quizzes. There is also a particular student that I have that has fallen into a hole of learned helplessness when it comes to math. It is so difficult to get students from fighting those distractions caused by their self-doubt. If there is a way for our society to eliminate the causes of the doubt in the first place, our students would be better off. Unfortunately, we cannot just turn off behaviors that people have learned for centuries. We need to make sure that we make a conscious effort to keep our students in a frame of mind that fosters growth. Tests are difficult enough, the students don't need to make it harder with the distractions in their confidence.
ReplyDeleteI agree that wording has a big impact on a student’s performance. Perhaps, instead of having “tests” and “quizzes”, we can have “progress checks”. These checks might be done more routinely than tests and quizzes, giving students less stress and having a smaller impact on their grade (which students worry about a lot).
DeleteI like that idea.
Delete