Guest Speaker Dr. Celia Popovic: Understanding Undergraduates
Mar 27, 2012, 10:30am-12pm
Most university teachers have ideas about the typical good or not-so-good student in their classes, but rarely do they share these thoughts with others. By keeping quiet about the preconceptions – or stereotypes – they harbour, teachers put themselves at risk of missing key evidence to help them revise their beliefs.
More importantly, they may fail to notice students in real need of their support and encouragement. Along with co-author David A. Green, Popovic explored UK and US university teachers’ beliefs about their students’ performance and discovered which beliefs are well-founded, which are mistaken, which mask other underlying factors, and what they can do about them. So is it true, for instance, that British Asian students find medicine more difficult than their white counterparts, or that American students with sports scholarships take their studies less seriously? Is it the case that students who sit at the front of the lecture hall get better grades than those who sit at the back? By comparing students’ demographic data and their actual performance with their teachers’ expectations, the study exposed a complex picture of multiple factors affecting performance.
Please RSVP to research@edu.yorku.ca.
| Location: | 109 Atkinson College, Harry Crowe Room |
| Sponsor: | Faculty of Education |
| Posted by: | Breanne Whitwell |
| Web Site | http://edu.yorku.ca/research |
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